How to solve all of your problems using a playground

When in Doubt, Go to the Playground

Phillia (see my post from 2013 for Phillia's intro: Phillia Post) would show up everyday to the office and did the same thing every morning.

He gets his coffee, turns on his computer, says hello to a few colleagues and then sits at his desk. It usually takes five minutes for him to look at his list of tasks and then freak out and walk over to my desk to chat and make some sort of nervous small talk.

I asked one day about his to do list and why he let it freak him out. He showed it to me...what a train wreck! I quickly came up with a solution for him (a stolen solution from Franklin Covey of course). List everything in order of importance. Gut the shit that doesn't absolutely have to be done today. Delegate what you can. Break down the big tasks into smaller pieces. Re order the list. Then start at the top and go from there.

Decide what is important first

Easy, right? Simple you say? Yes, it can be if you recall how much pleasure one gets from keeping it simple.

I think about my kids playing on the little playground in the park we live in. When it is just the two of them out there they are having the time of their little lives. Running around the structure, walking along the wooden border, going up the slide backwards.

And they love it because it's easy and simple, it's pure. It's when three more kids show up that it gets complicated. When two people want to use the slide at the same time. When someone is throwing acorns and someone else doesn't like that. When someone is loud and screaming and another kid gets scared.

Lack of resources leads to conflict

So what do we as adults do in this situation. usually one of two things: we either remove our child from the situation (here Johnny, come play over here with this. Isn't this fun?). Or we try to mediate the issue at hand (Now Johnny, it's not nice to throw acorns at someone. You might hurt them.)

Our issues as adults, whether in the personal or professional world are not much different when you think about them. We have a limited number of resources available to us: budgets, time, peoples' attention, housing, water, that new iPhone that was just released. It's when those resources get scarce or we are in competition for them that conflict arises. I would suggest that remembering the basic rules of the playground might help most of us as adults in resolving these conflicts. For a simple reminder here is a list of the common playground rules in my little part of the universe:

• If it's not yours don't touch it
• Share with others
• Keep your hands to yourself
• Don't pick on the other kids
• Use the playground at your own risk
• Have an adult with you if you are too young
• Stick to age appropriate play elements
• Don't booze and play
• Wear proper footwear

When in doubt

What would happen if you posted that list in your office? Would it stick? Would it matter? Would people actually pay attention and get it?

Maybe at some point I'll actually get into how to promote an ethic of play in your work environment, but for now this is good enough. Just remember, all afternoon should be for leisure and play according to Thomas Jefferson, or was it Ben Franklin?

Either way, go play. Be nice. Share. And when in doubt go down the slide backwards and trust your gut. In the end it's only a slide and you are only playing.