Retirees, what are you doing to keep your mind sharp?

[HobieMarty]

Well, I am tired so, I don't know if I want to be re-tired, wouldn't that mean I'd have to start all over with being just tired?

Sent from my SM-N950U using Tapatalk

[stevej37]

It takes a couple years to get out of the '8 to 5' habit.
When you do..it's awesome...would hate to go back.

[KFC911]

Originally Posted by stevej37

It takes a couple years to get out of the '8 to 5' habit.
When you do..it's awesome...would hate to go back.

Watching Steve's turtle cam several hours every day is an awesome mental exercize too !

[Gretch]

Originally Posted by stevej37

It takes a couple years to get out of the '8 to 5' habit.
When you do..it's awesome...would hate to go back.

Couple of years is way too long............ I got through the malaise in about 10 months and THAT was stressful enough............

And I never say never, but I do not see a justifiable path for ever returning...........

I admit to an unfair advantage in that the ONLY adjustment I had to make was the mental one.

[VenezianBlau 87]

Hi Marv and everyone,
I bolded the part that struck me. I retired at 56 mid-last year. I had all sorts of projects planned out with parts waiting: Old/new HiFi gear to set up, RC toys, camera stuff (old and new), 911 repairs (still not running), spoon use, camping in our repro Shasta (not a big traveller as did it for 33 years for work)...for the most part hasn't worked out that way but still want to do them.

I don't miss work but I miss the assignments and inherent self-structure. Fortunately my wife makes life interesting and I enjoy helping my Mom who has Parkinsons.

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I've said this before, but I guess I'll say it again - especially for those who are looking forward to concentrating on activities you've long wanted to. It's this: take into consideration that your preferemces. likes, inclinations, interests, etc. probably will change, evolve, modify, or turn out significantly differently than you think on a long term basis. Just like when you were younger, make room in you lives for change and look forward to it.

[flatbutt]

The posts here indicate a lot of physical activity, but I wonder how much physical activity contributes to mental acuity. Sound body = sound mind?

[Skytrooper]

I work out daily. It improves blood flow which in turn feeds the mind. Without blood flow, you are brain dead. I have a home gym that I plan to wear out before I die, and also belong to a fitness joint with an 1/4 mile indoor track. I typically walk 8 laps (4 to start and 4 for cool down) and jog 8 laps 3x a week. I feel invigorated when I finish and my mind is alive. I think about all kinds of things while I am on the track. As an retired soldier, I just cannot break the habit of exercise. Do I think I will live longer...nope, when your time is up..its up. It makes me feel good to exercise. I used to do 8 miles running everyday, so I have slowed down a bit.
There is so much you can do when retired. You just need to find out what it is YOU want to do !

[p911dad]

I'm in on the tail end of this discussion as usual. To stay sharp my wife has her crafts and sewing room to lose herself in and I work on the property and cars. We also take a lot of time planning and taking travel wherever we can go (and of course get a Sr. deal). This takes a bit of time and concentration, but we have done this for many decades. Also, we read a lot and I read through several national and local newspapers each day to stay connected. We also have family and friends to keep close. What we have observed is many folks we have known often say they will travel and see the world when they retire, but unless you know how the travel from your earlier days when you are in that stage of life when you are an explorer (especially out of the US) and cross borders, deal with languages, cultural differences, etc. you likely will still just go to Myrtle Beach or Key West or go on a cruise and call it good, not that there is anything wrong with that.
I am not sure if any special diet or lifestyle keeps you sharp as you age, I personally think whatever genes you inherited counts big. I have now lost 4 people close to me to
Alzheimers or cognitive decline and watched the slow deterioration. Man, I don't want to go that way!

[Crowbob]

Projects.

This winter I’m putting up a coffered ceiling:

[Crowbob]

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

The posts here indicate a lot of physical activity, but I wonder how much physical activity contributes to mental acuity. Sound body = sound mind?

I got Wordle in 2 today. Plus I got my workouts in.

[look 171]

Not there yet. OP we are around the same age, I think. I plan to slowly get out of my business. Kids show no interest. They still have college to deal with. My plan is to race road bike with the old farts in my age group. I know some of them are still very fast. Most of the guys I ride with that are 55 and over are suffering, can't go too fast anymore. We will soon see. Travel off the beaten path, back road a bit. Must find something to do that for sure.

[Bill Douglas]

Originally Posted by Skytrooper

I work out daily. It improves blood flow which in turn feeds the mind. Without blood flow,

My thoughts as well. Oxygen to the brain.

My dog walking buddy Noreen said she is 87, and that was years ago. She walks her dog for hours. Not fast or hard but for hours. She is as sharp as a button. She carries on conversations from where we left off three weeks ago. Knows everyone's name, and their dog's name as well.

Lots of blood flowing around the body and good posture.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Lots of blood flowing around the body and good posture.

So, daily sex is good for the brain...cool.

[Chocaholic]

Originally Posted by flatbutt

So, daily sex is good for the brain...cool.

With someone?

[Chocaholic]

At 63 I think about retiring but have no idea what I’d do. And am a bit fearful of the boredom and the transition away from professional interaction…to obscurity. My dad struggled with that transition too.

I don’t golf, don’t play sports and have no interest in doing so. No particular talent to leverage (music, art, etc). Always looked forward to retiring, but now mostly fearful of it.

[flatbutt]

Originally Posted by Chocaholic

With someone?

thanks for the laugh Choca!

[Cajundaddy]

Been retired 2 years and so far I don't suffer boredom. I am not that guy who needs to have his hands busy all the time or he goes bonkers. My dad was that way but I can sit and ponder the universe or simply observe wildlife for many hours.

Activities include travel, endurance racing, teaching performance driving, music, and photography. I also tend to read a lot and am very interested in the current bumpy transition from mostly fossil fuels to mostly electric energy. Off grid micro-hydro, solar, micro-nuclear are all in development and are becoming more viable as technology advances and costs go way down. Imagine a small localized nuclear micro-reactor that fits in 8x40 shipping containers. They are in development now.

In spite of the often nutty global politics, it is a very interesting time to be alive.

[zakthor]

I stopped working again early this year. I love not working. There's a ton of interesting stuff to learn. I've got a stack of projects thats growing faster than I can handle.

This past month:
- small fixes for my parents
- adding features to my own linear algebra library
- made a system simulation and playing with it to learn to apply 'optimized control theory'
- fixed furnace control board
- dug new drain trench through clay next to house
- bought ble sniffer and reverse engineered a fitness device protocol, added support to my training software
- 7 hours/week workout plan on bike trainer
- planning two trips for next year
- trying to cook indian food from youtube

I'm exactly where I want to be, gotta get it done before I'm even more fragile and senile. Wish I'd quit sooner. There's an endless number of interesting things to learn about and do.

[stevej37]

^^^
I feel sorry for you on job #5

Been there...done that.