Do you like jigsaw puzzles?
I wrote about our family tradition for doing puzzles at Christmas times in Xero for Dummies. The competitive jigsaw players will stay up all night at our family functions to complete a jigsaw. Its serious stuff! We only ever do jigsaws designed by Ray Cresswell, you can google them, or try ozgemtoys. You can see the collection of jigsaw available (but don’t seem to be able to directly buy them from there) at The House of Puzzles.
I gave my daughter the jigsaw below for her birthday. Its called Corner Shop and she set her self up at the start of the Easter holidays and took about three days to complete it. And she’s super proud of it. The act of completing a jigsaw is a very focused form of relaxation. You pick up one piece study the box study and where it could possible be placed, and get these tiny wins, as you finish the outside and work your way into complete the picture.
Corner Shop Ray Cresswell jigsaw
Puzzle meditation, forcing you to think about something else.
I know my daughter really needs these quite introspective activities to bring her down and level her from the busyness that occurs during the school term. I realise jigsaws are not for everyone. Some people need immediate gratification and can’t sit still and focus enough to achieve the small win it takes to find where one piece of the puzzle goes.
I also find when we undertake the jigsaws with the family – it’s a large gathering of around fifty people ranging from babies to great great grandparents – people will wander in – complete some of the puzzle and wander out. Everyone can contribute and whether you’ve sat there for four hours or four minutes placing a single piece is an equivalent win. Partaking in completing the jigsaw is an opportunity to talk – to converse for long periods of time. And that’s nice to do in a family – because sometimes Christmas gatherings can be so hectic – your peeling spuds, or making sure kids are safe, or tidying, you don’t get a chance to have a conversation with everyone.
I know a lot of funky businesses have ping pong tables, pinball machines and social areas. Though I wonder how many have a place for jigsaws? It actually seems like a solid activity to have a brain storm over – and at around $50 a lot cheaper than a retreat! To pull people out of their normal activities, and give them some thinking space, some quite space, some meditative space.
It also gives the introverts a space to just be.
I guess ping pong tables, or coffee tables are an ideal area for a jigsaw, so its something an office could easily adapt….
When talking to clients about a business implementation, or something new they need to learn, I will frequently use a jigsaw analogy – let’s break it down into smaller pieces – and do it one piece at a time. If it still seems overwhelming – break it down into even smaller pieces, and write them down on a paper or a white board, or use Trello, and cross off everything you complete – I encourage them (and you!) to be proud of the small wins.
Have you ever seen a jigsaw area in a business?
Do you like completing jigsaws?
This is the puzzle we did last Christmas – Dawn Chorus – it was so hard – so many shades of green!
Dawn Chorus Ray Cresswell jigsaw