21 Free And Best Android Apps For 2018 To Get The Most Out Of Your Smartphone

The number of apps in Google Play Store has grown to around 3.5 million by December 2017. There are multiple apps with the same functionalities. So, instead of trying all of them, we have saved you some time by compiling this list of free and best Android apps. These are also some of the essential Android apps that you should have on your device in 2018.
Note: We have made this list considering user ratings, app features, and popularity. You are free to choose any other alternative app that suits your need.

1. Launcher App: Nova Launcher

Nova Launcher is one of the best Android launchers that has been on Play Store for many years. The launcher is smooth and lightweight with tons of customizations. Numerous icon packs are available in the Play Store to change its looks.
Nova Launcher supports customization of app-drawer, has a scrollable dock, notification badges, folder and icon customization, and packs around a dozen gestures for ease of use. It is free to download, but its prime version unlocks a lot of other features including some locked gestures.

2. Assistant App: Google Assistant

Google Assistant is an artificial personal assistant developed by Google that allows users to navigate, communicate, and get a lot of things done. You can use the Google assistant on your Android or iOS devices to trigger apps, ask any questions, play games, make plans, etc. including these 30+ Super Useful Voice Commands. It is available for all kind of Android smartphones that run Android marshmallow, Nougat, or Oreo and even on smartwatches.

3. Keyboard App: Swiftkey

SwiftKey keyboard is trusted by over 250 million users worldwide. It uses artificial intelligence that enables it to learn and can satisfactorily predict what the user intends to type.
Swiftkey features autocorrect and gesture typing for faster input. Moreover, there is an inbuilt GIF search engine, a wide range of themes and is an excellent keyboard for bilingual folks. Swiftkey does not store information from password fields and sensitive information such as credit card numbers. Overall, Swiftkey will enhance your typing experience and is a must-have app on your Android device. We have featured it among the top Android keyboard apps.

4. Video Calling App: Google Duo

Google Duo is one of the best video calling apps for Android with a simple interface. It’s quite easy to log in and verify your number, and you can make fast video calls just like making a standard phone call. Its unique “Knock Knock” feature lets you have a live preview of the caller before you receive the call. It is available for both Android and iOS users.

5. Note Taking App: Evernote

Evernote is a cross-platform utility to take notes in a variety of formats, including text, photos, audio, video, sketches and more. It is one tool you need to keep yourself organized in today’s hectic life. It syncs across all your devices to facilitate workflow. Evernote also has home-screen widgets for quick access to your notes. It is one of the essential Android apps for every user.

6. Office App: WPS Office +PDF

WPS is a free Office Suite application with all-in-one features. It is fully compatible with Microsoft Word, Excel, Powerpoint, and integrates PDF, presentations, spreadsheets, memo, Google docs, etc. The app also comes with a free PDF converter, reader, editor, along with file sharing abilities, supports multi-window mode, data encryption, etc. It is intuitive and easy to use, and you can also connect to the Cloud Drive to automatically save your documents to the cloud platform. Overall, it is one of the best Android office apps.

7. Google News & Weather

Google News & Weather is one of the best apps for Android that helps you get news from your preferred topics along with accurate weather information and prediction. If you provide access to location services, it can show your local news and weather. The app uses AMP (Accelerated Mobile Pages) to provide instant load and read experience. It also comes with widget support.

8. File Manager App: ES File Explorer

ES File Explorer is one of the popular Android file manager apps with all the necessary features. It comes with a Space Analyzer to help you free up space on your device. Sharing media with other ES File Explorer users over WiFi is easy. ES File Manager also comes with an App Manager where you can uninstall/backup apps. You can even uninstall system apps with root privileges. It’s “Root Explorer” feature unlocks a lot of functionalities for rooted devices. However, the app shows a lot of intrusive ads and is aimed at power users. For users who are not rooted and do not require advanced features, our list of best Android file manager apps will surely be helpful.

9. Cloud Storage App: Google Drive

Google Drive is a massive cloud storage service that gives you free space to store and access your files in the cloud platform. You can browse through all the files and folders you saved in your Drive and share, move, download, rename or print any files from the application.

It also encompasses Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, where you can edit documents, spreadsheets, forms, presentations, etc. and save them in the Drive. Users can have access to 15 GB of free space across Google Drive, Gmail, and Google Photos. This essential Android app helps you to keep your valuable files backed up on the cloud for free.

