Make These Weeks Count April 2, 2020 Don’t sit paralyzed waiting to see what’s going to happen. What’s going to happen is that you’re going to be fine. So set some goals and come out the other end with a sense of accomplishment. I need hardly tell you (so forgive me), but: every day is precious! One easy one, to start you off: commit to 15 minutes a day of BrainHQ. Peer-reviewed studies suggest that by the time the world reopens, you’ll have meaningfully reduced your odds of ever developing dementia. What a gift to your loved ones! You will also have sharpened your reflexes and reduced the likelihood and/or severity of a car crash. (Really: studies back this up.) Free, unless you upgrade. (Please upgrade: I’m a shareholder.) And do you know what a chicken sexer is? One of the many things I learned listening to Joshua Foer’s Moonwalking with Einstein: The Art and Science of Remembering Everything — in just over six hours at 1.5 speed. It might inspire you to spend an hour a day building your memory skills. “You, too, can have an amazing memory.” You already knew that (use mental pictures to help remember things), but Foer brings it all wonderfully to life. So here we are, taking up just 75 minutes of your quarantined day, yet by the end of this thing you’ll have totally tuned up your brain. Leaving you time to watch all 100 Greatest Movies Ever Made, build a deck off your back stoop, write your will (finally!); learn to tie a bow tie, learn Spanish (so when you do take the Costa Rica trip originally planned for this month, you’ll be fluent), master PowerPoint, Photoshop and Excel; volunteer on-line (or maybe here). Maybe blow $11 on these, and start with one push-up. Wait 60 seconds, then two. Then 60 seconds and three. (I’m talking good push-ups, back straight, all the way down, all the way up.) You think you can get past 16 this way? Don’t feel bad if you only get to 10 or 12, and “consult your doctor before embarking on any strenuous exercise.” Start slow, and gradually become a man of woman of steel. Why not? Maybe blow even more on this blood pressure monitor. It’s fun, and if yours is too high, now’s a good time to find out. What a great staycation! Revel in your minimal carbon footprint! Make your own mask in 60 seconds with a T-shirt and scissors. You don’t even have to speak Czech. And save some time to watch truly dumb videos, like this one.