🎈 The Power of Play 🎈 

Today, we're talking about bringing a bit of fun to the daily grind. So, grab your favorite fidget spinner, and let's give it a whirl!

🧠 We want mo’ ToMo

Before we start building office pillow forts, let's set the stage with a little concept called Total Motivation (ToMo) from the book "Primed to Perform." Now, I know what you're thinking: "Great, another corporate buzzword to add to my bingo card." But stick with me here, it's actually pretty cool.

ToMo is all about understanding what really gets us going at work. It's not just about carrots and sticks. Instead, it focuses on six key factors that influence our performance:

1. 🎈 Play: "I do this because it's fun!"

2. 🧭 Purpose: "I do this because it's important to me."

3. ⭐️ Potential: "I do this because it will help me grow."

4. ❤️ Emotional Pressure: "I do this because I'd feel bad if I didn't."

5. 💰️ Economic Pressure: "I do this because I need the money."

6. 🛑 Inertia: "I do this because I've always done it."

The first three (play, purpose, and potential) are "direct motives" - they're the good stuff that leads to better performance and higher job satisfaction.

The last three? They’re things we need to try to limit and reduce.

If you have time, watch this 45-minute video from the authors. It’ll change your perspective on a few things.

🧸 Play-to-Learn

Now, let's take a quick detour to the land of tiny chairs and finger paintings: Montessori education. These folks have been preaching to the power of play in learning for over a century.

The Montessori method is all about hands-on, self-directed learning through play. It's like if your childhood "floor is lava" game actually taught you about geology. This approach doesn't just make learning fun; it makes it stick.

And guess what? The same principles apply to adult learning and work. When we're engaged in playful, hands-on experiences, we're more likely to:

• 🧠 Retain information

• 🎨 Develop creative problem-solving skills

• 🚗 Stay motivated and engaged

• 🤝 Collaborate more effectively with others

If you remember from way back, Montessori and Agile have quite a bit in common… so this doesn’t only apply to toddlers.

📊 Play is Profitable

“Sounds nice,” you say, “but we can’t just hold hands and sing kumbaya all day.” Well, there’s a lot more to it than that.

It’s a win-win:

• 📈 It increases productivity - Teams that played a collaborative (video) game together for just 45 minutes were able to increase their productivity on a task by 20%

• 🤗 It encourages attendance - People who experience workplace fun take less sick leave

• 📉 It reduces attrition - For every 1 unit in fun reduces turnover by 60.2% (lol I loved the “fun units” in this one - 100 cc’s STAT!)

And here's the kicker - companies that encourage play and creativity are more likely to report higher levels of innovation, employee satisfaction, and overall performance.

So, it turns out that all work and no play doesn't just make Jack a dull boy – it makes Jack's company a dull (and less profitable) place to work.

✨ Cringe-Free Tips to Increase Play

Alright, so we all agree that workers just wanna have fun. But how do we bring more fun into our work lives in an impactful way?

First, let's define what we're trying to avoid:

• 😬 Forced Fun: Any activity that's supposed to be "fun" but feels more like a mandatory chore. Think awkward team-building exercises where you have to fall backwards into your coworker's arms or having to stay for after-work drinks because you “aren’t a team player” if you don’t. Gross.

• 🙃 Anti-Perks: Those "benefits" that are more about keeping you at work than actually benefiting you. Free dinner at the office? More like "we expect you to work late" in disguise.

Now that we know what to steer clear of, here are some ways to authentically introduce more play into your work life:

1. 🎮️ Gamify Your Tasks: Turn your to-do list into a quest log. Award yourself XP for completing tasks and level up your work skills. Bonus points if you can convince your whole team to join in.

2. 🧠 Embrace Creative Problem-Solving: Next time you hit a roadblock, try approaching it from a completely wacky angle. What would a pirate do in this situation? How about a space alien? You might be surprised at the solutions you come up with.

3. 🎈 Encourage Playful Spaces: Designate areas in the office for creativity and play. This could be as simple as a whiteboard wall for doodling or a corner with building blocks or puzzles.

4. 📚️ Play-Based Learning: When introducing new concepts or skills, try incorporating games or hands-on activities. Learning a new software? Turn it into a scavenger hunt.

5. 🎭️ Improv at Work: Bring some improv exercises into your meetings. They're great for fostering creativity, improving communication, and they're usually hilarious. Bonus - ask people who disagree to switch sides in the debate.

6. ❤️ Bring Your Passion to Work: Love photography? Start a workplace photo challenge. Crazy about cooking? Organize a office potluck with a twist. Create empathy by showing people you’re a real human with interests.

7. 🙊 Playful Communication: Inject some fun into your emails or Slack messages. GIFs, memes, and dad jokes are all fair game. Can you have an entire conversation without typing words? How about an ABC meeting (anything but chair) where you can take it anywhere but your desk?

Remember, the key is to make play organic and optional. It should feel like a natural part of your work culture, not something forced upon you by the Fun Police.

🚨 woop woop that’s the sound of the (fun) police! 🚓 

🎉 Let the Games Begin!

So there you have it, folks. The secret to a more motivated, meaningful, and downright enjoyable work life might just be tapping into your inner child. Who knew that the key to professional success was to ignore buttoned-up professionalism?

As it turns out, play isn't just fun and games – it's serious business.

You're not “goofing off” – you're "implementing innovative motivation strategies for enhanced workplace performance." You're welcome. 😉

That’s all for now, pals. See ya next week.

Eryn