15 Skills Worth Starting at Any Age
Research on brain health consistently points to one powerful habit: learning new skills. Thanks to neuroplasticity, your brain continues to form new connections throughout your life, especially when you challenge it with something unfamiliar. Even better, a mix of mental, physical, and creative skills can help strengthen different areas of the brain and support long-term cognitive health.
If you’ve been looking for a place to start, here are 15 specific skills you can begin right away:
Learn 10 basic phrases in Spanish (or another language)
Master how to properly chop an onion and garlic
Write your name in cursive or basic calligraphy style
Practice standing on one foot for 30 seconds (balance training)
Learn a simple drum rhythm using your hands on a table
Memorize a short poem or quote using visualization
Repot a houseplant correctly (soil, drainage, watering)
Take and edit one photo using your phone’s built-in tools
Learn how to wrap a gift neatly with clean corners
Write one paragraph about your day without stopping
Sketch a simple object in your home (like a mug or lamp)
Learn how
to properly read a nutrition label (servings, calories, and ingredients)
Organize and rename 10 photos on your phone
Learn a basic crochet stitch
(like a chain stitch)
Practice telling a 1-minute story with a clear beginning, middle, and end
What makes these especially powerful isn’t
perfection...it’s novelty. When you try something new, your brain becomes more alert and engaged, strengthening the pathways that support learning and memory.
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"Your April 28th Daily Dose is really reminiscent for me. I am 81 and lived your column. I have progressed from paper to an online calendar. I use Google Maps for everything. I gave up my attached line phone for a smart phone years
ago.
But I remember when life was simpler and, in fact until I was seven, we had no phone and used the pay phones in the store near us.
When we moved to Philadelphia, we had a party line. I remember too when we had an upstairs phone and a downstairs phone. Those days were indeed simpler.
But there are good things and bad things about the past and today but it is always important to go with the flow and keep up with what's happening now while remembering the past.
I really like your column
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