101 Ways to Shake Things Up for 2025

101 Ways to Shake Things Up for 2025 and Bring a Little More Neuroplasticity into Your Life*

Here are some ways to generate neuroplasticity, also known as the brain’s ability to regenerate and reorganize itself.

EXERCISE: Aerobic exercise can increase the expression of neuroplasticity biomarkers.

1. Go for a walk
2. Walk a different way from the usual
3. Walk with an old friend
4. Walk with a new friend
5. Walk while listening to a podcast or music
6. Take a group exercise class
7. Take up a new sport like paddle boarding or kayaking or pickleball…or walking
8. Re-engage in an old sport like tennis, running, or rollerblading…or walking
9. Pull out your bicycle, fill the tires and take it out for a spin
10. Use your bike for errands instead of driving
11. Try yoga
12. Try a different variation of yoga  (https://yogainternational.com)
13. Try them all and see which ones you like best
14. Hatha yoga (basic postures)
15. Vinyasa yoga (more of a flowing sequences of poses)
16. Iyengar yoga (precise alignment with props)
17. Ashtanga yoga (a more rigorous practice)
18. Yin yoga (slow, deep stretches)
19. Bikram yoga (donein a heated room)
20. Restorative yoga (deep relaxation with props)
21. Power yoga (emphasizes strength building)
22. Kundalini yoga (incorporates breathing and chanting)
23. Try in person classes to add further benefit by being around other people
24. Try a martial art (https://dojos.info/Search/) (https://www.martialartsschoolsdirectory.com)

LEARN: Add cognitive challenges

25. Learn a new language
26. Learn a new musical instrument
27. Start solving puzzles
28. Word puzzles (The New York times has a slew of them)
29. Math puzzles (e.g. sudoku)
30. Jigsaw puzzles (try without checking the picture)
31. Try some escape rooms (https://escaperoom.com)
32. Try a Masterclass (https://www.masterclass.com)
33. Learn Mah Jong – you may already have friends playing it
34. Meet up with other Mah Jong players
35. Learn a new skill – what have you been wishing you knew how to do?
36. Learning a new skill involving creating something with your hands has extra benefits
37. Look at your local university for lecture series
38. Look at your local community center for education programs
39. Listen to podcasts or Tedtalks
40. Watch a foreign film
41. Watch some kids’ programs in that language you used to know from school without the subtitles and see how much you can decipher
42. Watch the show again and see how much more you understand the second or third time
43. Try to memorize all the national flags or the periodic table
44. Learn all the (correct) lyrics to your favorite song
45. Read one article from a periodical you used to like but decided you don’t have time for anymore
46. Bring a note pad with you and try jotting down your thoughts daily
47. Bring a notepad and pick one activity you will document – how the coffee tasted today, the food, the wine. How the weather felt, how much time you spent outdoors and what you saw

CREATE: Such as doing art or music, cooking or sewing

48. Wake up old skills you used to have
49. Knit or crochet something new, sew or embroider
50. Do some drawing or coloring (they make fun adult coloring books)
51. Take an art class
52. Don’t bother with the class, just start doodling and see what comes out
53. Commit to playing something on the piano that has been collecting dust or the guitar that you forgot was sitting in the corner of the garage
54. Try cooking a new type of cuisine
55. Try baking something complicated
56. Try baking bread and kneading it by hand
57. Try cake decorating (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7nFnKuYOT4)
58. Go for a walk in a park and take pictures of leaves or wildlife
59. Play with a photo editor and see how many variations you can make of the photos
60. Grab some colored pencils and try drawing the photos
61. Print the photos and color over them to change their mood or feel
62. Glue over them and create a 3D piece
63. Go through a pile of old memorabilia and make a collage or scrap book

TRAVEL: Go somewhere new even if it is in your local neighborhood

64. Check out a local museum
65. See a live show at the theater
66. Try a new cuisine
67. Read up on the cuisine and eating habits before going to the restaurant so you know what to order and which utensils to use
68. Try their regional specialties
69. Ask for recommendations in each restaurant and try it
70. Don’t wait for a trip – you can eat like a tourist in many cities’ ethnic restaurants
71. Walk through botanical gardens
72. Keep track of how many steps you climbed or bridges you crossed
73. Learn a few phrases in their language like please and thank you and use them as often as you can
74. Keep a log of how many times you used them each day and compare
75. Sign up for some AirBnB experiences

MEDITATE: Practice mindfulness and meditation and observation

76. Mindful observation – pick an object (a fruit, a leaf, a ball, a shoe) and record everything you see about it – each day decide to increase the number of features you notice for an object
77. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 senses: list five things you see, four things you hear, three things you feel, two things you smell, and one thing you taste.
78. Sit in what you think is a quiet room and focus on the sounds you hear
79. Sit in a not-so-quiet place and pick one sound to focus on
80. Set aside a few minutes to focus on what you smell – is it sweet, fruity, floral, chemical? Do you like it? Does it remind you of something?
81. Practice mindful walking – as you walk, look around and note what you see
82. Note what have you been passing everyday and never really noticed before
83. Try noticing this thing again and again
84. Find some mindful apps and designate time every week – ncrease that time as you go along
85. Square breathing: breathing in for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, breathe out for four seconds and then hold again for four seconds before starting again
86. Deep breathing: Breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth – hos deep can you feel the breath in your body?
87. Increase focus by saying something for when you breathe in and another for when you breathe out
88. Try progressive muscle relaxation or (aka “squeeze and release”): squeeze each part of your body, holding the tension for a couple of seconds, and then release
89. Lie on the floor and do a body scan – what is each part of your body feeling?
90. Try breaking the body scan into its smallest units (each toe vs the whole foot)
91. Look at photos in a magazine and describe what comes to mind – look again and challenge what were facts you observed and what were judgements
92. Do it again sticking only to the factual observations and notice if your feelings might have changed
93. Play Jenga with a friend or on your own – challenge yourself to pull the hardest pieces
94. Get a ball and a wall and spend five minutes bouncing the ball – how many can you catch in a row?
95. Try throwing harder
96. Try different sized balls
97. Practice writing with your less dominant hand – keep the pages and compare what happens over time
98. Try doing it for longer stretches of time
99. Find a friend and play 20 questions
100. Find a friend and play I Spy
101. Practice gratefulness – write at least three things you are grateful for each day – and if you are struggling to be grateful, then wrote down three things that were not terribly horrible each day.

*Disclaimer: This list is not comprehensive and is for the sole purpose of generating ideas. They are not specific recommendations for any one individual. You are responsible for identifying what activities, level of frequency and intensity is right for you. All associated websites and links provided here are for example and reference purposes only. BRK Partnership and any of its associated coaches have no contracts and do not receive any benefits from any of the organizations listed.