Things to do with my hands while listening
January 28, 2020 2:12 PM Subscribe
I'm looking for ideas for things to do with my hands while listening to audiobooks so I don't feel fidgety.
They don't need to be productive, just *inexpensive*, a bit more engaging than something like playing with a simple fidget toy, and not likely to cause RSI (repetitive stress injury.) I don't really want to knit/crochet/cross stitch/sew right now. Puzzles are an option but I don't have a lot of floor/table space. I was playing old-school tetris on my computer, which was perfect except that my hand started hurting because after so many hours of tetris I got really good/fast at the few repetitive motions it used. Ideally I'd like some things I can do without a lot of planning/forethought/setup (which is part of what was nice about tetris.)
They don't need to be productive, just *inexpensive*, a bit more engaging than something like playing with a simple fidget toy, and not likely to cause RSI (repetitive stress injury.) I don't really want to knit/crochet/cross stitch/sew right now. Puzzles are an option but I don't have a lot of floor/table space. I was playing old-school tetris on my computer, which was perfect except that my hand started hurting because after so many hours of tetris I got really good/fast at the few repetitive motions it used. Ideally I'd like some things I can do without a lot of planning/forethought/setup (which is part of what was nice about tetris.)
Cat's cradle-type string games? All you need is a piece of string. I never played them as a kid, but learned how to do Jacob's Ladder and others when my own kids learned how to do them.
posted by jquinby at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by jquinby at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Decluttering drawers and closets.
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:26 PM on January 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
posted by Serene Empress Dork at 2:26 PM on January 28, 2020 [4 favorites]
I listen to audiobooks and podcasts while driving, cleaning up the house, and cooking (and knitting/cross stitching).
posted by JDHarper at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by JDHarper at 2:28 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I know a few people who can do interesting little tricks with their hands -- spinning a pen so it circles their thumb, making coins move across the back of their hands, that sort of thing. Maybe you could practice those kinds of skills? I would think that as you're learning, they're not actually repetitive enough to cause an RSI.
Folding origami? There's a lot of really cool new designs in mathematical origami these days if paper cranes aren't your thing.
Sudoku or other pencil puzzles?
posted by jacquilynne at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Folding origami? There's a lot of really cool new designs in mathematical origami these days if paper cranes aren't your thing.
Sudoku or other pencil puzzles?
posted by jacquilynne at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
Could you take a walk or does it need to be indoors?
posted by raccoon409 at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by raccoon409 at 2:29 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
I do a lot of dot-to-dot puzzles while I listen. You can find some excellent books for adults where the puzzles have hundreds to thousands of dots.
posted by darchildre at 2:30 PM on January 28, 2020
posted by darchildre at 2:30 PM on January 28, 2020
You can get puzzle mats that roll up to store the puzzle in between without taking up space. In a pinch, baking trays or a yoga mat will substitute well and slide under a sofa but are not as cat proof. I clean, cook, walk and knit while listening.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:49 PM on January 28, 2020
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 3:49 PM on January 28, 2020
Give yourself a hand massage or foot massage with some really nice shea butter.
posted by MountainDaisy at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by MountainDaisy at 4:08 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
If you have a smartphone, there are lots of non-text games that scratch for me, such as TwoDots, 2048 and HexFRVR.
posted by General Malaise at 4:11 PM on January 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by General Malaise at 4:11 PM on January 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Oh! Play stardew valley with the music turned off.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 4:21 PM on January 28, 2020 [2 favorites]
Get some thick/satisfying-feeling lengths of rope and tie knots. I'm sure a local library has a good book of knots for different things (camping, nautical use, etc.)
posted by sleeping bear at 4:54 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by sleeping bear at 4:54 PM on January 28, 2020 [3 favorites]
I like playing with silly putty. Especially making bubbles and snapping them.
Most of the time, I play games on my phone while I listen. Favorites are 1010!, 1010! Color, Carcassonne, and Merged!.
posted by E3 at 5:32 PM on January 28, 2020
Most of the time, I play games on my phone while I listen. Favorites are 1010!, 1010! Color, Carcassonne, and Merged!.
posted by E3 at 5:32 PM on January 28, 2020
I find Klondike and Freecell solitaire on my phone perfect while I listen to podcasts and audiobooks. If I don't keep my hands busy, I fall asleep.
posted by lhauser at 8:00 PM on January 28, 2020
posted by lhauser at 8:00 PM on January 28, 2020
Adult coloring books?
posted by Zaire at 8:51 PM on January 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by Zaire at 8:51 PM on January 28, 2020 [1 favorite]
Practice card tricks?
posted by fiercekitten at 9:20 PM on January 28, 2020
posted by fiercekitten at 9:20 PM on January 28, 2020
Get a 3/4 size nylon-stringed (classical/folk) guitar. Learn three chords. Strum away softly.
posted by nosila at 8:32 AM on January 29, 2020
posted by nosila at 8:32 AM on January 29, 2020
Modular origami. Or the non-modular kind.
Non-verbal puzzles: the Nikoli-style puzzles where you don't need to read clues or write words or verbalise logic to yourself as you solve them. I particularly like Bridges for this, which crops up in some puzzle magazines and is also one of the puzzle types in the Puzzle Maniak app on my phone, which I believe is based on Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection.
Patience (solitaire? One-person card games), probably better from an RSI perspective if you use actual cards, but obviously also available on phone or computer.
Playing with a yo-yo or kendama, or learning/practising contact juggling (I'd suggest normal juggling, but that definitely requires space).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:43 AM on January 29, 2020
Non-verbal puzzles: the Nikoli-style puzzles where you don't need to read clues or write words or verbalise logic to yourself as you solve them. I particularly like Bridges for this, which crops up in some puzzle magazines and is also one of the puzzle types in the Puzzle Maniak app on my phone, which I believe is based on Simon Tatham's Portable Puzzle Collection.
Patience (solitaire? One-person card games), probably better from an RSI perspective if you use actual cards, but obviously also available on phone or computer.
Playing with a yo-yo or kendama, or learning/practising contact juggling (I'd suggest normal juggling, but that definitely requires space).
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 9:43 AM on January 29, 2020
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posted by dinty_moore at 2:23 PM on January 28, 2020