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Part Time Jobs For Seniors

November 22, 2011 by greystar

Whether you’re looking for extra income or simply the satisfaction of keeping busy, a part time job can be a great way to enhance your senior years. Entering the workplace as a part-time employee will allow you to forge new friendships, stimulate your mind, and attain a stronger sense of financial security. Here are four excellent options for senior-oriented part time work:

Retail. Retail employment can offer ideal part-time opportunities for seniors, including jobs as a cashier, manager, greeter, or stock room associate. You’ll enjoy the social aspect of working with customers, as well as the flexible schedule that comes with many retail positions.

Non-Profit Work. Don’t let the phrase “non-profit” deter you. Many jobs in non-profit organizations are paid. Working in the non-profit sector will allow you to make significant contributions to the world and contribute to your wallet.

Library Assistant/Aide. If you love books and people, why not work in a library? You might work at the check-out desk, help patrons find books, or help with library events such as readings and story-time hours. You’ll have fun interacting with people of all ages in an environment that’s buzzing with mental energy.

Tour Guide. If you’re a senior who loves to learn and share knowledge, why not be a tour guide? You’ll enjoy leading people on tours of museums, historical monuments, or sight-seeing spots in your local community. What better way to keep your mind and body active while connecting with others?

These are just some of the many venues for part-time work available to you as a senior. For more information about part-time job opportunities available to senior citizens, click here: http://jobler.com/part-time-jobs-for-senior-citizens.html. Good luck with your job search!

Keep Fit At Any Age!

November 15, 2011 by greystar

Who says you can’t stay fit over fifty? Studies have shown that the physical and mental benefits of exercise increase with age. No matter how many candles are on the birthday cake, exercise is proven to reduce illness and chronic disease, enhance mobility and balance, and improve cognitive functions like memory. These four basic forms of exercise will benefit everyone.

Balance exercises:

These will help strengthen your leg muscles and prevent falls. Click to read important descriptions of proper form.

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/basicexerciseseries/ss/balanceexercise.htm

Endurance exercises:

These are cardiovascular exercises that will help improve your heart rate, manage your weight, and increase your metabolism. Click here to find out more information about cardio activities for older adults:

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/basicexerciseseries/ss/cardioexercise_3.htm

Strength exercises:

These will help you build muscles, increase your metabolism, and maintain healthy blood sugar levels. Click to read about strength training exercises for older adults:

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/basicexerciseseries/ss/strengthexercis.htm

Stretching exercises:

These will help improve your range of motion, allowing you to be more energetic and active throughout your life. Click here to read more about stretching exercises that will enhance your quality of life:

http://seniorliving.about.com/od/basicexerciseseries/ss/stretchexercise.htm

For a maximally effective health program, combine activities from all four categories. Make sure to check with your health care provider before beginning a new exercise regime. The best time to get started is now! You’ll feel stronger, happier, and more energetic – what could be better than that?

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Exercise, Fitness, Senior Fitness, Senior Health

Watch The Markets: The Best Business News Websites

November 8, 2011 by greystar

Modern business is a global affair, with information and opinion coming from a vast variety of sources. Gone are the days when a subscription to The Wall Street Journal was all you needed to keep tabs on the market. The savvy businessman now keeps his eye on a number of essential websites, each of which can offer different insight. Here are five of the most important to bookmark:

– Forbes.com – Forbes has long been one of the most trustworthy sources for business and financial information, and their website continues that tradition of excellence. Featuring a wide array of columnists with deep wells of knowledge, Forbes is an edifying and entertaining read.

– Fool.com – One of the biggest success stories of the early days of the internet, the Motley Fool brought investment advice to the masses with an easy-to-understand portfolio management tool and lots of information and insight.

– Smartmoney.com – A great site for tracking the fluctuations of the market, Smartmoney.com offers hourly updates on daily trends as well as a tremendous amount of analytical work that can give investors a jump on the next day.

– Fastcompany.com – Dedicated to tracking the breaking wave of new business, Fast Company profiles people who are expanding the marketplace of ideas around the world. If you want to see the future of competition, this is the best place to look.

– Businessweek.com – One of the best all-around business news websites, Bloomberg Businessweek's website draws on the success and reputation of the print publication to offer unmatched access to the business world.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Business, Forbes, Motley Fool, News, Smart Money, Websites

Can’t Find Those Car Keys? Exercise Your Brain!

