Teams that have fun together produce much better results than teams that are stressed out. How do you create a team atmosphere which is fun and helps productivity as a project manager? In this article, we cover team building activities that you can use to make your team as productive as they could be.

It is a scientific fact that the human brain works best when is relaxed and having fun. When your team works too hard it gets burnout real fast and productivity goes down the drain.

The burnout not only lowers productivity, but it also causes your employees to leave the workplace at much higher rates. People who are stressed out become more agitated and conflict and discourse increase dramatically in such teams.

So what you can do as a manager to keep your team sharp and happy and at peak performance over the long run? The answer might surprise you, it is done by introducing fun in the workplace.

Team building activities

Many behavioral experts suggest that scientific studies show introducing games in the workplace to improve team dynamics, cohesion, and team members’ perception of unity and comradery.

From my experience, although games are important, they are not the only things you can do to help your team stay focused and relaxed.

In addition to games, group sport, overnight camping, and other offsite activities can help you build your team to stay sharp and on the ball. The good news is that most of the suggestions here are either free team building activities or cost very little. So even startups with a limited budget can use them.

In this paper, I have listed different activities which we have engaged in the past 6 years in our work in order to keep our team fresh and sharp.

Games

Most people name games when the subject of team-building activity comes up. Games are a great way for teams to play together, learn new skills, and have fun at the same time. Any group game will do, but games that require communication, collaboration, and problem-solving are the best. I especially like card games in which two players play against another two.

I especially like card games in which two players play against another two. Each player needs to guess what cards her partner has and what the other two are holding. For a list of games check here.

Group Sport activities

Playing sports outdoors with your team is a great way for teams to know each other, have fun, and relax at the same time. Playing soccer or touch football, baseball or basketball requires the team to come up with a strategy on how to play and win the game. These games also have a huge side effect in which they help to keep your team physically fit.

Outdoor overnight camping

I love camping with family and friends. When you are outdoors you need to find a proper place to camp, set up camp, and prepare drinks and food. Long walks in nature trails have an amazing effect on our brains and bodies. The long walks

The long walks let you connect with your teammates, talk about things you don’t normally discuss at work which helps you better to know everybody on your team.

Rowing

The is something about water which brings the best in us. Rowing is a great physical activity that requires coordination among eight or ten people. Not only rowing is challenging, but it also helps us to work with others to get to our destination in a fun way.  After a long boat ride, the team sits down together to enjoy snacks and drinks and engage in conversation.

Cooking meals together

Most people don’t realize how much fun it is to prepare meals! Cooking requires good collaboration and coordination when more than one person is making a meal. After preparing the food, people sit down together to enjoy the result of their labor.

Treasure hunt

This is one of my favorite activities. You divide your team into several groups. An object is hidden somewhere in the city. In addition, clues are scattered in several places around the town. Each group is given a few cards which helps them to find the clues hidden in different locations. When a group finds one clue it helps them to find the next clue and so on. The group which reaches the hidden object first wins prizes.

All these team building activities help your team to know each other better, trust each other more, and be able to communicate and collaborate better. Team collaboration is an important ingredient in improving productivity. Without collaboration, most projects fail.

Recently we published a new article on team-building strategies, check it out.