10. Instant Messaging App: WhatsApp

WhatsApp is a free, instant messaging application where users can communicate with one another using the phone’s internet service. It provides you the ability to send text messages and voice messages, share links, images, and location, make video calls, etc. to any other user worldwide. It is one among secure Android messaging apps and is also accessible from a desktop environment.

11. Browser App: Google Chrome

Google Chrome is a cross-platform browser application. It has free and necessary features like unlimited tabs, HTML5 support, desktop syncing, quick links to favorite sites, built-in Google search and Google translate, etc. The app is convenient, fast and provides secure browsing experience with a lot of customizable options. Google Chrome is one of the best Android browsers available.

12. File Sharing App: Xender

Xender is one of the essential Android apps you should have on your device. It saves you from the hassle of carrying your USB data cable around to exchange files with PC as no PC side software is required to transmit or receive files. Moreover, it is a hundred times faster than Bluetooth for transferring files between any device, thanks to it being cross-platform.

13. Video Player App: MX Player

This video player for Android supports almost all the primary video and audio file formats. It packs a lot of features including editing of subtitle timeframes, fast forwarding and volume control gestures, gestures for zooming in and out of a video, on-screen kid lock and many more. MX Player is available for free with ads. Moreover, it comes with additional plugins for extra functionalities.

14. Google Maps

Google Maps is a web mapping service for real-time GPS navigation, traffic, transit, and details about millions of people. It offers street maps, satellite imagery, real-time traffic info, short-cut route planning, etc. The app covers accurate maps of more than 200 countries and territories. With the help of the Google map services, you can navigate an unknown place with ease. It is one of the essential Android apps.

15. Photo Editor App: PicsArt

With over 100million downloads, PicsArt is one of the favorite photo editing apps for Android. You will be overwhelmed by the number of options you have for customizing your photos. It has a social network for sharing photos within the app. Its features include collage, drawing on photos, frames, stickers, free cropping, clone tool, tilt-shift, perspective changer tool and a lot more. The app is available for free with some in-app purchases and display ads.

16. Remote Control App: Unified Remote

Unified Remote is one of the go-to apps for controlling your PC from an Android device. It uses Bluetooth or Wifi to remotely control your PC and comes preloaded with support for more than 90 popular programs. It supports Windows, Linux, and Mac, and requires a server program to be installed.
Using Unified Remote, you can remotely wake up your computer from sleep using its “Wake on LAN” feature. All the necessary features like screen mirroring, keyboard and mouse, media player controls, etc. are available within this app. You can even use it to control a Raspberry Pi or Arduino Yun. Its paid versions unlock a multitude of useful features including custom remotes and functions for Android wear.

17. RSS Reader App: Feedly

Feedly is one of the best Android apps. It neatly organizes all the information and news for you in a single place. Online magazines, blogs, Youtube channels and more than 40 million feeds are available within this single app. Many professionals use it to stay ahead of the market as it is helpful in analyzing competitors and trends.
Feedly is powered by RSS and offers integrations with Facebook, Twitter, Evernote Pinterest, LinkedIn, etc. so that you to easily share stories with networks and teammates.

18. Password Manager App: LastPass

LastPass is a feature-rich password manager and secure private vault that can lock down your passwords and personal information. It has the ability to autofill logins in browsers and apps and can generate new and secure passwords instantly. You can log in with one password instead of remembering a dozen. Moreover, you can also sync your passwords and data across all of your devices. It is intuitive and fast across numerous platforms.

19. Music Discovery App: Shazam

Shazam is a popular music recognition application that can instantly identify music that’s playing in your surrounding and is used by a lot of music lovers. All you need is to hold your Android device close to the source of the song, and after a few seconds, the app will accurately detect the song. Besides, you can also play songs and add them to Spotify playlists, buy songs in Google Play Music with one tap, connect your Facebook account, etc. If you are a musicophile, this Android app is a must-have for you.

20. Task Automation App: Automate

Automate allows you to automate various tasks using simple flowcharts. You can automate system Settings to perform tasks like changing volume, Bluetooth, GPS, etc. It even allows you to trigger tasks based on location, time of the day, battery level and many other events. With this awesome app, you can automate almost anything on your Android device. It even supports plug-in for the popular automation app Tasker. It is definitely one of the best apps for Android.

