Dale Sidebottom - All Work No Play: A Surprising Guide to Feeling More Mindful, Grateful and Cheerful

DALE SIDEBOTTOM

First published in 2021 by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd

42 McDougall St, Milton Qld 4064

Office also in Melbourne

Typeset in Roboto 10/15pt

John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd 2021

The moral rights of the author have been asserted

ISBN: 978-0-730-39162-3

All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the Australian Copyright Act 1968 (for example, a fair dealing for the purposes of study, research, criticism or review), no part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, communicated or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior written permission. All inquiries should be made to the publisher at the address above.

Cover design by Wiley

Internal design images: jamtoons/Getty Images; Dmitri Gribov/Getty Images; Nataliashein/Getty Images; Petr Vaclavek/Shutterstock; GardenProject / Shutterstock.

Disclaimer

The material in this publication is of the nature of general comment only, and does not represent professional advice. It is not intended to provide specific guidance for particular circumstances and it should not be relied on as the basis for any decision to take action or not take action on any matter which it covers. Readers should obtain professional advice where appropriate, before making any such decision. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the author and publisher disclaim all responsibility and liability to any person, arising directly or indirectly from any person taking or not taking action based on the information in this publication.

I'd like to dedicate this book to my mother and my father, who have been there for me with love and support my entire life. In fact, this could very well be the first piece of writing I have ever accomplished without my mum's editing skills!

I also want to dedicate this book to my partner in crime, Bree, and my beautiful baby boy, Sonny. You are my world.

REMEMBER THE DURACELL BUNNY? The anthropomorphic pink rabbit that competed, and even drummed its way through TV commercials a while back? Well, the Duracell bunny was a mascotor a series of mascots (were they a species?) that championed alkaline batteries coming out of the United States. Remember the line, We all know Duracell lasts longer than leading zinc batteries? Yep? You've got this.

If you do remember the Duracell bunny it's definitely clear you aren't a digital streaming native. Noyou've grown up a good, middle-class, free-to-air watcher. Dale is the closest human match to those pink, fluffy bunnies we saw on our TV screens. He's full of life and always on the move: always motivated to make the most out of his day. And his energy levels last eight times longer than anyone else's.

Dale Sidebottom is the creator and founder of Jugar Life (and Energetic Education), a multidisciplinary business platform that provides people with the tools to make play a focus of their everyday. Dale is a full-time play consultant who taps into his 20+ years working in the education and fitness sectors to educate individuals, schools, sporting clubs and corporate organisations globally on the benefits adult play can have on mental health and wellbeing. Not to mention the benefits play can have on corporate productivity, on corporate culture and in the wider community.

IN THIS BOOK, DALE SIDEBOTTOM shares how play-based mindfulness, empathy, kindness and gratitude helped him overcome long-term struggles (and how this can help you too).

The lessons he learned about being mindful and the importance of play in our lives, along with evidence-backed science and play-based activities, form the backbone of the book. As an average Joe from country Victoria, you will be able to relate to his struggles, his successes and his journey to where he is today.

All Work No Play is divided into five parts, each focusing on an aspect of play: from the science of play to games that can bring you joy and connection every day. The first two parts define play and explore how play is instinctive and just as important for adults as it is for children. Dale cites scientific data and research by academics to support the power of play on our bodies and in particular our brains.

In , Dale identifies the benefits of play and shares play-based stories from his own life as well as research and anecdotes that back up his theories, while also sharing stories from the academics who contributed to the bookProfessor Alison James, Richard Cheetham MBE and Dr Craig Daly.

It's a good idea to read the introduction first because this describes Dale's background and his mission, which is to educate and empower individuals to move and learn in a fun way, and is also the purpose of this book.

comprises the action-packed chapters, where Dale introduces you to his play-based mindfulness toolkit, which contains a host of his own games, activities, exercises, daily mission cards and The Daily PEGG ritual of play, exercise, gratitude and giving.

In , Dale implores us to never stop playing and talks about the mindfulness trap and ritualising play-based mindfulness.

The pages of this book are filled with fun and games for you to choose from. As some activities and games can be challenging to explain in writing, you'll find QR codes that you can scan (using your smartphone or tablet camera) to see them in action.

At the end of most chapters, you'll find a feature titled Last, but not least. These not only recap the main takeaways of the chapter, but also pose questions for you to reflect on.

IF YOU ARE all work and no play and find the pressures of life a bit much sometimes, then this book could serve as a powerful remedy. It may just be the springboard you need to start learning about, and embracing, play-based mindfulness.

Whether you struggle with stress, find maintaining positive mental health a challenge or are simply looking to shrug off the cabin fever and COVID-19 fatigue of 2020, this book could be for you. Look at it as a pocket guide for fun: a reminder and toolkit that will help you find glimpses of happiness and fulfilment each and every day.

Did you know that there are three key elements in life that can instantly lift your mood? They are music, laughter and exercise. If you're on board I would love to share a quick little mood lifter with you to get the book off on the right foot.

When your mood is lifted, you are usually a lot more content and motivated to accomplish goals such as reading this book. Not in a positive mood? Well you're not as inclined to benefit from what you're about to read. So, let's change that.

Before we get started I want you to put this book down and do one of the following:

• Play some music: Chuck on your favourite song and for its whole duration, sing like a rockstar. It doesn't matter if you have the best voice, or the worst voice (like me). Whatever the case, sing your heart out.