Picture this, in the midst of your busiest period, your staff – anti-royalists all – are about to benefit from two UK holidays to celebrate Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II’s Diamond Jubilee.  You don’t know how you’re going to meet your deadlines and you don’t feel good about what lies ahead.  The last thing you need right now is an extra day’s holiday.  It could even be that, looking ahead, you’re already cursing the London Olympics – everyone’s clamouring for time off and, what’s more, you are dreading the disruption to travel in the capital and all the knock-on effects that might bring.

Perhaps, though, it’s precisely this thinking that gives you a clue to your need for time off.  Some thinkers might add that you need to get out and play.  The Harvard Business Review’s Morning Advantage recently highlighted a blog posting by Psychology Today about the power of play.  Strikingly, the posting highlights research that suggests that play makes an important contribution to our mental creativity, health and happiness.  The writer says:

There is evidence that play […] may in fact be the highest expression of our humanity, both imitating and advancing the evolutionary process.  Play appears to allow our brains to exercise their very flexibility, to maintain and even perhaps renew neural connections that embody our human potential to adapt, to meet any possible set of environmental conditions.

Overall, the article’s evocation of play reminded me of the rhythm of life during my childhood, when my parents were farmers – a distinctly pre-industrial way of living.  Yes, there were certain things that needed to be done and hours to be kept – milking cows twice a day no matter what.  But there was also time between chores to take a cup of tea or to welcome visitors.  Sunday lunch was always a time for family and friends, for example.  In short, rest, respite and play (including my father’s legendary practical jokes) were woven into life – including working life – in a way that is rare in the modern corporation.

So if you’re at full stretch and feeling stressed in the run up to the Diamond Jubilee perhaps it’s time to step back and notice – how much time do you make for play in your life?  How much do you encourage your staff to take time to play?  Equally, perhaps it’s time to down tools for four days, including your PC and mobile, and just get out there and play.