Using play to increase your motivation will also increase your productivity and is a powerful tool you’ll want to learn to use. Did you ever think that you’d want to learn to play to improve your productivity? You will when you’re done reading this article!
But first, let’s back track a bit and define your motivation. Motivation are the feelings that drive you toward a particular objective. The implication is that you have a goal. Without a goal there is no need for motivation. Some would say that without motivation you won’t have goals.
It’s a bit like the old question – which came first – the chicken or the egg? In this case they both can happen at the same time and are both needed to support the other.
Let’s assume you do have a goal and are initially motivated. Now you’ll want to learn how to use play for your motivation and to keep you motivated.
One of the key elements of goal achievement is to maintain your motivation and one of the key factors of maintaining your motivation is to take care of yourself. With motivation you are focused on your goal, setting objectives, and keeping your eye on the ball so to speak. But with all of this focus and movement toward success you are sure to forget to recharge your own batteries.
We fail to schedule fun into our days. We think we’ll get more done but we don’t. In reality you’ll become less effective and productive, you’ll procrastinate more and get less focused.
Burn out is one of the biggest stumbling blocks of most successful people. Burn out is common in professionals that do care giving such as psychiatrists and nurses. It’s common in mothers, caregivers and veterinarians. And it’s common in people who are driven and goal oriented who don’t schedule their own time for play and fun.
Entrepreneurs are another group of people trying to squeeze every last minute out of their day. They schedule more work time in front of the computer as if working equates to more money. The old adage of “all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” is more than an old saying. Jack will be dull from lack of fun, won’t be productive, won’t be able to focus and won’t achieve his goals.
Interestingly if you look at the motivation behind kids playing computer games you’ll find some of the same reasons that incorporating play into your daily activities will make you successful. For instance game playing and fun daily activities will give you freedom, a connection with others with whom you are participating, opportunities for achievement and relatedness to real life applications.
How to use play to increase your motivation begins by figuring out what type of play you enjoy. Your play time can be as long as a couple of hours to set up a racquetball game with a friend to spending several minutes listening and dancing to music in your office. There are an infinite number of fun activities that you can engage in each day.
Your first step is to make a list of 20 things that you find fun. Don’t be intimidated by the length of the list. You can write down anything that comes to mind that you enjoy or that you think you might enjoy. Don’t write down only things that take a bit of time or require the company of others. You might want to consider things such as going out with friends, shooting basketball for 10 minutes in the driveway, taking 10 minutes to play a board game with the kids, reading a good book, quiet time with your significant other, watching a sports activity, watching a favorite movie or even gardening.
Now, although this may be counter-intuitive you must schedule a play break into your day, everyday. You’ll be more productive, more focused and experience more energy. Why? Because you know you ‘have’ to play and you’ll be more focused and motivated to finish your work to get to your fun. It’s a bit of behavior modification you play with yourself. But it works, it’s fun and it helps you to stay motivated.
How to use play for motivation is an important aspect of becoming successful at business, weight loss, relationships and life. We were created to enjoy life – unfortunately we can also suck the fun out of life when we become so focused on our tasks that we forget to stop and smell the roses.
Resources:
Carnegie Mellon: Explore Potential Strategies
http://www.cmu.edu/teaching/solveproblem/strat-lackmotivation/lackmotivation-01.html
Purdue: Fantasy
http://education.purduecal.edu/Vockell/EdPsyBook/Edpsy5/Edpsy5_fantasy.htm
Arizona State University: Teaching Through Play and Respecting the Motivation of Preschoolers
http://www.public.asu.edu/~rdstrom/articles/tprmp.pdf
Make a dent leadership: Here Are The Top 5 High Performance Employee Motivation Techniques
http://www.makeadentleadership.com/employee-motivation-techniques.html
Science Direct: Sharing the Motivation to Play
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347207004447
ASCD: Chapter 1: Student Motivation, Engagement and Achievement
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