Do you play in your daily life? What says “playtime” to you?

This is the Bloganuary prompt for day 2. I'm coming in a little late with this post, but I was feeling a bit under the weather this morning. I left work early, and took a really long nap. I still wasn't feeling better, but I took some medicine, ate a delicious meal, and am feeling much better right now. Onto the actual prompt.

When I think of play, I naturally think to the childlike phase of "playtime". As an adult I think that phase shifts a bit, and what comes to mind is free time. Things I like to do in my downtime. And on one hand, I have the product things I do, such as working out, bullet journaling, and blogging. Then, on the other hand, I have things such as reading, watching tv, and playing video games.

I have moments in my life where I've spent very little time playing, especially with the "hustle culture" going around in 2016 up until COVID. I'm honestly really grateful COVID happened, in the sense that it forced me to slow down. And after getting used to a slower lifestyle, I don't think I would ever want to go back. Just thinking about it makes me exhausted.

So nowadays, I definitely make it a point to leave some time for things that I enjoy. I have always loved reading, but since I joined Bookstagram, I have discovered a lot of wonderful books, and I also somehow did not get into a reading slump last year. I typically have a 1-2 month period, where I don't have the urge to read, but that didn't happen last year! Thus it being the first time I ever read over 100 books.

I think it's really important we all take some time out of our busy schedules and do something that brings us joy. Something you do only for you. Maybe something that could also fall under the category of self-care. As I get older, I can definitely stress the important of finding free time for something you enjoy. Away from the things you do for productivity.

Now, tell me, what do you do in your free time? What brings you the most joy? I would love to know!