Want More Productivity? Stop Working, Go Play

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The paradox in team productivity: You'll be less productive if all you ever do is be productive.

Stop working for a second and take time to connect, play, and have some fun with your team. Your people need it and it's good for the health of your team. Being in a good headspace is more beneficial to productivity than nonstop working.

“Being in a good headspace is more beneficial to productivity than nonstop working.”

Some levity, laughter, and fun are all elements you’ll need to build and sustain a cohesive, productive team. And look, I’m not suggesting we spend 50% of our work days playing pictionary on the white board. When a recipe calls for salt and spices, you don’t pour in an entire cup, but if you don’t add any then the final product will be bland and boring.

Make time to sprinkle in some fun and let your team take their foot off the gas for a second. A number of studies have shown the positive impact that fun and play has on teams from enhancing creativity and innovation, to relieving stress, and here’s one from Brigham Young University about a team that boosted productivity on a task by 20% after playing games together.

It’s a no-brainer.

But it won’t fall from the sky, you have to be intentional and dedicate some time with your team to make it happen. Whether it’s in team meetings or you block out time to specifically have some fun together, just do it. If your team is remote here are a couple ideas to leverage technology:

Zoom has a whiteboard option if you're sharing your screen. Take turns sharing screens and drawing something while others guess. Zoom pictionary!
Start a virtual meeting with a quick, interesting question for the team like “What was your favorite weird snack as a kid?”
Get together with your team on Friday afternoon to wrap up the week with a 20-30 minute social to share tv shows, books, and connect about non work related things.
Kahoot! is a trivia app where you can choose from tons of existing quizzes, or create your own. People can play on their phones and answer questions while all on a video call with one person hosting and sharing their screen to show the questions and scoreboard. Super fun. And answering trivia about each other and making it personal to the team is a double whammy of fun and deeper connection. Guessing who’s baby pic that is? Priceless.

“Not every single second that you spend with your coworkers should be 100% focused on work.”

Not every single second that you spend with your coworkers should be 100% focused on work. Especially during times of greater stress or change, or crisis. Have some fun, pump the brakes on nonstop work, leverage technology and show up for each other in that way that will make you stronger and more productive overall.

Featured resource

Love For The Elderly
”Fight loneliness with letters for our elders.”
Love For The Elderly is an organization that works to combat loneliness and isolation by connecting letters written by the public (you!) to elders in nursing homes. It’s another idea of something you could do together with your team.
It’s a pretty sweet cause, we love it. Check it out.

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This article was created by Galen Emanuele for the #culturedrop. Free leadership and team culture content centered on a new focus every month. Check out the rest of this month's content and subscribe to the Culture Drop at https://bit.ly/culturedrop