Feeling Stuck? Go Play. Seriously.

Today is National Play-Doh Day, and it got me thinking about something we tend to forget as adults: PLAY is actually good for our brains.

When I’m overwhelmed or my brain stops cooperating on a deadline, my instinct is to push harder. Work longer. Think harder. Surely if I stare at the problem long enough, I can force my brain to come up with the answer.

You would think after all these years I’d know better, because what actually works for me is often the exact opposite. I step away and spend five or ten minutes doing something completely pointless and creative. I doodle. I color. I make something. I do something with my hands that has absolutely nothing to do with the problem I’m trying to solve.

And almost inevitably, I come back with a clearer head.

There’s a Reason Play Works

Creative play isn’t just fun. Activities like coloring, doodling, crafting, gardening, building with Legos or even squishing a ball of Play-Doh engage sensory and motor areas of the brain along with visual processing, attention and executive function. Instead of continuing to hammer away at the same problem, you’re giving different parts of your brain something to do.

That can be especially helpful when you’re stressed or mentally exhausted. Under pressure, it’s easy to get caught in an overthinking loop. We keep circling the same thoughts, looking at the problem from the same direction and trying harder to find an answer that simply isn’t coming.

Play interrupts that pattern. For a few minutes, you stop demanding an answer from your brain and give it something tactile, visual and creative to focus on instead. You aren’t solving the problem. In fact, that’s kind of the point.

Then you go back to work and suddenly see something you couldn’t see before.

Somewhere Along the Way, Adults Forgot How to Play

Kids don’t need a reason to play. They color because they want to color. They build something just to knock it down. They make things that serve absolutely no purpose whatsoever.

Adults are different. Somewhere along the way, we decided everything needs to accomplish something. We exercise for our health. We garden to grow something. We learn a hobby so we can become good at it. We create something and immediately wonder whether we could sell it, share it or post it.

Apparently, we’re even supposed to be productive at having fun.

But there is value in doing something simply because you enjoy doing it. Color the picture. Build the Lego set. Dig in the garden. Work a puzzle. Make something ugly. Squish the Play-Doh.

And for heaven’s sake, resist the urge to turn it into a side hustle. 😂

The point isn’t what you accomplish. The point is giving your brain permission to PLAY.

Apparently, I’ve Been Doing This for Years

Coloring has become one of my favorite ways to get out of my own head. It occupies my hands, gives my eyes something to focus on and lets me play with color and creativity without having to make decisions that actually matter. There’s no deadline. No strategy. No client waiting for an answer. Nobody cares if I color outside the lines.

But while writing this, I realized something else…

I bake when I’m stressed.

I always have.

And suddenly that makes a whole lot of sense. Measuring, mixing, kneading, rolling and shaping dough are incredibly tactile and sensory. My hands are busy, my attention is focused on something completely different and I’m creating instead of overthinking.

Maybe I’ve instinctively known for years that when my brain is overloaded, I need to get out of my head and create something with my hands.

Dough is basically Play-Doh with a better ending. 😂

Consider This Your Permission Slip

So, in honor of National Play-Doh Day, consider this your permission slip to go play.

The next time you’re overwhelmed, burned out, creatively blocked or staring at a deadline while your brain refuses to cooperate, stop pushing for a few minutes. Color outside the lines. Make something ridiculous. Bake something. Build something. Get your hands dirty.

Do something that serves absolutely no purpose other than giving your brain a chance to play.

You may be surprised by what happens when you come back to the problem.

And now I think I need to go buy some Play-Doh. 🩷