Our January Play Date: Starting as we mean to go on
On a frosty Friday at the start of the month, we gathered for our first Play Date of the year. Some of us came together in person, others joining from their own cosy corners on screen. It was our moment to pause, breathe, and look back at everything 2025 brought us, before turning ourselves towards the year ahead.
I’ve been thinking about why this Play Date felt like more than just a meeting. It wasn’t a formal review or a strategic planning session. It was something softer, more human and more connected. A space where we could speak honestly about what went wrong, what surprised us, and what we were quietly proud of. A space where we could reconnect with each other navigating a shared journey.
True to the Beyond the Skills way, there was play woven through the whole event. Not the kind that involves tag or board games this time, but the kind that invites imagination and expression. We unrolled a long sheet of brown paper across the table, which we'd wheeled into a blank canvas of space. It was a landscape waiting for colour, scribbles, doodles, and the words that resonated. There was a sense of freedom in capturing ideas in shapes and sketches rather than bullet points on a laptop’s slide deck. It wasn’t about beautifully crafted designs, just free flowing ideas. It reminded me how much easier it is to think expansively when the tools in front of us feel playful rather than corporate.
The setting helped too. We met in a beautiful new space in Buckfastleigh called The Yard (Creative Space), overlooking the River Dart. It’s a place designed for parents and children to connect through play, arts, and crafts. Being there felt symbolic that creativity and curiosity aren’t reserved just for children.
It became one of the threads of our conversation - why play matters for adults.
We talked about how play gives us permission to step outside our usual roles and expectations by inviting new ideas to be entertained - and how it helps us reconnect with joy and with parts of ourselves we sometimes forget in the rush of everyday life.
A few reflections stayed with me and resonates with our vision at Beyond the Skills:
Play opened up our thinking time. When we doodle, wander, or let our minds drift, we create space for insight. Some of our best ideas arrive when we stop trying to force them.
Play builds psychological safety. When we’re relaxed, we’re more willing to share honestly, discuss the messy or uncomfortable bits as well as the successes.
Play strengthens connection. Laughter, creativity, and shared moments of silliness help us see each other more clearly and more kindly.
Play fuels resilience. It reminds us that not everything has to be serious, even when the work is. There is always room for lightness.
In many ways, our Play Date felt like a reset where reflection doesn’t have to be heavy, and planning doesn’t have to be rigid. When we bring play into the process, we bring ourselves more fully too.
As we step into the year ahead, I’m holding onto that feeling of the honesty of our conversations and the quiet creativity that emerged from a roll of brown paper and a handful of pens. If this is how we begin, I’m excited to see where we go next.