21. Scanner App: Tiny Scanner

Tiny Scanner is a scanner application that can scan every type of document and save them as image files or as PDFs. You can name and organize the scanned files and share them by email, store in DropBox, Google Drive, etc. It comes with many scanner features such as color, grayscale and black&white scans, page edge removal, adjusting page sizes, sorting scans by date and time, etc. The app is optimized to run fast, and you can also protect your documents with a passcode.

Did you find this list of free and best Android apps to be helpful? Share your reviews in the comments.

10 golden rules of investing in stock markets

10 golden rules of investing in stock markets

The lure of big money has always thrown investors into the lap of stock markets. However, making money in equities is not easy. It not only requires oodles of patience and discipline, but also a great deal of research and a sound understanding of the market, among others.

Added to this is the fact that stock market volatility in the last few years has left investors in a state of confusion. They are in a dilemma whether to invest, hold or sell in such a scenario.

Although no sure-shot formula has yet been discovered for success in stock markets, here are some golden rules which, if followed prudently, may increase your chances of getting a good return:

1. Avoid the herd mentality

The typical buyer's decision is usually heavily influenced by the actions of his acquaintances, neighbours or relatives. Thus, if everybody around is investing in a particular stock, the tendency for potential investors is to do the same. But this strategy is bound to backfire in the long run.

No need to say that you should always avoid having the herd mentality if you don't want to lose your hard-earned money in stock markets. The world's greatest investor Warren Buffett was surely not wrong when he said, "Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful!"

2. Take informed decision

Proper research should always be undertaken before investing in stocks. But that is rarely done. Investors generally go by the name of a company or the industry they belong to. This is, however, not the right way of putting one's money into the stock market.

3. Invest in business you understand

Never invest in a stock. Invest in a business instead. And invest in a business you understand. In other words, before investing in a company, you should know what business the company is in.

4. Don't try to time the market

One thing that even Warren Buffett doesn't do is to try to time the stock market, although he does have a very strong view on the price levels appropriate to individual shares. A majority of investors, however, do just the opposite, something that financial planners have always been warning them to avoid, and thus lose their hard-earned money in the process.

"So, you should never try to time the market. In fact, nobody has ever done this successfully and consistently over multiple business or stock market cycles. Catching the tops and bottoms is a myth. It is so till today and will remain so in the future. In fact, in doing so, more people have lost far more money than people who have made money," says Anil Chopra, group CEO and director, Bajaj Capital.

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5. Follow a disciplined investment approach

Historically it has been witnessed that even great bull runs have shown bouts of panic moments. The volatility witnessed in the markets has inevitably made investors lose money despite the great bull runs.

However, the investors who put in money systematically, in the right shares and held on to their investments patiently have been seen generating outstanding returns. Hence, it is prudent to have patience and follow a disciplined investment approach besides keeping a long-term broad picture in mind.

6. Do not let emotions cloud your judgment

Many investors have been losing money in stock markets due to their inability to control emotions, particularly fear and greed. In a bull market, the lure of quick wealth is difficult to resist. Greed augments when investors hear stories of fabulous returns being made in the stock market in a short period of time. "This leads them to speculate, buy shares of unknown companies or create heavy positions in the futures segment without really understanding the risks involved," says Kapur.

Instead of creating wealth, these investors thus burn their fingers very badly the moment the sentiment in the market reverses. In a bear market, on the other hand, investors panic and sell their shares at rock-bottom prices. Thus, fear and greed are the worst emotions to feel when investing, and it is better not to be guided by them.

7. Create a broad portfolio

Diversification of portfolio across asset classes and instruments is the key factor to earn optimum returns on investments with minimum risk. Level of diversification depends on each investor's risk taking capacity.

8. Have realistic expectations

There's nothing wrong with hoping for the 'best' from your investments, but you could be heading for trouble if your financial goals are based on unrealistic assumptions. For instance, lots of stocks have generated more than 50 per cent returns during the great bull run of recent years.

However, it doesn't mean that you should always expect the same kind of return from the stock markets. Therefore, when Warren Buffett says that earning more than 12 per cent in stock is pure dumb luck and you laugh at it, you're surely inviting trouble for yourself.

9. Invest only your surplus funds

If you want to take risk in a volatile market like this, then see whether you have surplus funds which you can afford to lose. It is not necessary that you will lose money in the present scenario. You investments can give you huge gains too in the months to come.

But no one can be hundred percent sure. That is why you will have to take risk. No need to say that invest only if you are flush with surplus funds.

