It Stops Being Work, It Starts To Become Play
April 17, 2025
"I discovered that to the extent that you put your whole self into almost any task - even if its washing the dishes - it stops being work and it starts to become play." -Daniel Gilbert, psychologist and writer
The way Daniel Gilbert structured his lectures when at Harvard was stunning. At least this was the impression of Steve Levitt, when he guest lectured in Gilberts class. At the time, Gilbert was teaching an intro to psychology class and Levitt noticed high amounts of effort, detail, thought and energy from Gilbert to his physical lecture hall and towards his students. The hand picked playlist Gilbert played that changed, each class. How Gilbert decorated the class and the fact that Gilbert knew all 400 plus students by name and could recite something personal to Levitt about each student.
The epigraph quoted above is how Gilbert answered Levitt when asked, "why do you teach like that?" Additionally, Gilbert would add, "anything you are creative and playful with is joy." We can see that with how Levitt describes the classroom he guest lectured in. Clearly, Daniel Gilbert cared deeply about his work. Not just from a sense of passion and love. I believe it transcended because within it, Gilbert felt he was at play. As the expression has been said for generations, "find work you love and never work a day in your life."
The result of all the effort in the classroom for Gilbert was joy. The joy in created a playlist. The joy in how he carefully decorated. The joy of knowing each student by name and something distinct of each of them. Joy. That also was the product of his efforts, in a larger scale. "So I have to teach," Gilbert said. "Its part of my job. I could go into the classroom and spend 10, 15 hours a week just going through the motions, which would make it feel like drudgery. Or I could spend double that amount of time fully engaged, having the time of my life. And so I do, The short answer to your question is putting your entire self into things turns it into joy."
My hope is we can all find that type of joy in our work. In what we create. In ways we can be playful. Just because we're adults doesn't mean play stops. Sadly however, that reality is true. There is no level of play in what we do. Mostly we experience drudgery or we falsely believe this is how 'adulting' is. I don't subscribe to that. Currently, I am in a place of discovery to find work that I can be creative, and playful, and full of joy. Not only for what I do, but for how I do it.