This Is The Secret to Maintaining A Healthy Psychological Well-Being

I’ve been reflecting on the significance of maintaining healthy psychological well-being, and a huge part of it is something that may seem unimportant but is actually essential: play. The changing seasons remind me to soak in life as it goes and live in the moment, including playtime.

Play is essential for living a balanced, five core life, but it’s also important in any endeavor you take, business or otherwise. Work-work-work-work is absolutely not healthy; you need to have some play to balance it out for your psychological well-being. 

Benefits of Play at Work

It is no secret that play can have some pretty powerful benefits in our lives – it can help to relieve stress, promote creativity and even boost productivity. But did you know that these benefits can also extend to the workplace? That’s right – incorporating some play into your workday can actually help to improve your performance on the job. So how can you boost the benefits of play at work? Here are a few ideas:

1. Take a break to play

When you feel your energy start to flag, take a few minutes to step away from your work and do something that is just for fun. Whether it’s taking a quick walk outside, shooting some hoops, or playing a quick game of solitaire, taking some time to play can help to refresh and rejuvenate you so that you can get back to work with more energy and focus.

2. Make work fun

If you love what you do, then it won’t feel like work at all! Find ways to infuse some fun into your daily tasks, and you’ll likely find that you not only enjoy your job more but also perform better. For example, if you’re working on a particularly challenging project, take some time to brainstorm with a colleague or two about ways to make it more fun. You might be surprised at how much more creative you can be when you’re not taking yourself so seriously.

3. Encourage creativity

One of the best ways to boost productivity at work is to encourage creativity. And what better way to do that than by incorporating some play? Whether it’s holding a brainstorming session with your team where everyone comes up with wacky ideas or taking a few minutes each day to doodle or write down some stream-of-consciousness thoughts, giving yourself permission to play can help to open up the floodgates of creativity.

4. Get physical

We all know that exercise is good for our health, but did you know that it can also improve our cognitive function? That’s right – getting your body moving can help to increase blood flow to the brain, which can, in turn, boost your ability to think more clearly and creatively. So if you’re looking for a way to give your productivity a boost, consider incorporating some physical activity into your work day. Taking a brisk walk during your lunch break or going for a quick jog before starting your work day can make a world of difference.

5. Take some time for yourself

In our fast-paced, always-on world, it’s easy to get caught up in the hustle and bustle and forget to take some time for ourselves. But if we don’t make a conscious effort to relax and recharge, we can quickly start to feel burned out. So be sure to schedule some “me time” into your day, whether it’s taking a few minutes to read your favorite book, taking a yoga class, or just sitting down with a cup of coffee and enjoying the quiet. By taking some time for yourself, you’ll be better able to handle work demands when they come. Playing at work may not seem like a serious pursuit, but if you want to boost your productivity and creativity, it’s worth giving it a try. So go ahead and have some fun – your job performance will thank you for it!

Play at Work - The Balance for Your Psychological Well-Being

You’ve probably heard of businesses and companies that include aspects of play for their employees. Google and Airbnb have offices designed to inspire creativity and activity. Kohl’s has associates exploring and designing creative ways to engage customers. Pixar may have the most play, with a cereal bar, pool, and secret offices.

The truth is, incorporating play into the workplace is something that’s done all over the world. A study on Indeed.com mentioned that businesses such as Dell, Nike, Capital One, and Cisco make it important to include aspects of play in the workplace.

These companies don’t include play just because they want more people to work for them; they do it for the psychological well-being of their employees because the balance makes them more creative and productive.

Their creativity and productivity lead to their happiness, which is essential for leading a healthy life. Balancing work and play is essential for people to deal with the chaos that is life.

This podcast is worth listening to - Gamify Your Workplace to Increase Productivity (and Fun!)

Why Do You Need to Balance Your Life?

The idea of “balance” sounds perfect because it means you’ll be productive in every aspect of life and improve your psychological well-being. A “work-life balance” is extremely ideal; check out this article on Forbes about work-life balance and what that actually means.

Do you know what the most productive nation in the world is? It’s Luxembourg. And do you know why? It’s because they strive to maintain a balance of work life and play life. 

Meanwhile, the least productive nation is Japan. Why? Because they make their employees work such long hours and get very little product in return.

Contrastingly, France has passed a law that allows workers to ignore emails while they are on vacation, and they mandate 25 vacation days per year. The range of these countries is a great example of what a balanced life, or an unbalanced life, can look like.

So, if you only take one thing away from this blog today, let it be this: make sure you play. It’s crucial to building momentum for your five-core life. Without play, your psychological well-being will be uncared for, and you’ll be miserable. Keep your life balanced, and make sure you pay attention to each core equally.

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Want to know where you stand in the five values of life tied to happiness (your five core)? Take this two-minute Core Values Quiz to get your core score in the five values of life.

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