Why Fun at Work Is a Burnout Recovery Superpower

Meg at the beach in the morning

Monday has a reputation with many of us. It’s the day we brace: The restart of the grind, the inbox flood, the back-to-back meetings, the errands, the “just-get-through-it” marathon. (Thankfully, we’re in summer and don’t have to worry about school drop-offs, also.)

We often step into Monday with armor on: Be productive. Keep it together. Push through.

But truthfully, fun isn’t the opposite of work; it’s what makes the work, and the you inside it, sustainable.

Why Play Isn’t Just for Kids; it’s for Burnt-Out Humans

As adults, many of us have forgotten how to play. We have to be “professional” or “adulting”. And when you’re exhausted, it’s tempting to think that fun or play is frivolous, optional, or that it belongs to people with more time, less stress, or lighter responsibilities.

But our nervous system tells a different story. If you didn’t know, here are a few benefits of having fun from the nervous system’s perspective:

• Play helps your body shift from chronic tension into release.

• Laughter creates little surges of relief and connection.

• Music, dancing, or small acts of creativity regulate your stress response.

• Even tiny moments of joy remind your system, “I’m alive, not just functional.”

Without joy, you’re not a machine running smoothly; you’re a machine breaking down quietly. Without play, we lose touch with our own humanity.

What Fun Can Look Like on a Monday

Let’s break the myth that fun has to be big, performative, or Instagram-worthy. Fun can be ridiculously simple, especially on a workday.

It can be:

• Sending a silly meme or GIF to a coworker.

• Playing music that makes you want to move, even if it’s just tapping your foot. (I’m learning Italian and started listening to some upbeat Italian songs. THAT’S pretty fun).

• Wearing a piece of clothing, a ring, or a pair of socks that sparks delight just for you. (I personally love my socks).

• Turning off the camera on a Zoom break and dancing it out, stretching, or just sighing into stillness. (I ALWAYS move between sessions. That is a non-negotiable for me).

• Laughing at how imperfectly the day is going, and letting yourself off the hook.

These are not escapes. They are micro-rebellions against a culture that says you are only as good as what you produce.

Fun Is A Burnout Recovery Practice

Here’s where it gets more interesting. When you’re burned out, your world narrows and your nervous system clamps down into survival mode: Just keep going, just hold it together, just finish the next thing. You stop imagining, feeling, or creating. You become a to-do list with legs.

Fun cracks that survival shell, even if just for a second.
It creates a breath of space.

And in that space, your system remembers: “I have a choice”. “I have aliveness”. “I have a “me” beyond what I get done”.

Over time, these small moments aren’t just “cute”, they’re how you begin to recover.

Your Invitation Today Is To Do One Act of Fun

So, here’s what I’m inviting you to do. Ask yourself: What’s one completely unproductive, purely-for-you thing I could do today?

Not to impress anyone, boost productivity, or cross something off. Just for the spark and breath. Just a reminder that I’m still here.

If nothing comes to mind, here are a few options:

• Play one song you love and let yourself really feel it.

• Laugh at something absurd (trust me, the world offers plenty).

• Take one deep breath with your hand on your chest.

• Text someone a compliment, a memory, or a silly check-in.

• Watch your pet, a bird outside, a cloud; something alive, just being.

I Help Burnt-Out Humans Feel Alive Again

If you’re craving deeper nervous system support, I’m here to walk that road with you. I help high achievers escape survival mode before it costs them their career, health, and relationships. It’s time to show up with passion, energy and purpose again.

• Download my free 5-Minute Nervous System Reset — a simple practice you can use any day, especially on the ones that feel too full.

• Step into the Overcoming Imposter Syndrome & Burnout Facebook group where you’re seen, not judged, and where your exhaustion is met with support.

You are allowed to be functional and joyful.
You are allowed to work hard and laugh hard.
You are allowed to show up and shake off the perfection.

Fun isn’t extra. It’s survival and how we remind ourselves: I’m still here. I’m still me.

So this Monday, and every Monday after, I hope you give yourself permission for one small, rebellious, joy-filled moment.

I’m cheering you on. Always.