Use Your Brain! (Imperfect Homemaking Challenge)

Busy, busy, busy!  Doesn't that describe pretty much all of us?

You think all day long – doubling recipes, remembering what needs to go on the shopping list until you're somewhere where you can write it down, helping kids with math problems – but yet your brain never seems to work.  You'd think it would get plenty of exercise and be pretty fit, but instead it seems that it's pretty much just worn out.

Sometimes I find myself walking into a room and staring around blankly because I can't remember why I went in there.

“This isn't supposed to happen at my age!” I think.  But it does.  And I know I'm not the only one.

I've been trying to exercise different parts of my brain using various apps on the iPad.  I seem to overuse certain parts and hardly use some at all.  I know I could be a more effective manager of my home if my brain would function at optimum capacity.

My husband loves strategy games, but I can't do them very well at all!  Lumosity.com has some games that are quick and fun and focus on developing the various parts of the brain.  Some apps I've used that are challenging for me without being too hard are Folt and Left Brain Right Brain.  I occasionally like to do a Sudoku puzzle as well.

Now, aside from the brain exercises, sometimes we need to just let our brain rest.  My favorite way to do that is to read a book.  Often before bed I'll think “Oh, I just need to check Facebook really quick.”  But I never sleep as well when I do that, and I almost always sleep well when I read a real book before bed.

When I read, I am resting my brain, but also growing myself as a person at the same time.  I like to read books that bring introspection, like devotionals or Christian biographies.  I can't tell you how much it helps my brain unwind and quit thinking about all the things I need to do the next day, while at the same time giving me things to consider as I seek to grow in my Christian walk.  I can fall asleep “thinking on good things”, and my sleep is sweet!

Today's Challenge: Do something to either strengthen your brain or relax it!  I know you're busy.  Don't use that as an excuse.  Just take a couple minutes right before you go to sleep.

 Instagram challenge: Post a photo of a brain game you played or a book you read.  Use the hashtag #imperfecthomemaker to encourage other members of this community.  (Follow me here.)

If you’re just joining the 31 Days of Imperfect Homemaking series, you can see all the posts here.