the return of recess

Championing the Return of Recess

Rediscover life through

games and leverage

the limitless luster of

youth we all possess. –

Jonathan Albin


Jasper

Chessboard atThe Pawnderosa

Dice Collection

When you are asked if you can do a job, tell 'em, 'Certainly I can!'

Then get busy and find out how to do it. --Theodore Roosevelt


Pleasure in the job puts perfection in the work. --Aristotle

What do YOU consider to be ‘fun’?Physical, mental, spiritual? Something else?

Singular event or ‘State of Mind’?

Vicarious vs. Participative?

How can it be shared? Conveyed or expressed? Who can enjoy it?

Can something difficult to accomplish also be ‘fun’?


I don't know that there are any short cuts to doing a good job.

Sandra Day O'Connor


Limited event –time, conditions, materials, characteristics.Too much of a good time loses its wonder.Preciousness of the experience can be varied as well.

Engages individual as well as groupsParticipation, even if vicarious, is a requirement for an experience to be ‘fun’ If a tree in the forest has fun by itself, does anyone notice?

Educational nature or nuance.From infancy, we are programmed to positively respond to learning.The learning can be as strong or as weak as the engagement is orchestrated to be.

I don't know that there are any short cuts to doing a good job.

Sandra Day O'Connor


Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. --Jim Rohn

Not at the workplace.

Conference Board reflects a continuing negative trend

Conference Board also educated business owners: an unhappy employee is NOT an unproductive employee.

Thus, satisfaction is anticipated to continue the negative slide for the foreseeable future.


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1987 1995 2000 2005 2010

US Job Satisfaction

Job Satisfaction

Work harder on yourself than you do on your job. --Jim Rohn

Not at home.

Average free time a person has per day: 2.6 hours. TV time: 4.0 hours

Note the numbers… no one has time for it.

No wonder we aren’t finding fun in our lives… there isn’t any room for it anymore. We are too busy.


Find a job you like and you add five days to every week. --H. Jackson Brown, Jr.

1. URGENT overtook IMPORTANT.

2. “Making Fun” vs. “Having Fun”.

3. Conformity and Anonymity vs. Uniqueness and Imagination.

4. OSFA mentality overtakes Creative Experimentation.

5. Safety and Security vs. Freedom and Responsibility


Learn how to recognize the signs.

Esthetics : “I’ll know it when I feel it”.

Escapism: “Just get away from it all”

Cathartics: “I need to play through it somehow”

Prosthetic: “If I could do this, I might”

Then, reward the behavior…

Schedule the time for “recess”

Create windows of opportunity for fun

Comprehend the energy that such provides

Share the experience with others in your life


Not every job is a good job. -- Henry Cavill

The purpose has always been the same. See if these don’t reveal it.

Always seemed to start at an odd moment; 10:09, 12:57, 3:35

Equitably broke up the day into more “bite-sized pieces”

You got to hang around the people you liked.

You couldn’t take your schoolwork with you when you went.

The power of social strength evolved

Usually held just before the really tough subjects


The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.

Elbert Hubbard


The best preparation for good work tomorrow is to do good work today.

Elbert Hubbard

There's never a surefire good career move except doing good work.

Seth Green

Coffee breaks, cigarette breaks, sanity breaks

Meal Breaks

Paid Time Off / ‘Sick Days’ / Mental Health Days

In all these cases, the time is too short, too busy, too tightly defined


You only do good work when you're taking risks and pushing yourself.

Sally Hawkins

Content and Intent : give employer what he pays forStatistics show that workers at the office don’t do as much work

Combine blocks of time into ‘working blocks’ Time is the only resource we treat like a commodity.

Learn the meaning of the Urgent and the Important Which you focus on determines your success

Give yourself permission to be the person you are.Consult with your employer, to share how you work the best


I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we

must apply. Being willing is not enough; we must do.

--Leonardo da Vinci

Physical activity – walking, jogging, jumping rope?

Sports – inter-office basketball? Tennis?

Reading, meditating, relaxation, maybe ‘power nap’?

Anything that does not require batteries, wires, headphones…

Build communication skills by having directed conversations

Short-form games or if space permits, ongoing long-form game?


I have been impressed with the urgency of doing. Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Being willing

is not enough; we must do.

--Leonardo da Vinci

Daily down-shift to re-boot the brain.

Disconnect from work to allow internal processing

Unburden momentarily from managers & meetings

Engage the subconscious when you consciously disengage

Liberate limitless luster of youth by finding the fun in fundamentals


Cast “Seriousness” aside.

Escapism – games that let you just “let go”

Esthetics – games that feel good just “because”

Give and Get the Benefit of the Doubt

Esthetics – winner, loser not a factor

Catharsis – be what or who you want to be.

Dare to live the dream

Esthetics – feel the freedom of pure fun

Prosthesis – Games are where Dreams really do come true, if only for a while.

Develop the proper “Attitude of Laxitude”

Catharsis – the active step of disengaging

Escapism – Choosing to move into a different lane, even a different course.

Give yourself permission

Prosthesis – Do what you never dared to dream

Escapism – Expand your experience beyond your bonds

Embrace the ‘comfort food’ of fun

Prosthesis – Everyone wants to be the “Captain”.

Catharsis – the cure for what ails you.


Games, by definition, meet the objectives of “Recess”

The person remains engaged, alert, and interested.

The location, area, and time restrictions only define which work best, not what is possible.

Game options are literally limitless.

Types, style, game experience are virtually infinite.

Skill sets challenged are therefore myriad as well.

Leadership can be promoted, tested in microcosm, to educate as well.

Game complexity is as varied as other characteristics.

Skills develop with use, not with training alone.

Games have no bias

By their nature, games overcome prejudices, obstructions to communication.

Players can interact without barriers or challenges.


Cover Your A$$ets – Grandpa Beck’s Games

Acquire – Avalon Hill Games

Carcassonne – Z-Man Games

Tsuro – Calliope Games

Snake Oil – Out of the Box Publishing

Wits & Wagers – North Star Games

Choose One – Looney Labs


1. Close your eyes gently. Breathe in & out fully, exactly 14 times.

If you make it past ten without being relaxed, I would be surprised.

2. Push your seat back. Put your hands on your head, and lean back slightly Repeat #1.

This releases endorphins, and adrenaline. Reduces cortisol in the bloodstream.

3. Stand, chest out, gut in as much as possible. Hands on hips, fists closed. Repeat #1.

1. Attention-Getter. Considered statistically to be a position of power and control.

4. Find one set of at least 10 steps. Ascend and descend at your own pace, repeating #1.

1. Increases heart rate slightly if you match breathing to steps alternating in and out to match left and right.

5. Raise arms, palms up, fingers cupped. Repeat #1.

1. Position of triumph. Endorphins and adrenaline are released.

6. Find safe, quiet space. Scream at the top of your lungs. Exactly twice.

1. Quick release of Adrenaline, if you empty lungs completely on both. Third one calls the authorities.

7. Stretch arms, legs in widest stance, reaching to the skies as far as possible. Repeat #1.

1. Increases blood flow, and opens airway and circulatory system Invigorates entire lymph system.



The biggest question: will you go to your grave with your games un-played?

the return of recess

Entertainment & Humor