We have kind of danced around this topic, and have talked about some of the things we do to keep our mind active as we grow older; but have not really delved into the possibilities. We (most of us) went from being active , busy people (usually with a family to care for) to living either alone or with our spouse, and not having many obligations except for what we do around the house. In the summer, this is not so much of a challenge for me, because the weather is nice, and there is a lot of stuff to do outside in the yard and garden, and driving somewhere is fun, too. Now, winter is coming for those of us in the United States, in some degree or another, and this is when I get bored more easily and have to find things to read, or watch a video or a podcast to keep my mind active. Bobby likes to play games on his iPad, and that keeps his brain busy, and he listens to radio news, and watches what goes on in our neighborhood. I am more inside now, and what I have been doing in the mornings , is taking the little surveys that earn points for Amazon gift cards. It is okay and keeps me busy, but is not really anything that stimulates my mind. So, I was wondering what everyone else does to combat being bored and keeping their mind active ?
Actually several things. Before bed, I do word puzzles on my iPad on an app called Word Calm. I stay calm for a while, but they always seem to reject a perfectly good word that raises my hackles. Before I toss it across the room, I close the lid and count sheep. I try counting 100 sheep backward starting at 100. That can be a mind-bender. Even though I don't do radio design or musical instrument building anymore, I still discuss it online to keep my brain sharp. I participate in a ranch forum to keep up with new technology. I write poetry and still play guitar and experiment with new improvisions.
I like to see learn and do new things. The latest is learning and becoming proficient with a new photo editor (i.e., ON1 Photo Raw 2023) for converting and editing raw format photos. Last winter's biggie was learning to fly keypoints in GPS space with the drone. A past years' activity was learning to program and use a 3-axis, CNC milling machine to make memorial ornaments. Another recent activity involved learning to edit and produce videos (e.g., YouTube Link). Am always on the lookout for something interesting to research, learn and try, which in itself can help the mind stlay agile.
Crosswords on paper and laptop or phone. And a word game. Once in awhile solitaire. i read a variety of articles off and on.
I do a crossword puzzle every morning when I get up. It sort of "primes" the brain juices for the day.
I read books mostly. Sometimes I play mahjong and solitaire. Just thinking about what we are going to fix to eat each day requires a lot of thought and brain activity.
Until recently, I was keeping my mind agile by analyzing and trading cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, Ethereum, Cardano, etc. The crypto learning curve was very steep, but I finally got the hang of it a couple years ago. I then did fairly well with capital gains and staking, equivalent to getting dividends. Since cryptos are now in a bear market, I am on hold, waiting for the next bull market to start. In the meantime, I am staying mentally active by studying Hinduism which turns out to be utterly fascinating. It's a strange mixture of philosophy, psychology, mythology, science, and religion.
WOW! Ken letting his sarcastic humor loose and his wife approves! That is some impressive mental agility, but only because his wife approves.
When we aren't watching rodeo on the Cowboy Channel, Wheel of Fortune, Masked Singer, NFL games, MASH, Gunsmoke or one of our movie DVD's, we are playing our favorite game on our iPhone. I'm on our desktop quite a bit during the week, printing out pictures of us with rodeo world champions to frame and hang on our walls (at new apartment next year).
I learned to play bridge in my 20's from my ex husband, and played for some yrs and then life took over directions and I had to give up bridge and WORK.....so now when I retired totally at late 60's I took up bridge again and played for many yrs and met a lot of Older people who love the bridge games......I learned a lot from a dear friend who was so sharp at 95 when she passed, the bridge kept her sharp. I don't play now due to damage from the hip mess, just can't get around and sit for hrs ...but Bridge saved and expanded my brain.