I Used to Be Fun

What happens when you stop trying to be good at everything and give yourself permission to simply make stuff, love stuff, and occasionally have grape-candy-colored hair? In this Play Date, I’m catching up with teaching artist Becka Rahn about bringing more joy into everyday life, the exhausting business of always waiting for someone to say yes, why grown women need more chances to be beginners, an...

Meet the Joy Concierge! That's the nickname my guest Teresa Thomas earned after turning her 50th birthday into a wildly contagious practice: a list of 50 fun things to experience before the big day — everything from Santorini-sized dreams to finally ordering the latte instead of the regular coffee.  We dig into why saying what you want out loud seems to summon it (wait for the drum jam story)...

What happens when your brain is really good at solving problems... and then, for once, there isn't one to solve? This week's Nudge episode started with a line from a novel I read recently — "What am I supposed to seek justice for now?" — and a much bigger question from a conversation with my coach: what if the actual problem is that there isn't a problem? Turns out my nerv...

What if the truest résumé of your life isn't the one with job titles on it? This week's Play Date is with Cynthia Morris — writing and creativity coach, novelist, and former hot air balloon chef in the Alps (a real job, apparently) — who's spent 25+ years helping creative people clear out what she calls "the inner gunk." We dig into her concept of an adventure résumé: mapp...

What if “I’m too old” isn’t a fact, but a story we’ve been telling ourselves for so long it started to sound true? In this Nudge episode, I explore the particular gremlin that insists we’ve missed our chance or gotten too old for something—and the possibility that maybe we’re not too late at all. Maybe we’re just standing at a threshold, looking at doors we haven’t tried yet. Support the show Find...

In this Play Date episode, I’m talking with creativity coach, writer, artist, and podcaster Catherine LaSota about becoming your own authority—questioning the expectations you’ve absorbed, trusting the path that actually fits you, and building a life around your real values and needs instead of somebody else’s idea of how you should be doing it. We talk about giving ourselves permission to make ou...

Have you ever caught yourself rushing when you have absolutely nowhere you need to be? In this Nudge, I’m sharing the morning I found myself hurrying just so I could relax and meditate. (Yes, I see the irony.) It got me wondering how often we rush simply because we’ve gotten used to rushing—and whether the pace of our lives might be a little more ours to choose than we think. Consider this episode...

Somewhere around midlife, the roles that used to fit us start to feel like pants that won't button — and creativity, it turns out, is how we find our way back to who's underneath them. In this Play Date, I sit down with artist and midlife transformation mentor Minette Riordan to bust the myth that creativity = art (blame the Renaissance), explore why wordless collage can crack open truth...

I grew up in the era of fine china saved for occasions that never came, and formal living rooms no one was allowed to sit in — a whole generation preparing for a party that never quite happened. Turns out I never outgrew asking why. In this Nudge episode, I follow that question somewhere I didn't expect — from the stuff in our closets to the beliefs and dreams we've quietly packed away a...

This is a Nudge with a twist — because last week, my friend Kim Turcotte (you'll remember her from our very first Play Date) sent an email that got me thinking, and I immediately texted her: "We need to talk about this on the podcast." So we did. Kim and I dig into the phrase "the lazy days of summer" and why so many of us feel the pull to slow down right now — and why tha...

Sarah Raad has spent her career working with creative women who are stuck in the loop: overthinking, second-guessing, circling the same ideas, and never quite feeling ready. Sound familiar? In this episode, we dig into why rest isn't laziness, why confidence isn't coming no matter how many online courses you take, and why picking one idea and letting the rest wait might do more for your...

My guest today is Kate Buckmeier — former neighbor, fellow quilter, and the mastermind behind something she calls The Grandma Project . Around her 49th birthday, the idea for the project arrived fully formed: twelve months, twelve activities pulled straight from the lives of her two grandmothers. Golf. Sauerkraut making. Contra dancing. Watching Days of Our Lives. We talk about why women are so qu...

Life gets busy. Responsibilities get loud. And somewhere along the way, many of us stop noticing the little things that make us smile. In this episode, we're exploring what happens when we get curious about fun again—and why rediscovering it doesn't have to mean making big changes. Sometimes it starts with a couple simple questions. Links:  https://annmarieboyle.com/the-wonder-project/ w...

If you've ever talked yourself out of the art class, the afternoon off, the thing that would genuinely make your life more beautiful — and told yourself it was about the money or the time — this one's for you. In this Nudge, I'm following a question that found me twice in less than a week: are you letting yourself have the things that bring you joy? Not the things you can justify. N...

You've heard a lot from me about reclaiming your right to play. But what does it look like from the other side — from the person in your corner who makes that space possible? Today I'm welcoming my husband of 26-plus years, known around here as Dr. J, to his very first Play Date. Paul (as people call him IRL) is a professor, an eternally optimistic human, a lover of the outdoors, and the...

When was the last time you genuinely felt sharp? Not caffeinated sharp — actually sharp? In this Nudge episode, Annmarie digs into why rest is not an earned reward, but a vital input -- and why play might be the most underrated form of rest there is. Show links: https://annmarieboyle.com/the-wonder-project/ www.annmarieboyle.com Music from Uppbeat ( https://uppbeat.io/t/soundroll/to-the-top ), Lic...

Kristen Tate is my book editor, a self-described introvert, and someone who has intentionally built play back into her life more than once. Which means this conversation felt a little like sitting down with someone who understands how easy it is to forget fun isn’t supposed to require a permission slip. We talk about why live music might secretly be the perfect introvert activity, how camping dram...

I built a podcast called I Used to Be Fun about reclaiming creativity, play, and joy. So you'd think I'd be great at actually choosing joy. You'd be wrong. In this episode, I get honest about the gap between knowing something and living it — and why "the responsible thing" is sometimes just fear wearing a sensible cardigan. usic from Uppbeat ( https://uppbeat.io/t/soundrol...

For the first Play Date episode of I Used to Be Fun, I brought in one of my besties (made it a little less scary that way!)— Kim Turcotte. Kim helps women reconnect with themselves through cyclical wisdom and intentional practice, which sounds like she has everything figured out. Spoiler: she doesn't. (Her words, not mine.) We talked about play, creativity, and what it actually means to recla...

What if you didn't lose the fun, playful version of yourself? What if you actually just got really good at editing her out? In this first episode, we explore the difference between something being lost vs. being tucked away, and make a case for why the weird, creative, slightly-too-much version of you might have been here all along. Plus: a five-minute challenge that might just crack somethin...

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