As we get older we like to think of ourselves as getting wiser, even though our bodies are becoming weaker and less supple. What we are losing in physical strength, we have already made up for in mental power… or at least we like to think that way. So why not put this wisdom into action in order to save what little remaining strength we have? Let’s take a look at how, by being just a little bit smart, we can make life as an elderly person much easier.
The most obvious problem many have is getting around. How many times do you watch in horror, hand over mouth as some old granny attempts to walk from the store to her car, hunched over, stick on one hand, shopping basket in the other, moving almost as fast as a tortoise wading through syrup? Not only is she risking injury and accident, she’s also using up so much energy that she’ll need a week in bed to recover. All of this could be avoided by being a bit smarter and investing some money in an easier way of getting to and from the car and around the store. Segways may be expensive but check out these Segway clones at Electric Rider for a solution. Keep it in the trunk of your car. Once you’ve parked up, hop on it and soon you’ll be telling all the youngsters to get out of your way, rather than the other way round.
Every second of every day we’re taking in new information which we have to find a way of storing in our memories, ready to access on demand. Unfortunately, most of us start forgetting things much more than we used to. After all, we’re only human, it’s not like we have digital storage banks up there or anything. Which is why we should store the things we need to remember on real digital storage. Such as making lists of medication or shopping items and tasks to complete on our smartphones. Rather than trying to remember a bunch of specific items to purchase from the garden center, simply take or download photos of them. Show them to the staff when you arrive and let them be kind enough to fetch the whole lot for you. Save the battery on your Segway clone. Incidentally, you can use this hack to help you avoid forgetting where you parked the car. Simply snap a photo of it when you close the door and you’ll avoid those wasted hours trying to find it again.
Another item you should carry with you at all times is a shawl. For gentlemen who might not particularly like shawls, a wide scarf will do. Why do you need this? Well, do you remember that restaurant where the air conditioner was way too low? Or that day in the park that you kept falling asleep and ended up getting sunburn? That’s why you need it. Roll it up and keep it in your pocket until you start feeling uncomfortable.
When it comes to forgetting which key goes in which door and which remote control goes with which appliance, you might want to try using color coded stickers. For example, if your front door is painted white the back door is red and the garage door is green, then simply stick white, red and green stickers on the corresponding keys and you’ll never find yourself fiddling around trying to force the wrong key into the lock for half an hour as the rain hammers down. Do the same with your appliances – put a red sticker on the TV itself plus a matching one on its remote. Now put a white sticker on the air conditioner and a white sticker on the remote for the air conditioner. Now you’ll never try to turn on the air conditioner with the TV remote ever again. Think of all the time you’ll save no having to check if the batteries were faulty and rummaging around under the couch to try to find spare batteries.
The last piece of advice is to play on your fragility. Act more infirm and forgetful than you really are. Before you know it, people will be rushing around taking care of you as if they were your personal slaves. Put your feet up and let them do the hard work. After all, you’ve already done plenty of that yourself, back in the day!