November 1, 2011 by greystar

As we get older, even the healthiest among us will occasionally forget where we put the car keys. But don’t worry, because the brain is just like the rest of your body: use it, and it gets stronger. A 2006 study in the Journal of the American Medical Association showed that five years of brain exercises improved the lives of participating seniors. And we don’t exactly mean weight lifting, either—these things will make you smile.

Experts like the Alzheimer's Association say that word games are your best bet for improving memory. For example, crossword puzzles not only help you recall long-buried facts, they give your logic skills a workout as you sort through hints and synonyms. Board games like Scrabble and Boggle have similar effects, with the added benefit of requiring strategy and social interaction.

Number games help too, but they should focus on patterns and sequences. Playing Sudoku—a Japanese game that requires you to plug numbers into a grid—is a huge challenge to several types of associative memory, as are multi-player games like dominoes and Yahtzee.

What are you waiting for? Get yourself a crossword book, line up those dominoes, and play your way to a longer, stronger, happier life.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Crossword Puzzles, Exercise, Health, Memory, Scrabble, Word Games

Five Poets You Should Know

October 25, 2011 by greystar

The poet Williams Carlos Williams once said “It is difficult to get the news from poems / yet men die miserably everyday for lack of what is found there.” His words point to the power of poetry as a source of sustenance for human beings. Here are five must-know iconic poets whose works are certain to enhance your life:

Robert Frost – If you think you know this poet because of some exposure to him in school, think again: diving into Frost’s body of work will reveal a very different poet from the one so often presented in cursory classroom exercises. His poems, ranging from funny to plaintive to dark, will excite your ear and energize your heart and mind.

Elizabeth Bishop – This is a poet whose impeccable eye for detail will astound you in poem after poem. She holds a vivid lens to the world and records it precisely as it is, continually testing the bounds between perception and truth.

Richard Wilbur – One of the greatest living poets, Wilbur writes poems that will captivate you with their sounds while they challenge you with their content. His poems beg to be read aloud and memorized.

Sylvia Plath – Though the biographical details of her life sometimes overshadow Plath’s poetry, her work remains some of the most electrically charged and influential poetry of the 20th century. The poems burn on the page, flashing with a skillfully controlled energy force.

Philip Larkin – Considered one of the best English poets of the twentieth century, Larkin is poet whose works will dazzle you with their wry intelligence and sonic power. His poems, known for their often less-than-sunny world-view, never present one version of reality but instead acknowledge the complexity of experience.

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: Books, Elizabeth Bishop, Poetry, Robert Frost

How to Be a Safe Senior Driver

October 18, 2011 by greystar

Let's face it: aging impacts the stuff that makes us safe behind the wheel. Though some people find it necessary to stop driving as they get older, you don't necessarily have to stop hitting the road. As an elderly driver, here are some tips to keep you safe when you hit the gas pedal:

Look out for your eyesight.

Certain eye conditions and medications that can impede your ability to focus or hamper your peripheral vision. Other eyesight issues that can arise as you age are light-sensitivity, blurred sight, or difficult with night vision. You want to be sure that you can clearly see road signs and traffic lights from a reasonable distance, and that you can fully see the motions of the drivers around you.

How's your hearing?

If you’ve started to experience decreased hearing sharpness, this could be dangerous on the road. Drivers need a strong hearing ability in order to pick up on the many audio cues of the road, like sirens, horns, squealing breaks or accelerating engines.

Watch out for changes in your reflexes and reaction time.

The ability to react quickly is a crucial skill for safe driving. If you find that you’re taking a longer time to process events and, as a result, reacting more slowly, this is an important warning sign that you may need to reduce your driving, get help, or possibly stop altogether.

Be mindful of your memory.

If you find yourself forgetting familiar routes or basic driving functions (like using turn signals, for example), pay attention to these changes. Have a doctor evaluate your memory issues before getting back on the road.

Staying safe means paying attention to your body. If you see your doctor regularly, you can feel great about revving your engine and hitting the road. Happy driving!

Filed Under: Lifestyle Tagged With: How to Be a Safe Senior Driving, Senior Health, Senior Lifestyle, Senior Living