10. Monitor rigorously

We are living in a global village. Any important event happening in any part of the world has an impact on our financial markets. Hence we need to constantly monitor our portfolio and keep affecting the desired changes in it.

If you can't review your portfolio due to time constraint or lack of knowledge, then you should take the help of a good financial planner or someone who is capable of doing that. "If you can't even do that, then stock investing is not for you. Better put your money in safe or less-risky instruments," advises Kapur. 

How to handle success gracefully

1. Don’t tell everyone.

If someone should know, text them. If you wouldn’t want to text them, they aren’t important enough to know. Boasting on social media can feel well earned and fun, but  there’s two sides. First, it can come off as impersonal to the friends you’d most want to share it with. Isn’t it more fun to savor it together in person? And second, if you are more moved by spite or ambition, nothing is more impressive than a boast you don’t have to make it. Let the news get to them organically- let your high-school ex hear through the grapevine about your record deal. Carry the implicit boast that you forgot to even brag about it.

Petty? Absolutely. But at least you’re keeping social media less obnoxious with your silence. If you’re going to do the right thing, you’re allowed to do it for the wrong reasons.

2. Do the things you swore you’d do if X happened. You might as well celebrate, and if you promised too much, holding true to your excessive boasts is the most fun way to learn a valuable lesson about keeping your mouth shut and moderation.

3. Remember your failures, both to humble you and excite you. Success can feel natural when it comes, and it’s important to savor it, to feel grateful and aware.

4. Remember time before your success. You were okay without it, right? Don’t let it own you. You were good without it, and, if it should flee, you’ll be good again. Success doesn’t define you. Understand that and enjoy it without a sense of worship.

5. Share it. Success can be lonely and self segregating. Spending $75 on burgers for everyone is tastier than a $75 steak alone. Don’t let numbers dictate you away from happiness, or let a bent towards pride or even statistical pursuit of more sour the true goals of success.

6. There are always going to be people who have more and those who have less. Find a way to balance those two feelings and you can combine gratitude with vision and ambition to propel you. Mangle them and you’ll end up complacent or miserable.

7. Save some success for a rainy day. Let it last and breath. Do not blow it on solid gold yachts. Do not let momentum trick you into assuming your success is permanent or ineffable. The world is strange and cruel. Plan for it.

8. Do something you always wanted to do. If you’re not going to do it now, when will you (do a road-trip, go skydiving, ask them out, etc.)

9. Indulge deeply in cheap, simple and undestructive ways. There is an impulse to GO NUTS when you’re successful, so go nuts- in a safe space and place. A strong playlist, strong friends and strong brews at home is going to be a much better way to go off than to “paint the town” with your credit card. You can buy bottle service, or you could have an equally good time for ten percent of the cost. It might be less dramatic, but it’s no less fun.

10. Savor it. This did not come cheap or easy. Do not take it for granted. Get pumped, grateful, and psyched every day for a week. This cost you a lot of effort. Enjoy it.

11. Stunt on them haters. Invent haters, if you have to, then proceed to stunt on them. Do the money dance. Browse flights to Europe you know you wouldn’t buy but tell yourself, in the coolest way, that you might. Put a big chunk into savings and debts and savor every penny you waste, knowing full well you can afford to waste them. Take a taxi three weeks later because you’re feeling lazy, and know that you planned for that and it’s fine and you might as well.

12. Really. Do the money dance.

How to manage failure in life

Ron Miller knows a little about success. He has founded, built and sold 5 successful companies as an Ernst and Young, Entrepreneur of the Year Finalist and and has been on the Inc. 5000 list 4 times. But these days Miller makes failure his business. Miller learned from his own experience that succeeding is not the most important factor in ultimate success but actually managing how you fail. Miller believes mastering failure is crucial to all leaders, whether you are managing a team inside an existing company trying to innovate or about to launch a new idea.

While much of the world is talking about how crowdfunding startups is a surefire way to increase success, Miller is banking that it is a useful way to speed up failure and fast. Now you may wonder why Miller would want to fail faster. He explains simply that investors want to reduce their risk. They do that by reducing exposure. Nothing is worse than tying up time and money in a venture that will ultimately go nowhere. When the failure process is accelerated, investors can preserve time and resources on companies that won't likely succeed. The bad companies dissolve faster and the winners prove themselves quicker.

Miller's new venture StartEngine specializes in failure acceleration for start-ups and with the full approval of the SEC.

