Play Week was such a fun, creative week — and honestly, one of my favorite things I built in my little corner of the internet. Over the past few weeks, I’ve been dreaming up a new chapter for this space — one that helps us keep experimenting with balance, joy, and alignment in real life (without the pressure to get it perfect). Right now, I’m thinking of calling it ✨The Joy Lab✨ — a free community for burned-out clinicians to explore small ways to build a life and work they don’t need a break from. My goal for the space would be to share the occasionally live, mini trainings, share episodes of my podcast with @Amy Zembriski, maybe even the occasional chat gpt prompts that I am finding helpful in my own alignment journey, and eventually I'd love to host a monthly Coffee Chat or Burnout Happy Hour for connecting and networking with others like we did during Play Week. That said, I really want this to feel meaningful and nourishing for you, not just another group sending notifications to your phone or email. So I’d love to hear from you: ☕ What would make this space feel valuable to you? 💬 What kinds of conversations or topics would feel supportive or inspiring right now? ✨ And what do you think about the name The Joy Lab? Does it resonate with you — or is there another direction that feels more “us”? And if this next version of the group doesn’t feel aligned for you, that’s completely okay too. I know some of you may decide to leave, and while I will miss you, I totally understand that sometimes more resources or additional groups aren't what we feel like we need — no hard feelings, truly. Can't wait to hear what you think.. And thank you for being part of this community, and for showing up with your creativity and compassion during Play Week. — Angelyn

Hey Everyone! I'm so so excited you joined PLAY WEEK! If we haven't met yet, I'm Dr. Angelyn Franks, a speech-language pathologist, burnout coach, + mindfulness researcher. My work (and my heart 💖) is all about helping stressed clinicians trade burnout for clarity and alignment — and during Play Week (Oct 6–10), we’ll be using play as the doorway back to energy and joy. A little about me: ✨ Spaciousness, connection, mindfulness, authenticity, + curiosity are my core values 🔬 My SLPD research focused on mindfulness and stress 🏡 I grew up outside of Boston + now live in Arkansas 💖 Mom to Haylee (almost 16!?) and dog-mom to Brody (almost 5!?) When Play Week kicks off, we’ll carve out 30 minutes each day live on Zoom to: 🍁 Understand why play matters in burnout recovery 🍁 Discover your Play Personality 🍁 Build a realistic plan for weaving play into your life Drop a quick intro in the comments ⬇️ ✨ Your name + where you’ll be tuning in from ✨ What you do (SLP, teacher, OT, PT, etc.) ✨ A gif or pic from your favorite childhood game or TV show (The nostalgia is totally on theme for PLAY WEEK 🍂🎉)