The Importance of Play
This month I’ve decided to re-read the book Essentialism by Greg Mckeown. In his book, Mckeown lays the foundation of how to live a life of meaning and purpose - one that cuts out the unessential and instead focuses on the few essential activities. One of these essential activities is Play.
Some consider play as that kid in a playground or at a park running around. Sure this is definitely considered play time, but as adults we often seek out activities that will give us some extrinsic value later on, thus running around on a playground doesn’t seem to make sense.
However, what if we thought of play not as a mindless physical activity, but one of creative mind exercises. This month, I’ve decided to experiment with this very idea. Throughout my week, I've blocked off a 20 minute chunk each day on my calendar that's reserved strictly for creative play.
What does this look like ?
1. Right now, I’m interested in architecture and spatial design so I’m doodling and drawing for 20 minutes. I don’t care what the end result looks like - that’s not the point, I just doodle and sketch for the allotted amount of time. From the few experiments i’ve run, it’s become clear that this is helping me not only become a better fast drawer, but also keeps my mind from wandering.
2. If you’re not an artist or don’t feel like drawing, another way of achieving this creative flow is to simply write. Free write, don’t worry about whether or not this is going to be your best writing. Just write. After all, your first 1000 pages of anything is going to suck. Get a notebook, sit down for 20 minutes, and write!
3. Digital collage is my new favorite thing. I use photoshop + Figma to create these collages. It’s a fun way of putting together creative collages without having to worry about glueing paper together or being a great drawer.
Book I'm finishing up
Essentialism by Greg Mckeown
Reading this book for a second time because it's impacted the way I've valued my time. This is a book that advocates a conscious, deliberate, and informed focus on what is truly essential in our personal and professional lives.
Articles I've read
Spotify’s Exclusive Agreement with Joe Rogan Begins September 1
A new era of exclusive content, Spotify is moving to take over Apple's podcasting dominance
I was excited for Neuralink. Then I watched Elon Musk’s stupid demo
Elon is all for wowing crowds. Neuralink is on the verge of a breakthrough in medical technology. But right now it's in a stage far from what Musk promised.