Ever promised yourself this will be the year you finally stick to a workout routine, only to fall off again?
Well, if you were to dance in your room to your favorite music for 15 minutes, you'd give yourself a serious energy boost. And that alone would set you on the right track to doing it again the next day. That little bit of play would erase a year of I-should-be-exercising bemoaning.
Let's say you’ve convinced yourself a 60-minute workout is THE ONLY WAY for you to get back in shape. But because you can't find 60 minutes in your day, you haven't exercised in months. And then, on a random Tuesday for some miraculous reason, you put on some music and do 10 minutes of yoga.
Are you a loser because you only did 10 minutes?
Well, let's look at the data:
You just increased your exercising output by a gazillion percent because you went from nada to 10 minutes.
See the shift? Instead of focusing on what you didn’t do (a full 60 minutes), you just massively leveled up from zero to ten. That’s progress! And progress builds momentum.
That’s because every little bit counts.
If you look at how you're feeling after your piddly 10 minutes of yoga, you'll see that you feel like a total champ.
It’s never about what you do but about how what you do makes you feel.
Play is the best place to start.
Today, I want you to stay open to the possibility that maybe everything you want can actually start with a little play.
Wouldn’t that be amazing! AND what if, as a consequence, you could also get more time? Seriously.
But first of all, what do I mean by play?
Play means anything that feels lighthearted to you. It might be dancing to your favorite song, coloring, inventing a new recipe, doodling in your journal, or playing a board game. It’s not about the activity - it’s about the joy and energy it sparks.
We all played as children, inventing games and proudly showing off what we made. That same playful spark is still inside you. And when you give it space, it fuels your focus, your creativity, and your ability to build routines that actually stick.
For all intents and purposes, I’m usually talking about creative play. But maybe for you it’s a different kind of play, and that’s perfectly okay. My point here is to show you that the act of play is what counts. And that play is always more effective than pushing yourself harder.
Play isn’t a luxury, it’s a power source, damn it. And the more you tap into it, the easier it becomes to stay consistent and keep moving forward.
Why tiny playful moments add up.
I wish I could go around with a magic wand and eradicate the belief we all seem to have that we're short on time. The truth? It’s not time we’re short on, it’s energy.
My decades of art-making have shown me there’s a direct connection between play, energy, and time. Yep, I’ve learned the hard way that pushing through and trying harder is completely counter-productive. Trust me on this, I’ve been a perfectionist for as long as I can remember.
It boils down to this:
When we can’t let go of pushing ourselves harder, it’s ultimately because we can’t forgive ourselves for not being perfect.
Yep, what keeps us stuck is the unwillingness to forgive ourselves for not being perfect.
But once you stop berating yourself, you get a ton of energy back. And then it’s waaaaay easier to make better choices.
Remember when I said to stay open to the possibility that maybe everything you want could start with a little play? Well, let me introduce you to a formula:
TAKE A PLAY BREAK = BOOST YOUR ENERGY = GET MORE TIME
When you take even 15–20 minutes of creative play, here’s what happens:
1. You’re taking action. Tiny, doable moments of creative play give you a quick energy boost - no pressure, no perfectionism.
2. You’re gaining time. With more energy, your focus improves. You’re more present. You get things done more efficiently and with more joy.
3. You’re feeling motivated. Play leads to progress. And when you see that progress, even in small ways, you naturally want to keep going.
4. You’re enjoying the process. You realize it’s not about what you make, it’s about how you feel while making it. That’s where the freedom lives.
5. You’re feeling grateful and reconnected. You’re nurturing your creativity consistently, and it’s giving back more than you expected - not just in art, but in life. Yay!
When you let yourself play, you create momentum. The secret isn’t pushing harder. It’s learning to unlock energy, motivation, and momentum through small, doable moments of creative play.
Play is the fastest way to boost your energy naturally and get your time back.
If you work without breaks for long stretches, your output declines. This means you need more time to finish tasks. Eeeeeek.
What we want is to get shit done, right? Well, it’s not about the number of hours you work. It’s about the amount of energy you can bring to your work. If you’ve got more energy, you’ve got more gas in your tank.
Time only matters in proportion to the energy you have to use it, and play refills that tank faster than anything else.
Your breaks are the equivalent of mental reset buttons.
Take a deep breath. You’ve got today. Today is full of possibilities. Even a tiny playful moment counts: a stretch, a doodle, a dance in your living room. Each spark of joy fuels your energy, expands your time, and brings you closer to the life you want. You don’t need to push harder, you just need to play. You’ve got this.
Conclusion.
The next time you feel stuck, don’t push harder. Take a playful break, recharge your energy, and watch how much more time opens up for what matters most.
Time isn’t just about hours on the clock - it expands or contracts depending on the energy you bring to it. And play is the simplest, fastest way to get that energy back.
The truth is, play is the fastest, most energizing way to get your time back. And it’s the secret to routines that actually last.
I’ve spent decades struggling to keep routines, and I’ve finally come up with something I call The Play Experiment. It all started when I identified as having ADHD. That’s when I realized I could let go of always trying to do things the hard way.
Whether or not you identify with ADHD, chances are you’ve wrestled with the same frustrations. The Play Experiment might be the missing piece for you, too.
Because play isn’t what distracts you from productivity, it’s actually what fuels it.
Check these posts out to learn more about The Play Experiment:
• CLICK HERE for The Play Experiment Mindset: More Energy Means More Joy (Part 1)
• CLICK HERE for The Play Experiment Method: How To Turn Your Routine Into A Game (Part 2)