I hate wasting time. I’m all about
maximizing results for time and effort spent — if it’s not
productive, I don’t do it.
TV? No time, I’d rather read a book.
Shopping? I’d rather hit the gym. Take a nap? I’d rather sweep the
floor. It’s just a matter of having too little time to do all that
I want to do, so I try to do things that are as rewarding as
possible.
But I’ve been feeling worn out lately. That’s how, on a
long weekend, I found myself staring at the screen of my Mac,
without the motivation to do anything productive at all. My friends
had just been talking about playing video games, and it’d reminded
me of the RPG ‘Pillars of
Eternity,’ which I’d bought ages ago and never played. I grew
up with video games, but I hadn’t been playing video games for
years, ever since I deleted all games off my Mac in a sprint of
productivity spring cleaning.
I logged into Steam and installed it.
As I got into the game, I felt something I hadn’t felt
in a long time: enthusiasm. When it came time to stop, I left my
Mac with a big grin. I was happy – and
confused. Weren’t
video games supposed to be a big waste of time?
I knew research has shown that play is crucial
for children, it helps them to learn how to navigate the world,
take risks, be creative and build social bonds. A lack of play
can even make children
more anxious and depressed. I started to read about how
important play is to adults – and it turns out that the importance
of play doesn’t diminish with age.
Dr. Stuart Brown, the founder of the National Institute of
Play, argues in his book Play that while play
looks counterproductive, it can actually be very productive. Brown
describes how, in the 1990s, the United States Cal Tech Jet
Propulsion Laboratory faced a problem. Its experienced engineers
were retiring, but its young and academically accomplished new
hires weren’t as good at solving practical problems.
Cal Tech discovered that the engineers
who were good
at solving practical problems had a rich history of play. They
loved to take apart things to see how they worked, or build things
in their spare time. Even though these may have looked like
frivolous, they actually increased these engineers’ ‘practical’
abilities.
While it turns out that play can be practical, the
paradox is that play has to be impractical for it to be play. Brown
describes play as "purposeless and done for its own sake," as well
as having "an inherent attraction," you’re not doing it to get
something, you’re doing it for its own sake.
Play has also
been discovered to relieve stress, boost creativity, and improve
brain function in adults. That’s not a bad list of
benefits, and lends weight to the old saying that, "all work and no
play makes Jack a dull boy." I’m still careful not to let video
games take over too much of my life, but I can now appreciate how
wasting time for fun can also be a productive use of time. Now
excuse me while I go play.
HWZ
