Recently I was talking about this newsletter and a friend shared that one of her favorite ways to ‘play’ as an adult is puttering. She went on to explain what this looked like for her which was spending time in her home rearranging things on bookshelves or adding a photo to a frame she had bought but hadn’t gotten around to hang yet. That sort of thing.
I immediately related to this idea. Like, so much. I also LOVE when I have time to putter around my house. My absolute ideal is I get to do this uninterrupted (so, alone) while listening to something fun like an audiobook (fiction) or a true crime podcast. My top puttering activities are probably low-stakes decorating like hanging art or photos and seasonal decorations. I also love decluttering spaces like: my closet, my kids’ closets, our books (half organizing with a splash of decluttering usually), the pantry, the refrigerator, and any cabinet that has grown messy over time. For others puttering could include things like watering or pruning plants.
Puttering is about doing low-stakes, mentally easy tasks that you WANT to do. Not chores that you need to do. Sometimes I need to clean out the refrigerator and to me that’s different from when I’m organizing all our sparkling water cans in the mini fridge because I think it’s cute.
But there is still some work to it. And you have something to show in the end. Puttering is not numbing out while doom scrolling. Personally, I feel a sense of accomplishment after an afternoon of puttering, even though I am doing it for pleasure.
I love watching my kids putter. Since my friend went off about puttering I started watching to see if it was something kids do too, and I was not surprised to notice that yes, they do. My youngest loves to move toys around his room. Lately he loves setting out all his play kitchen utensils and pans just outside his bedroom door in our hallway. I have no idea why. But it’s clear and obvious puttering. I also think of all the times I rearranged the furniture in my bedroom growing up, often enlisting my dad to help with the bigger pieces. Ha!
◼ ◼ ◼
What about mental puttering?
Some might call this daydreaming, manifesting, reminiscing, meditating and I even think prayer might be a form of mental puttering for some. It feels good to sometimes let our mind wander or revisit some old memories that we miss or enjoyed.
One practice I have found helpful on my joy journey is brain dumping. It’s my mental puttering log. It’s very much an abbreviated version of ‘Morning Pages’ which is from The Artists Way (I shared about this book last month, google it if you’ve never heard of it).
Brain Dumping – A Practice
Write one page everyday (or close, life isn’t perfect).
I type mine into an ever-growing word doc with the newest entry at the top, so I never have to scroll. You could write by hand in a pretty journal if that sounds more fun to you. Or thumb it out in your notes app if you’re insane.
No rules. It’s like journaling but unhinged. Write a to-do list. Write an idea for a short story. Recount the first time you kissed a boy in sixth grade. Write about how much your kids are getting on your nerves this week. Whatever!
Why?
-It gets things out of your brain and on to the page. Sometimes this helps you feel less stressed about forgetting it. Your brain doesn’t have to hold the idea or to-do in your mind anymore because you wrote it down. It’s safe somewhere now.
-This is a free form of talk-to-yourself therapy. You can use it to notice patterns, use it to vent or dump feelings so you can let it go.
-Writing is good for us. You don’t have to be ‘a writer’ for this to be true. You are creating something even if all you write is ‘I don’t know what to write’ for the entire page. Creating without the expectation of critique or showing it to anyone is good for our souls.
This is your play challenge for the month: brain dump one page every day.
