I enjoyed jigsaw puzzles as a kid, but by the time I got to college, they had become relics in my closet.
I’m “toying” with the idea of getting them out again, perhaps starting with the really pretty Bob Ross puzzle collection.
Jigsaw puzzles are excellent ways to relax. I enjoy an active life. To the ideal me, all forms of work are kinds of play. Though I frequently lose sight of this ideal, I normally do a good job of keeping it in front of me.
But still, at times you simply need to unplug altogether, and not just with a lot of alcohol (my preferred way of unplugging) or TV. Jigsaw puzzles, in their absolute pointlessness, seem like a good option. Among other benefits, they’re known to reduce stress.
They’re also known to prevent cognitive decline. Although I hope I’m at least 30 years away from this risk (none of my parents or grandparents suffered any cognitive decline prior to age 80), on some days, I feel like I’m “losin’ it.”
And finally, they’re well-suited for reading books . . . Well, listening to them, anyway. You can build puzzles and listen to audiobooks at the same time. You can also do nine other things while listening to an audiobook, which you can find in this nifty Medium.com article.
The writer, incidentally, doesn’t list gardening. It’s an unfortunate omission. I’d say 75% of gardening chores are well-suited to audiobooks.
