Play protects creativity from becoming entirely utilitarian.

Creativity that only ever serves a purpose narrows over time. All the odd experiments, the dead ends, the things made for nobody: those are where the range comes from, and they only happen when there is no requirement for the work to be good or useful.

Make something bad on purpose this month. No audience, no outcome, no standard. It feels like a waste of time and it is the thing that keeps the useful work from becoming mechanical.