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February 18, 2019 By Marisa Moks-Unger

Playtime Helps Adults Enter Flow

Playtime creates greater flow.
Spirographs, Etch-a-Sketch, and Slinkys are just a few ways to re-enter flow through playtime. What was your favorite activity as a child? When was the last time you tried it as an adult?

Adults Enter Flow with Playtime

What was your favorite craft to do as a child during playtime? Chances are the activities still appeal to the kid within you. Playtime is beneficial in many ways. First, it allows the brain downtime from the stressors of a demanding job or jobs. (Let’s get real. Most creatives hold multiple jobs to make a living. Musicians, artists, dancers, and writers all create, yet often teach, too.) Next, playtime taps into childlike wonder, which fuels creativity. Finally, taking downtime while coloring with gel markers or looping potholders is simply relaxing.

The Games People Play

A Spirograph design kit was one of my favorite activities as a child. It was so much like my Dad’s drafting desk! He would take me to Teledyne Penn-Union on Saturday mornings where he would do overtime. He set me up with wheels, circles, and triangles, and, then, pin them in place. Then, he would sharpen colored pencils and give me a few different colored pens. I was out of his hair for a few hours! A few years later, Santa gave me the real deal. Also, I enjoyed my Etch-a-Sketch, Slinky, and Colorforms, too.

Your Turn

Take out your journal. For 15 minutes remember and write about activities you enjoyed as a child. Maybe. like my father, you played kick the can? Then, pick one item in your inventory and either find it in your own home or purchase a playtime kit. You probably have items in your home to do a homemade project, like paper mache. Sound fun? Look here for details: https://www.thesprucecrafts.com/no-cook-paper-mache-paste-recipe-1253087

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

Filed Under: Creativity, Writing Tips Tagged With: #playtime #spirograph #creativity #fun #artbreak #Slinky #EtchaSketch #Colorforms

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About Marisa Moks-Unger

"Grow Your Flow" is a creativity blog by Marisa Moks-Unger, who has over 20 years of professional writing experience. If you enjoyed this post, please share on your Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, or Instagram accounts.

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Scrabble Words for Flow

Create a Word Bank from Scrabble

Word Lists from Scrabble
First play the game, then get writing from your curated word list.

Sunday afternoons find my husband, mother-in-law, and I playing Scrabble. This ritual helps us to pass the time during the pandemic. The games usually run one to two hours. We have taken these games to a new level by anticipating them each week, then carefully crafting our word choices. It helps that all three of us are avid readers and come up with a variety of interesting diction. 

Also, the game gets my mother-in-law’s mind off of the local paper’s with its teeming death notices of Covid-19 victims – most from local residential living facilities.  And, she is now interested in the fact that I am using these word lists to write from professionally.

Next, free write for a few. Make a list of the words developed during the game. Then use the list as a springboard to write a creative piece using as many of the words as possible. Play with long and short lines. Add some rhymes. Look for alliteration. Give yourself about 10 minutes. See what images appear.

Then, select a genre or two to carry through. As a theme arises from the free write of the word list, follow the lead. Perhaps a poem rises up. Or, a one-act play. Or, both! Choose one genre knowing that you can come back and create more works from any single topic. 

Now, it’s your turn! If you have a Scrabble game somewhere hidden in a hall closet, it is time to get it out and try your hand at this writing tactic. It employs procrastination by allowing you to blow off writing at first by playing a game. Then, you are rewarded for the time you invested in the game by writing a piece from the words you and others generated.

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

 

TGIFF – Thank God It’s Friday Flow

Cliché Finds Flow on Friday

Grow flow on Friday with gratitude.

Congratulations, you’ve made it to Friday. And, at the workweek’s end, there is time to find flow. But, where do you go to find flow? First, realize that flow can happen anywhere at anytime. Need proof? Look at this past post on finding flow in a card and party goods store. Simply click right here: https://wewriteitright.com/visit-flow-in-a-party-goods-shop/

How Gratitude Leads the Way

Use grateful eyes to take in the world around you. Then, instead of planning to hit the bars and clubs when the clock strikes 5:00 PM, other options present themselves during these times of pandemic. Why not take a virtual tour a museum? Or, take a walk or bike ride through a park? Or, spend an hour working on a poem, and essay, or a blog post. When you are grateful for the options you have – even if you are working from home amid shutdowns – then that is enough.

Your Turn

Playtime creates greater flow.
Spirographs, Etch-a-Sketch, and Slinkys are just a few ways to re-enter flow through playtime. What was your favorite activity as a child? When was the last time you tried it as an adult?

Think back to grade school, junior high, or middle school. Think about the electives that you took that helped round out your schedule. Did you take dance or music classes? Weight training? Or, perhaps, like me, you did candle making. Whatever it might be, try to reunite your lost teen with your adult self. Take time to write, dance, sing, paint, or play with your Spirograph!  You’ll be glad you did!

Here’s to growing your flow,

Marisa

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