“Play — doing things just because they’re fun and not because they’ll help achieve a goal — is vital to human development.” -Brene Brown

I read this quote recently and it was definitely an eye-opener. You guys know I love to travel. Recently most of my trips have been work-related with the exception of my trip this past weekend to NYC.

Although I’ve been pretty busy with the work I do online, and a to-do list that ain’t going anywhere anytime soon, escaping to NYC last weekend was just what my soul needed. It felt so good to hang out and relax a bit, even though I was in the city for less than 24 hours. But spending time with friends, in one of my favorite cities, was everything…including my therapy session with Lea about my dating life (or lack of dating life).

#TransparencyConfession: I actually ended up bringing my laptop with me with every intention of finding a coffee shop in NYC and doing some work. But I didn’t crack it open once. What I realized is that even people who work remotely need to have work-life balance. Y’all, I can sit and do work at Starbucks for hours… and sometimes I do. Everyone knows me! Not just at one location, but at three different locations in my city.

It’s nice to hit ‘pause’ every now and then to recharge. Sometimes we feel guilty for having fun but it’s those moments that actually inspire creativity. In Huff Post article I read by Brene Brown titled, “Why Why Goofing Off Is Really Good For You,” she references researcher Stuart Brown, MD, and his take on ‘play’ and how it relates to creativity and innovation.

Brene shared that Stuart “Brown believes that play is at the core of creativity and innovation. Play can mean snorkeling, scrapbooking or solving crossword puzzles; it’s anything that makes us lose track of time and self-consciousness, creating the clearing where ideas are born.”

Basically, we should all incorporate some form of ‘play’ into our lives. This weekend’s trip was a reminder of how important it is to travel for fun and not just for work. What are some things you enjoy doing that aren’t work-related? Drop it in the comments section below.

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Ciao,

Ebonee