Someone asked me what I did this weekend like I’m some sort of mountain climber.
“I’m nearly 50 years old Linda. I was on a heating pad eating nachos,” I thought to myself before answering.
In my 20s, I easily would have rattled off the 247 different plans I had crammed into 48 hours.
Somewhere between then and full-on adulting taking hold, fun, play and laughter were removed from my agenda.
Fun, play and laughter have been removed from many of our lives – and we’re wondering why we are burned out. While there is no “burnout cure” available, fun and laughter come pretty darn close.
Burned out? Too tired to even know what “fun” feels like anymore?
Start small with my free The “I Don’t Have Time for This” Stress Reset — tiny, fun prompts that take just 1 minute a day to help you lessen your stress and remind you what joy feels like. 👉 https://jennifer-jenniferbassman-com.kit.com/stressreset
Why Play Isn’t Optional
It’s not your fault that anything resembling fun is one of the first things removed from your schedule. It has been drilled into your brain that fun is a waste of your time because it’s “unproductive.”
Except… it’s very productive. It increases your productivity, your creativity, and your clear thinking.
Chronic stress and burnout are lessened by doing what actually matters to you.
Fun and laughter activate parts of your brain responsible for creativity, problem-solving, and resilience. When you play, your brain gets a break from survival mode and shifts into thriving mode.
When your brain does not have access to fun it marinates in stress hormones (cortisol) that decrease your productivity because stress lowers your creativity, clear thinking, and decision-making. It directs your attention to your negative thinking, which pushes you to spiral into counteractive thoughts.
Fun and laughter rewire your nervous system. They lower the levels of cortisol and counteract the body’s stress response with feel-good hormones (dopamine, endorphins, serotonin) that promote a sense of well-being, regulate your mood, relieve pain, improve focus, and increase feelings of genuine happiness.
Fun and laughter also give you a break from worries and negative thoughts, allowing the brain to reset and recharge.
Burnout “Cure” That Works
Have you ever been told to “just relax” when someone notices your stress? What about “take a break” or “try meditating” to deal with your burnout?
What happened when you tried those things? Probably… nothing. If anything, you were more agitated.
By the time you are burned out, you are living with chronic stress. Your brain and body haven’t been getting breaks from stress and stress triggers. You go from one demand to the next without allowing yourself a moment or two of quiet.
“I don’t have time!” you tell yourself. Or “I should be able to handle all of this” you think. Or “I’ll take a break later” you promise. This type of reasoning is actually your stress calling the shots. It’s not reality.
Instead, you need to pull yourself away from the call to just keep trucking and make room for a few minutes of play.
Even a few minutes of play or laughter can make a big difference. Even a short interruption to your stress response is long enough to shift your mind and body away from a state of negative excitement and into a state of positive engagement that leaves you feeling clearer and focused.
I Don’t Even Know What I Think Is Fun Anymore
Burnout doesn’t always come from doing too much – it comes from doing too much of what drains you.
It comes from not taking the time to refill your energy well. The longer you leave that energy well empty, the harder it can be to find a way to fill it up.
During the worst of my burnout, I remember thinking “I don’t even know what I think is fun anymore.” I was too tired to care, let alone physically do something. Attempting to figure it out seemed overwhelming, with guilt amplifying the false narrative that it was a waste of time.
So, I started small with making sure I was laughing regularly. This meant watching funny dog videos, petting my own dogs, or hearing a dirty joke. (Sue me. I love dirty jokes.)
Over time my stress lowered through a combination of fun, laughter, boundaries, and building mental strength.
How to Play and Laugh Again
First, play isn’t the reward for surviving your to-do list. It’s the thing that helps you survive it.
You don’t need to overhaul your life to feel joy again. You don’t need to take an entire week off – start with 3 minutes. Do something that will make you laugh. Laughter is a natural antidote to stress and burnout that is easily accessible.
Over time, build up to 5 minutes, then 10 minutes, etc.. Sing badly on your drive home, throw yourself a dance party to your favorite song while cooking dinner, doodle while you work through a problem.
Other quick fun, play and laughter activities:
- Call or text with a friend
- Walk 300 paces in any direction
- Dunk an Oreo cookie in cold milk
- Listen/watch your favorite comedian on YouTube
- Close your eyes and think about a funny memory
- Tag one of your kids, yell “Not it!”, and make a run for it
- Challenge yourself to draw the first thing you see
- Do a word puzzle online
- Re-organize a messy drawer
- Find a recipe for your favorite dish and make it for dinner
- Eat Pop Rocks candy, then take a sip of Pepsi
- Think about a prank you’d like to execute (no need to follow through)
- Call a sibling and tell them you’ve always been Mom’s favorite, then quickly hang up
- Watch your favorite scene from your favorite comedy movie or show
See? None of these are complicated, require planning, or shifting half your day around. They are quick hits that remind you that you are human and fun.
Looking for a “burnout cure?”
You don’t need a vacation, a new morning routine, or a week off to feel better. You just need a few minutes of play to remind your brain it’s safe to exhale.
Ready for more quick, science-backed tools like this? Grab my free The “I Don’t Have Time for This” Stress Reset or check out the Triumph Toolkit — 5–10 minutes a day is all it takes to start feeling human again.