Here are Miller's tips for turning failure into success.

1. "Approach failure with the right mindset."

Many people think failure is just plain bad. Often managers and entrepreneurs are paralyzed by fear of failure. Failure is so scary in incremental and large context - they refuse to act and innovate. Miller believes you should let go of the fear and embrace the failure. He notes, "At the end of the day, innovation and action is what creates success instead of blocking ourselves from taking risks."

2. "Own the Failure."

Ownership of failure should be celebrated by managers and entrepreneurs alike.

When you acknowledge failure, you acknowledge the need for innovation, initiative and action. There is always a new idea to take away from failure. One has to be open to looking for the benefit. "Owning failure is a critical step to being able to identify course corrections and pivots that are necessary to ultimately get a successful result," says Miller.

3. "Stay Clear on Your End Result."

Failure is hugely discouraging, but if you harp on how bad it makes you feel, you will likely lose sight of the reason you failed in the first place - to achieve something you care deeply about. Miller explains, "If you are focused on the small failures and successes, you may miss out on how those failures or successes are affecting the big picture."

4. "Get Feedback From Your Team."

Oftentimes people who fail are unable to maintain an objective perspective on why things went off the rails. They are too emotionally attached to what happened. Listening to others can help put things into perspective. Miller says, "The feedback of others, can identify more than just whether the initiative is successful or not. It can also identify the causation of failures.

5."Use Data to Find the Roots of Failure."

Miller believes using metrics is not only essential for determining success, but also identifying where failure lies. He explains, "Within each major high level metric, there may be sub metrics that must be measured to identify where in the chain of events lie the success and favors. By creating a consistent measurement system, leaders can readily identify what is successful and what is off track to allow for course correction."

6. "Keep on Trying."

Thomas Edison once stated, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Miller believes you should feel good about taking risks and daring to innovate, even if it leads to some degree of failure. Not everyone succeeds, but if you keep at it and learn, you will eventually achieve success.

The Benefits of Play for Adults

How Play Benefits Your Relationships, Job, Bonding, and Mood 

In our hectic, modern lives, many of us focus so heavily on work and family commitments that we never seem to have time for pure fun. Somewhere between childhood and adulthood, we’ve stopped playing. When we carve out some leisure time, we're more likely to zone out in front of the TV or computer than engage in fun, rejuvenating play like we did as children. But just because we’re adults, that doesn't mean we have to take ourselves so seriously and make life all about work. We all need to play.

Why adults play?

Play is not just essential for kids; it can be an important source of relaxation and stimulation for adults as well. Playing with your romantic partner, friends, co-workers, pets, and children is a sure (and fun) way to fuel your imagination, creativity, problem-solving abilities, and emotional well-being.

Adult play is a time to forget about work and commitments, and to be social in an unstructured, creative way. Focus your play on the actual experience, not on accomplishing any goal. There doesn’t need to be any point to the activity beyond having fun and enjoying yourself. Play could be simply goofing off with friends, sharing jokes with a coworker, throwing a Frisbee on the beach, dressing up at Halloween with your kids, building a snowman in the yard, playing fetch with a dog, a game of charades at a party, or going for a bike ride with your spouse with no destination in mind. By giving yourself permission to play with the joyful abandon of childhood, you can reap oodles of health benefits throughout life.

The benefits of play

While play is crucial for a child’s development, it is also beneficial for people of all ages. Play can add joy to life, relieve stress, supercharge learning, and connect you to others and the world around you. Play can also make work more productive and pleasurable.
You can play on your own or with a pet, but for greater benefits, play should involve at least one other person, away from the sensory-overload of electronic gadgets.

Play can:

Relieve stress. Play is fun and can trigger the release of endorphins, the body's natural feel-good chemicals. Endorphins promote an overall sense of well-being and can even temporarily relieve pain.

Improve brain function. Playing chess, completing puzzles, or pursuing other fun activities that challenge the brain can help prevent memory problems and improve brain function. The social interaction of playing with family and friends can also help ward off stress and depression.
Stimulate the mind and boost creativity. Young children often learn best when they are playing—and that principle applies to adults, as well. You’ll learn a new task better when it’s fun and you’re in a relaxed and playful mood. Play can also stimulate your imagination, helping you adapt and problem solve.

Improve relationships and your connection to others. Sharing laughter and fun can foster empathy, compassion, trust, and intimacy with others. Play doesn’t have to be a specific activity; it can also be a state of mind. Developing a playful nature can help you loosen up in stressful situations, break the ice with strangers, make new friends, and form new business relationships.

