Play Time

Written for Funeralcare magazine, March 2018

Often the hardest part of writing a regular column is coming up with what to write about, which leads to a frenzied panic on the day after said column is due. And the day after that, seemingly unrelated events conspire to present a recurring theme. We call it serendipity.

This column’s serendipitous theme is time, and the notion that computers save us time.

Really? Or are they time’s enemy, with curiosity leading us down a rabbit hole that some label procrastination?

I’m fond of saying “Google is my friend” but it’s a friend that leads me astray more often than not. I love having the encyclopaedic knowledge of the internet at my fingertips. I love that I can print my favourite crossword from the UK’s Sunday Express newspaper. I love that I can have my interest piqued by a book review and be reading the book on my Kindle within minutes. I love that I can start my working day at home, pick it up again at the office, and continue it at the airport. I love that I can get so carried away following threads on Google that before I know it the whole afternoon has gone.

A good friend who shares my passion for books has me currently reading “Travels with Epicurus”, a delightful musing on the passage of time and the enjoyment of its passing. This morning’s chapter took me into play time. Those two words catapult me back to my first days at school, in a delightful reminiscence of a time long, long ago. Remember play time, before we grew out of it and had to call it interval? While we’re on things epicurean, play lunch tasted so much better than morning tea.

Play? We grow out of it. Waste of time. Grown-ups have important things to do. But we miss it. We search for an ever-elusive life-work balance. We expect that taking a break from the demands of our work lives will restore the balance, then we add goals to our leisure. Going for a walk is no longer a playful thing to do, but an activity during which we measure distance, step-counts and calories burned. We remain trapped in measuring the passage of time by our achievements. When was the last time we played for the fun of it?

I spend some of my “down time” playing computer games. I caught myself smugly thinking that at least I’d remembered how to play. But the games I find myself addicted to have records to beat, score boards and goals. I love backgammon. So does my dearest. We have a gorgeous handcrafted onyx and marble board at home. I tend to play on my iPad and he tends to play on his laptop. All while we’re watching TV, which is no longer a passive viewing experience. We’ve chosen what to watch on the laptop through Netflix or Lightbox and streamed it to our TV using our internet connection and Google Chromecast. We have a list of programs we can watch at any time. One more to-do list.

On a visit to the UK some 17 years ago, I was taken by a Sunday newspaper article on technology-free days. Businesses were electing to have one day a week where they did not use computers. I was struck then by how hard that would be to do. That was back in the days before mobile phones took photos and connected to the internet. Can you imagine doing that now?

I’m trying to imagine that right now. Perhaps a Sunday, I’m thinking. You might be able to get away with meeting a family and discussing their needs, putting off designing the service sheet until Monday, as long as the newspaper deadline isn’t Sunday afternoon. But wait, can you imagine being on call without a mobile phone?

So today I’m making myself a promise. I’m going to step away from the computer. I’m going to go for a walk without my Fitbit, then I’m going to go for a swim and sit in the sun. As soon as I’ve worked out tomorrow’s logistics for my business. And done the invoicing.

As soon as I finish this column.

Can I still read my Kindle?