7 Ways To Turn Work Into Play

We feel the strength and energy in ourselves, turn on the imagination, and try to give everything to the maximum. All this is required of us at work. One has only to introduce a little playful thinking into everyday work - and the tasks will become more exciting, the results will be better, and we ourselves will be happier. Shall we try? The tips are also suitable for those whose office has moved home for a while.

Do the hard work. 

It is interesting to play if it makes us strain our strength, test ourselves. A task that is too easy, which we can handle without difficulty, does not arouse interest. The same thing happens at work. If we are bored, we perceive tasks as too routine or unimportant, we do not want to complete them.

The perception "there is nothing interesting here" leads to the shutdown of the receptors of the nervous system, causing a loss of vigilance and an inability to remain interested. As a result, the conclusion arises: "this job is boring."

For interest to be maintained, the work must be challenging enough to challenge us.

Think about ways to add more tension to your work. Raise your quality standards. Find details you haven't paid attention to before and hone them to perfection. Take on a more difficult task. Become an advanced player.

Come up with a secret identity. 

In video games (and not only) we often choose a character for ourselves, on behalf of which we will act. Studies have shown that by associating ourselves with a fictional person, we become more inventive, bolder, and stronger not only on the playing field but also in life.

The Secret Identity helps to sharpen the focus on what psychologists call the defining qualities of personality - the heroic qualities that are the basis of your "I". The defining personality traits vary from person to person: for example, purposefulness, kindness, sense of humor, spirituality, a thirst for adventure, or a thirst for knowledge.

Come up with a secret identity. Who do you want to be at work? Mister Irresistible Charm? Super Manager? Mega Brain? It is not necessary to tell the authorities about it and sign a new nickname in corporate mail - superheroes often have to hide their true selves behind a mask. Just remember your secret identity every minute and act like a superhero.

Find the bad guys and fight them. 

The "bad guys" in video games are obstacles that force us to be creative and smart. In everyday life, they act in much the same way - they complicate it. And in doing so, they help develop the skills and strategies that make us smarter, stronger, and faster.

Determine who are the "bad guys" in your job. Maybe it's Mr. Vulcan - the one who makes you annoyed and lashes out at your colleagues. Or the Great Procrastinator - the one who keeps you stuck in social networks for half a day, and finishes the report at the last moment. Or the Calling Cooler - the one who whispers: "Let's have another cup of coffee, and then we will definitely do everything."

A superhero shouldn't hide from the bad guys.

You need to find them and look them straight in the eyes in order to understand how to deal with them more effectively. Every day, accept a challenge from at least one of the bad guys and fight him. And be sure to

Arrange a competition. 

Nothing spurs you on better than the desire to beat your opponent. To do this, it is not at all necessary to fight with him. Your friend and colleague can become a rival, and healthy competition will benefit both of you.

Make a bet on who will complete the job faster, sign more contracts, come to the office earlier, or make a presentation more successfully. Put something nice and meaningful on the line, like having the loser pay for a meal at a restaurant of the winner's choice. The competition will challenge you, make you pay more attention to the matter, forget about procrastination and make maximum efforts. Win and you, and your opponent, and the whole team. Plus, it'll be fun!

Fanframing. 

Fanframing is the ability to turn a not-too-interesting activity into something exciting simply by changing the "frame", or angle of view. Ask any child why they play the game, and most likely they will answer: "Because it's fun!" But what does fun mean?

Fun is not an abstract positive emotion like joy, gratitude, curiosity, or pride. Fun is a way of thinking. Fun is what we call an activity that we enjoy. Fun arises when we focus on pleasure, joy, and enjoyment.

A team of psychologists conducted an experiment: they invited one half of the group to take a "math test" and the other half to "play a math game." In fact, the test and the game were the same and differed only in the wording of the task.

Both groups of participants were given an hour to prepare. And what happened? Participants who thought they were preparing for a test delayed the start of the test by a lot, procrastinating, on average, 60% of the allotted time. But the participants, who thought they were preparing for the game, preferred to start preparing immediately and took every opportunity to improve their knowledge. Why? Because they didn't see the occupation as something they wanted to avoid. They were waiting for a fun game, so they immediately began to prepare for it.

With the help of fan framing, we can turn participation in a tender into a quest, a boring meeting into a friendly party, passing certification into a business game.

Before embarking on a task, ask yourself: "What is good about it?" or "What makes you happy?" Try to find at least one aspect that will give you pleasure, whether it is new knowledge or time spent on yourself, and focus on it.

Do not treat tasks as difficult tasks that iron willpower will help to cope with. The same action can bring joy or seem like a tedious job, a task that you want to avoid, or a task that you want to start right away. It all depends on how you perceive it.

Bring in the element of surprise. 

Doing the same job every day, it's easy to lose interest. To revive it, you need to introduce an element of unpredictability into the work. How to do it?

Here's a way from musician Brian Eno. He would come into the studio with a set of cards he called "Circumvention Strategies." Each card contained instructions, often aphoristic. When work in the studio came to a standstill, Ino randomly took out a card and performed the action indicated on it.

• Be the first to do something no one has done before.
• Highlight flaws.
• Only a part, not the whole.
• Look at the order in which you perform the actions.
• Stretch your back.

For example, holding out a card with the word "water" in it, I began to make assumptions. Perhaps this is an excuse to take a break and have a drink. One member of the band could say that the music is too harsh and therefore needs to be made more fluid. Another might complain that the music, on the contrary, is already raw and soft. The point is that the card forced the group to move to a new vantage point and carefully consider what perspective opens up from there.

Unplanned changes to a project can create a startling, almost magical effect.

This works not only in music but also in any other area, not even related to creativity. Make cards like this for yourself and every time you feel bored, uninterested and inspired, pull out one of them and figure out how to apply what is written on the card to your work.

Gather a team. 

The ability to communicate with like-minded people is an important factor in our love for games. What if you create an interest club at work? Suggest that those with whom you want to strengthen relationships build a "dream team" and together defeat the bad guys, complete tasks and keep track of victories. Let everyone come up with a secret identity and find their superpowers.

Scientists have proven that to become happier, you need to do business with friends, family members, neighbors, colleagues, and other people who make up the social fabric of our lives. When we do something together, the reward centers in the brain are activated. So invite your friends and let the games begin!