Keep you feeling young and energetic. In the words of George Bernard Shaw, “We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” Playing can boost your energy and vitality and even improve your resistance to disease, helping you feel your best.

Play and relationships

Play is one of the most effective tools for keeping relationships fresh and exciting. Playing together brings joy, vitality, and resilience to relationships. Play can also heal resentments, disagreements, and hurts. Through regular play, we learn to trust one another and feel safe. Trust enables us to work together, open ourselves to intimacy, and try new things. By making a conscious effort to incorporate more humor and play into your daily interactions, you can improve the quality of your love relationships—as well as your connections with co-workers, family members, and friends.

Play helps develop and improve social skills. Social skills are learned in the give and take of play. During childhood play, kids learn about verbal communication, body language, boundaries, cooperation, and teamwork. As adults, you continue to refine these skills through play and playful communication.

Play teaches cooperation with others. Play is a powerful catalyst for positive socialization. Through play, children learn how to "play nicely" with others—to work together, follow mutually agreed upon rules, and socialize in groups. As adults, you can continue to use play to break down barriers and improve your relationships with others.

Play can heal emotional wounds. As adults, when you play together, you are engaging in exactly the same patterns of behavior that positively shape the brains of children. These same playful behaviors that predict emotional health in children can also lead to positive changes in adults. If an emotionally-insecure individual plays with a secure partner, for example, it can help replace negative beliefs and behaviors with positive assumptions and actions.

Fixing relationship problems with humor and play

Managing Conflicts with Humor: Using Laughter to Resolve Disagreements

Play and laughter perform an essential role in building strong, healthy relationships by bringing people closer together, creating a positive bond, and resolving conflict and disagreements. In new relationships, play and humor can be an effective tool not just for attracting the other person but also for overcoming any awkwardness or embarrassment that arises during the dating and getting-to-know-you process. Flirting is a prime example of how play and humor are used in adult interactions. In longer-term relationships, play can keep things exciting, fresh, and vibrant, and deepen intimacy. It can also help you overcome differences and the tiny aggravations than can build up over time.

Play at work

Many dot-com companies have long recognized the link between productivity and a fun work environment. Some encourage play and creativity by offering art or yoga classes, throwing regular parties, providing games such as Foosball or ping pong, or encouraging recess-like breaks during the workday for employees to play and let off steam. These companies know that more play at work results in more productivity, higher job satisfaction, greater workplace morale, and a decrease in employees skipping work and staff turnover.

If you’re fortunate enough to work for such a company, embrace the culture; if your company lacks the play ethic, you can still inject your own sense of play into breaks and lunch hours. Keep a camera or sketch pad on hand and take creative breaks where you can. Joke with coworkers during coffee breaks, relieve stress at lunch by shooting hoops, playing cards, or completing word puzzles together. It can strengthen the bond you have with your coworkers as well as improve your job performance. For people with mundane jobs, maintaining a sense of play can make a real difference to the work day by helping to relieve boredom.

Using play to boost productivity and innovation

Success at work doesn't depend on the amount of time you work; it depends upon the quality of your work. And the quality of your work is highly dependent on your well-being.
Taking the time to replenish yourself through play is one of the best things you can do for your career. When the project you're working on hits a serious glitch, take some time out to play and have a few laughs. Taking a pause for play does a lot more than take your mind off the problem. When you play, you engage the creative side of your brain and silence your “inner editor,” that psychological barrier that censors your thoughts and ideas. This can often help you see the problem in a new light and think up fresh, creative solutions.

Playing at work:

• keeps you functional when under stress
• refreshes your mind and body
• encourages teamwork

• increases energy and prevents burnout
• triggers creativity and innovation
• helps you see problems in new ways

Tips for managers and employers

It’s tempting to think that the best way to cope with an ever-increasing workload is to have your employees work longer and harder. However, without some recreation time, it’s more likely the work will suffer and your workers become chronically overwhelmed and burned out. Encouraging play, on the other hand, creates a more lighthearted work atmosphere that in turn encourages employees to take more creative risks.

• Provide opportunities for social interaction among employees. Throw parties, put a basketball hoop in the parking lot, arrange a miniature golf tournament, stage an office treasure hunt.
• Encourage creative thinking or just lighten the mood of meetings by keeping tactile puzzles on the conference room table.
• Encourage workers to take regular breaks from their desks, and spend a few minutes engaged in a fun activity, such as a word or number game.
  

