Maybe life doesn’t need a full vacation. Maybe it just needs one small side quest.
Last week I wrote about liking things. And while there are certainly parts of life (lots of daily life) that aren’t exactly enjoyable, I’m becoming more convinced that liking things, enjoying things, and creating little moments worth looking forward to makes life a little richer, literally and figuratively.
Lately I’ve been thinking about side quests.
If you’ve ever played a video game (#boymomhere), you know the idea. There’s the main storyline you’re supposed to be following…and then there are all the little adventures along the way. They’re optional. They’re not required to finish the game.
Life has plenty of main quests already. Work. Laundry. Practices. Appointments. Responsibilities.
The side quests are usually the things we choose.
This past weekend we hosted our annual World Cup Olympics pool party. Each pair represented a different country, showed up in themed outfits, and spent the day competing in volleyball, floaty races, cornhole, dice games, and a handful of other events that were far more competitive than actually necessary. There was good food, plenty of laughter, and enough national pride to make you forget that most of us had never lived in the countries we were representing. (Country trivia and national anthem guessing were, in fact, events.)
A small part of me was cheering for Argentina in the actual soccer game. I’ve always enjoyed watching Messi play, and it would’ve been fun to see him lift another trophy. But as the weekend went on, I realized something.
The real winners weren’t the team standing on the podium.
They were the people gathering in backyards, restaurants, living rooms, and parks all over the world. For ninety minutes, friends became teammates, neighbors became rivals, and people gave themselves permission to care about something wonderfully insignificant.
It made me wonder how often we wait for a wedding, a birthday, a vacation, or a holiday before giving ourselves permission to have an unreasonable amount of fun.
Maybe we don’t need a bigger reason.
Maybe we simply need more side quests.
And then I started thinking…
What do side quests look like at work?
Leadership
Leadership can become one long main storyline.
Hit the goal.
Finish the project.
Solve the problem.
Move on to the next thing.
The work never really ends, and if we’re not careful, our calendars become nothing more than lists of obligations. (Pete and Repeat were in a boat…you get the idea.)
Here’s what I’ve noticed.
The leaders creating the strongest cultures and the best results don’t just manage work.
They create side quests.
They honor milestones that didn’t require a celebration.
They create traditions that no one asked for.
They start meetings with a story instead of an agenda.
They give people permission to spend time exploring an idea that’s been sitting on the back burner.
They ask, “How could we make this just a little more enjoyable?”
They create moments that remind people they’re humans before they’re employees.
None of those activities appear on a KPI dashboard.
Yet those are often the moments people remember years later.
If this sounds a little soft, stay with me.
People rarely leave organizations because there weren’t enough spreadsheets or meetings. They leave when work becomes emotionally flat or toxic.
Energy influences effort.
Effort influences performance.
Performance influences results.
Creating side quests isn’t soft.
It isn’t avoiding the work.
It’s fueling the work.
Sometimes leadership looks less like driving the mission forward and more like giving people permission to enjoy the journey.
Need a leadership side quest this week?
Before you announce it, give people a little context.
“I’ve been thinking about how we can make work just a little more enjoyable, so I thought we’d try something different today.”
Our brains are wired to explain surprises. Without context, people wonder:
Why are we doing this?
What’s the catch?
What changed?
A little context lowers skepticism.
Then try one of these:
- Celebrate a project that crossed the finish line. Party hats at Walmart are $1.62 online. A little confetti goes a surprisingly long way.
- Turn a meeting moment into a side quest. Start with a two-minute challenge like, “What’s one customer win this week?” or “Who made your job easier this week?”
- Take the meeting on the move. Trade the conference room for a 15-minute walk outside or a standing meeting. A change of scenery often changes the conversation.
- Tell a completely unrelated story. “Last night I had a dream I was being chased by a bear…” Watch what happens. Suddenly everyone has a story to share.
- Challenge the team to solve one tiny problem. Ask, “What’s one thing we could make 10% easier for ourselves this week?” Then actually try one idea.
- Leave a surprise. A handwritten note. A favorite snack. A sticky note that says, “I appreciated how you handled that.”
- Let someone teach the team something. A favorite AI prompt they use. A productivity shortcut. A podcast recommendation. Everyone has something worth sharing.
Sure, someone might roll their eyes.
Someone always rolls their eyes.
But they’ll also remember it.
They’ll talk about it.
They’ll laugh about it later.
Ordinary workdays don’t become memorable by accident.
Life
I think adults are particularly good at talking themselves out of side quests.
“We’re too busy.”
“That sounds like too much work.”
“Maybe another time.”
Somewhere along the way, we started believing that joy has to earn its place on the calendar.
What if we flipped that thinking?
Need a life side quest this week?
Plan the themed dinner. You’re eating anyway. Why not make Taco Tuesday “Tacos Around the World?” Same tacos. Different story.
Host the game night. I noticed Five Below sells decks of cards for a dollar. Turns out, you don’t need much to create a memorable night.
Take the scenic route home. Even if it’s only one or two extra blocks. Roll the windows down. Notice the sunset. Play the song you forgot you loved.
Invite a friend over on a random Tuesday. A friend and I have 15-minute sparkling water meetups. We stop by, catch up, laugh a little, and then get back to our day. It’s become one of my favorite little traditions.
Cheer for something. Even if it’s a country you’ve never visited or a game that doesn’t actually matter.
Not because the occasion demanded it, but because life feels a little lighter when we intentionally create silly moments worth remembering.
The funny thing about side quests is they rarely feel important while they’re happening.
They’re optional in the moment, but unforgettable in hindsight.
Years later, they’re often the stories we tell the most. Or the photos we flip through the longest.
Maybe this week doesn’t need a vacation.
Your calendar is probably already full.
Maybe it just needs one small side quest.
Have Good Ripple Effect,
Lisa