The last word in the title is Brain. (Posted automatically (?) before I was finished!) I do quite a bit of article writing for clients and not only does it bring me a few bucks every month which is always helpful, but I think that it is also helping me keep mentally sound as well. I am a firm believer that so many older people start "losing it" when they become inactive. I have to admit to myself that physically, I am pretty much limited to walking and I do that almost daily. My brain, however has no limitations and when I accept an assignment I am not concerned if I have no idea of the topic I am to write about. There is so much information available on the internet that I can get a valid understanding of almost any subject. For example, if a client wants an article about "latex products, I just enter that into google search (doing it now) and 6,800,000 URLS come up! All I need to is read about ten of them, take notes and I will have enough information to create an original article. So the more I write, the more information goes to my brain and keeps it active. As some of you know, my computer has been down for about a week, but hitting my clients site was one of the first things I did. Three articles so far (I try not to do more than one or two daily) and now I can hold a decent conversation on i-Phone repair kits (not too shabby considering I don't even have one), Payday loan stores, and Internet Paid Advertising. My pay is small, only about ten dollars for the three articles, but that is ten more than I had two days ago and I am still keeping mentally active!
The old adage, "Use it or lose it", certainly applies to the brain. The more we use it, the sharper we remain. I've seen studies that show that people who do word problems, puzzles, math problems or even just reading (and research like you do) retain more cognitive abilities as they age, compared to those who do nothing but watch TV. I think that mental stimulation also helps us remain "sane". Keeping our brains busy and engaged, reduces boredom and keeps us energetic and alert.
I agree that it is very important to exercise the brain as much or more than you do your body to keep your mental status from declining. I watch people who see reading a book as too much trouble, I see reading a book as an activity to learn something new and keep my brain moving. I worked in the accounting department of many large companies for years. I still doodle in numbers, add things up in my mind and seldom use a calculator to keep my mind active.
[QUOTE="Pat Baker, post: 6126, member: 15" I still doodle in numbers, add things up in my mind and seldom use a calculator to keep my mind active.[/QUOTE] For me, it's phone numbers. I have a smartphone which, of course, keeps track of everyone's number. When you hit the phone icon, it comes up with everyone's name - but instead of doing that, I actually hit the keypad icon, and then type in the number manually. Sometimes, it's a stretch to remember someone's number, but I find that it's great for my memory. I also love doing those puzzles that give you 4-5 numbers, then ask what the next number in the sequence will be. Or the puzzle that cuts an image into pieces, with one missing, than gives you multiple options as to which one fits (does that make sense).
Yep, we need to be busy for sure. One of the good things about articles is that I am assigned to complete it in a certain number of hours (usually 8) and that keeps a little pressure up! Almost like work.....OUCH!
I've been writing articles and other types of web content since 2008. I surprise myself sometimes when I successfully complete an article on something I previously knew little or nothing about, but I've always enjoyed doing research. There are some topics I won't attempt to write about, usually because I don't understand what they are about or have no undertstanding of the technical terms. Over the past 12 months I've written 530 articles. Some of these were less than 300 words and a few were more than 3,000. The time really flies by when I'm concentrating on my work. I 'm given between 12 hours and 5 days to complete an article, depending on the client. I agree that spending time on creative activities, and reading books, are great ways to keep the brain in good working order. I would much rather be reading or writing than watching TV or doing something mindless.
You have to exercise your brain just like you would any other part of your body. Writing about topics you know nothing about is one good way to keep learning new things, which is awesome exercise for your brain. Word puzzles, strategy games and similar activities also keep the neurons firing up.
I agree keeping the body and mind fit and exercised is great and making money doing it is even better! Whether you play games, work or both it's fun to keep learning and making money having fun while exercising too. Wish we could make more money while working and having fun too!
Yes, that is one reason I really like writing and researching. It keeps my brain active, and learning new things every day is important to keep your brain from shriveling up. I feel like as long as I can keep my brain and body active I will remain young at heart.
If you can remember my first posts, I have joined forums not for the money but to enhance my writing skills. I have earned a course in a good university where English is the medium of instructions so that gives me an edge. However, written English is not the same as spoken since you have to be observant of the spelling and the grammar as well. Working on my job for a long time made me lose the adjectives and adverbs I used to know because office communication has its own nuances and standards. It's nice to learn and to earn at the same time although I don't think I am ripe for writing articles. But I do enjoy some forums that I go to particularly this Seniors forum where my vibrations seem to be at synch with most of the members.
I hope to have the same experience with you Corie. I am still a newbie here in this forum. Although this is not the first time I joined forums since my job as an online freelancer entails me to join some. I have also been a forum moderator of a local Philippine forum for over 5 years and currently handle some business websites including moderating of their respective forums. I am very much aware and familiar with forum etiquettes and processes although I must say each forums have different themes, rules and guidelines. I hope to belong and finally settle here since this is where me as a quinquagenarian belongs with. Before my disability struck me, I have the chance to have a short term work with a financial call center here in Manila doing outbound calls to its clients. This experience and my hobby in creative writing made me do my current work as an online freelancer since I can no longer work in the office due to mobility issues of this disability. I am no expert Corie but I thank you all for the opportunity since this forum serves as my breather from all my online work.
Gee, @Amie Ar, what an experience you have behind you. Moderating for a forum is no easy task so I guess you have earned much from that chore. I was being offered a moderator job by one business forum in exchange for a regular allowance (I just don't know how much) but I am just a newbie and I don't know much about that task. It's sad to hear that you have a debilitating ailment but on a brighter note, you are still earning and trying to live a decent life. Although I don't own this forum, I am welcoming you in behalf of the active members here who, I know, would be happy to read your posts.
@Richard Paradon I do some article writing as well. I have done some for print magazines as well as online. The value of print, for me, mostly lies in that they tend to pay more when you do actually get accepted. However, it can be harder to get an editor to take a piece than with online content writing. One of my favorite print magazines I sold a piece to was Mature Years. They paid very well for a short humor piece. I haven't sent them any since then, but then I haven't really written any humor for a while anyway. Do you mind if I ask what websites you do writing for? If you don't really want to discuss it here, we could PM. I have one main one I use, but also use another on occasion.