The P.L.A.Y. Method
A simple, practical way back to yourself
The P.L.A.Y. Method is a practical framework created by Jodi Salmond as part of The Element of Play. It is designed for high-functioning adults, leaders, entrepreneurs and professionals who are tired of running on pressure, productivity and performance, and want a more human way to recover from burnout and reconnect with themselves.
At its heart, The P.L.A.Y. Method explores how adult play, creativity, movement, nature connection, curiosity and joy can support burnout recovery, self-leadership and wellbeing. It is not about escaping responsibility or pretending life is easy. It is about creating small, real moments that help people move out of survival mode and back into energy, connection and aliveness.
The method sits at the centre of Jodi Salmond's work as an Australian marine scientist, speaker, author and playful leadership coach. It brings together her experience in citizen science, behaviour change, reef conservation, leadership, facilitation and personal development.
The P.L.A.Y. Method helps people notice where they have become disconnected, explore what brings them back to themselves, and practise small playful shifts that support more sustainable ways of living and leading. It is especially relevant for people experiencing high-functioning burnout, emotional flatness, creative fatigue or a sense that they are coping but not really feeling like themselves.
Through The Element of Play, Jodi uses this framework across writing, speaking, workshops, free resources and future programs to help adults reconnect with joy, curiosity, courage and more human ways of showing up in life and leadership.
I wasn't setting out to create a method.
I was trying to find my way back to myself.
There was a time when, from the outside, life probably looked fine. Work was happening. Life was moving. I was still showing up.
But underneath it all, I felt flat, exhausted, and disconnected.
And I remember thinking: surely life is meant to feel more alive than this.
Not in a dramatic, throw-everything-away kind of way. More in a quiet, honest, something-is-missing kind of way.
What I needed was not another productivity trick or another reminder to slow down. I needed something that could help me feel more present, more connected, and more like myself again.
That is where this began.
Not as a theory.
Not as a polished framework.
But as a series of small shifts that genuinely helped.
Over time, those shifts became what I now call the P.L.A.Y. Method.
What P.L.A.Y. stands for
P is for
Presence
Presence is where it starts.
When life feels full, fast, or overwhelming, it is easy to live slightly ahead of yourself, always in the next task, the next worry, or the next thing to solve.
Presence is the practice of coming back to where you are now.
It is a way of reconnecting with your body, your breath, and the reality of the moment in front of you. That alone can be surprisingly powerful.
Research shows that present-moment awareness can support emotional regulation, reduce stress, and help us respond more thoughtfully.
But even without the science, most of us know the feeling: life becomes much harder to enjoy when we are never fully in it.
Try this
Pause for a moment. What can you notice right now that you had not paid attention to before?
L is for
Lightness
Lightness is not about pretending everything is easy.
It is about making a little more room inside the moment.
When life feels heavy, we often respond by tightening up. We push harder, carry more, and treat everything with an intensity that leaves very little space to breathe.
Lightness softens that.
Sometimes it looks like humour. Sometimes it looks like movement, curiosity, playfulness, or doing something small and unnecessary simply because it brings a bit of life back into the day.
Those moments matter. Even brief positive shifts can help us think more creatively, recover from stress more effectively, and feel more resourced.
Try this
What would make this moment feel just a little lighter?
A is for
Authenticity
Authenticity is about coming back to what is real.
So many of us spend a lot of time being who we think we need to be: capable, composed, agreeable, productive, polished.
Authenticity invites something gentler and braver. It asks: what would it feel like to be a little more yourself here?
Play can help with that. It gives us a safer, softer way to explore who we are underneath the roles, expectations, and habits we have built around ourselves.
When people feel safe to show up more fully as themselves, trust deepens, creativity increases, and connection becomes easier. That starts on the inside first.
Try this
Where in your life would it feel freeing to be 5% more yourself?
Y is for
Your Turn
This is where the shift becomes real.
Insight is lovely, but change happens in practice.
Your Turn is about taking one small step. Not a perfect step. Not a dramatic one. Just something real.
This is the part where you begin to make the method your own. You choose what play looks like for you. You experiment. You try something different. You notice what helps.
That is how confidence grows. That is how energy begins to return. That is how change starts to feel possible again.
Try this
What is one small thing you could do today that feels a little more playful, a little more spacious, or a little more like you?
Why this works
The P.L.A.Y. Method is not about becoming someone new.
It is about reconnecting with the part of you that has been buried under pressure, exhaustion, noise, and survival mode.
It works because it is simple, human, and doable.
Presence helps you come back to yourself
Lightness creates space
Authenticity helps you reconnect with what is true
Your Turn helps you put it into practice
These are not huge, dramatic changes. They are small shifts, but small shifts can change a lot.
Over time, things begin to feel different.
You may notice more energy.
More clarity.
More connection.
More of yourself.
The bigger picture
This is not about adding another thing to your list.
It is about changing the way you move through life.
Because play is not a reward for when everything is finally done. It is one of the ways we stay connected to ourselves while life is still happening.
It can help us feel more human in the middle of the mess, not only at the end of it.
Start here
You do not need to overhaul your life. You only need a place to begin.
Come back to the moment.
Create a little more space.
Be a little more yourself.
Take one small step.
That is enough.
That is where things begin.
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