Playing with your children

Rolling on the floor with your baby or getting down on your knees to play with a young child is vitally important—both to your child’s development and to your own health.

Play is essential for developing social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills in children. In fact, far from being a waste of time or just a fun distraction, play is a time when your child is often learning the most. Whether it’s an infant playing “peek-a-boo,” a toddler playing make-believe, or an older child playing a board game, play develops social skills, stimulates a child’s imagination and makes kids better adjusted, smarter, and less stressed.

As well as aiding your child’s development, play can also bring you closer together and strengthen the parent-child bond that will last a lifetime.

How to play with your child

While children need time to play alone and with other children, playing with their parents is also important. Here are some helpful tips to encourage play:

Establish regular play times. It may be for twenty minutes before dinner every night or every Saturday morning, for example. Remember, this time spent playing together is benefiting both of you.

Give your child your undivided attention. Turn off the TV and your cell phone and make the time to play with your child without distraction. Having your undivided attention makes your child feel special.

Get down to your child's level. That may mean getting down on your knees or sitting on the floor. Match your child's intensity during play—if your child is loud and energetic, be loud and energetic, too.

Embrace repetition. It may be boring to you, but it's not to your child. Children learn through repetition. Let your child play the same game over and over. Your child will move on when he or she is ready.

Let your children take the lead. Become part of their game rather than trying to dictate the play. In pretend play, let your child call the shots, make the rules, and determine the pace of play. Ask questions and follow along—you'll likely get drawn into imaginative new worlds that are fun for you, too.

Don't force play or try to prolong a game. The best way to teach a new skill is to show children how something works, then step back and give them a chance to try. When your child is tired of an activity, it's time to move on to something new.

Make play age-appropriate and consider safety. If a game is too hard or too easy, it loses its sense of pleasure and fun. Help your child find age-appropriate activities and understand any safety rules for play. Nothing ruins a fun game faster than a child getting hurt.

How to play more

Incorporating more fun and play into your daily life can improve the quality of your relationships, as well as your mood and outlook. Even in the most difficult of times, taking time away from your troubles to play or laugh can go a long way toward making you feel better. It’s true what they say: laughter really is the best medicine. Laughter makes you feel good. And the good feeling that you get when you laugh and have fun remains with you even after the laughter subsides. Play and laughter help you keep a positive, optimistic outlook through difficult situations, disappointments, and loss.

Develop your playful side

It’s never too late to develop your playful, humorous side. If you find yourself limiting your playfulness, it's possible that you're self-conscious and concerned about how you'll look and sound to others when you attempt to be lighthearted. Fearing rejection, embarrassment or ridicule when attempting to be playful is an understandable fear. Adults are often worried that being playful will get them labeled as childish. But what is so wrong with that? Children are incredibly creative, inventive and are constantly learning. Wouldn’t you want to be childish if that is the definition? Remember that as a child, you were naturally playful; you didn't worry about the reactions of other people. You can reclaim your inner child by setting aside regular, quality playtime. The more you play, joke, and laugh—the easier it becomes.

Laughter is the Best Medicine: Health Benefits of Humor and Laughter

Try to clear your schedule for an afternoon or evening, for example, and then turn off your phone, TV, computer, and other devices. Give yourself permission to do whatever you want for the time you’ve allotted. Be spontaneous, set aside your inhibitions and try something fun, something you haven’t done since you were a kid, perhaps. And enjoy the change of pace.

Creating opportunities to play

Host a regular game night with friends or family.

Arrange nights out with work colleagues bowling, playing pool, miniature golf, or singing karaoke.

Schedule time in a park or at the beach to throw a Frisbee or fly a kite with friends.
Play with a pet. Puppies, especially, make very willing playmates. If you don’t have your own, borrow one from your local animal shelter.

Surround yourself with playful people. They’ll help loosen you up and are more likely to support your efforts to play and have fun.

Joke with strangers at a bus stop or in a checkout line. It’ll make the time pass quicker and you may even spark up new friendships.

Visit a magic store and learn some tricks. Or invest in art supplies, construction toys, or science kits and create something new.

Play with children. Goofing around with kids helps you experience the joy of play from their perspective. If you don’t have young children, arrange a play date with your grandkids, nephews, nieces, or other young relatives.