5 ways to add play into your business

(even if you’re tired, or not feeling particularly creative)

For a long time, I treated play as something optional. It felt like a reward I could earn once everything was finished or something I could come back to on weekends, when life felt lighter and more organised.

I remembered to listen to my inner child, Little Joanne. We now play regularly - to the point where my husband, Paul, says I have outer child, there’s no inner child here hahahaha.

Play isn’t a bonus. It’s part of how creative energy stays alive, especially when you’ve rebuilt a business or spent a long time being practical, careful, and responsible. Without it, everything starts to feel heavy.

If your work has begun to feel like sensible decisions, spreadsheets, and content you’re forcing yourself to create, this is a gentle way back in.

Here are five simple ways to add play into your business without needing more time, energy, or motivation.

1. Use the good fonts

You probably have a Canva brand kit you set up carefully, with fonts that make sense and colours that behave themselves. That’s useful, but it doesn’t have to be the only way you work.

Sometimes play looks like opening a new design and choosing the fun font. The curly one. The handwriting one. The one you never quite trust yourself to use properly. You don’t have to show anyone. Drafts count.

This isn’t about breaking your brand. It’s about remembering that you’re allowed to enjoy what you’re making.

Play prompt:

Redesign one freebie, slide, or email banner for fun, with no intention of publishing it.

2. Turn the mundane into micro-magic

The moments we dismiss as boring or inconvenient are often the ones that create the most connection. A dog barking through a Zoom call. Tea spilled on your planner. Plans changing for the third time that day.

When you share small, everyday stories, people recognise themselves. They stop scrolling because it sounds familiar. It feels human.

You don’t need bigger stories. You need to notice the ones you’re already living.

Play prompt:

Write one caption or email this week based on something that almost didn’t feel worth mentioning.

3. Make something that isn’t for sale

When everything you create has to serve a purpose, creativity becomes tense. You start measuring ideas before they’ve had a chance to exist.

Making something simply because you want to resets that pressure. A pattern you’ll never upload. A journaling page no one else will see. A post you write and close without publishing.

This isn’t wasted time. It’s how your creativity stretches its legs again.

Play prompt:

Set a timer for 22 minutes and make something purely because you feel like it. Stop when the timer ends.

4. Use your own products in ridiculous ways

Play often shows up when you stop using things “correctly”.

That Notion template you made can track tea flavours. A pattern tile can become imaginary wrapping paper. A system can be bent, tested, and poked at without breaking.

This kind of experimenting reminds you that your tools are flexible. They’re allowed to be used creatively, not perfectly.

Play prompt:

Take one product or design and come up with three completely wrong ways to use it.

5. Celebrate progress you usually ignore

Most of us move straight past progress and only stop when something goes wrong. We forget to notice the quiet wins.

Posting even when you didn’t feel inspired counts. Sending an email that said what you actually meant counts. Making something slightly different from your usual style counts.

You don’t need to wait for big milestones to feel proud.

Play prompt:

Write a ta-da list instead of a to-do list this week. End the day by noting what you did manage to do.

Play is practical, not frivolous

Play keeps your work human. It brings your real voice back into the room and makes the business feel like somewhere you actually want to spend time again.

You don’t need a rebrand or a reset. You probably just need a breath, a sketch, or a slightly silly idea that reminds you why you started.

Those small moments are often where things begin to feel lighter.

An invitation to play

If you’re craving a small, playful place to start, The Signature Scribble on Skillshare is a gentle next step.

It’s a short class where I walk you through creating a pretty and clickable email signature - one that feels like you, not a default block of text you’ve been ignoring for years. It’s practical, low-pressure, and a surprisingly satisfying way to add personality back into your everyday business tools.

You can find The Signature Scribble on Skillshare when you’re ready. If you’re not a member, you can get a free month with my link - you’ll find some great courses and workshops on there (as well as mine, of course).