Genius Hour was a popular concept a few years ago and I used it with my class. Every week the students would have time to pursue projects that they had designed. This was student-initiated learning: their curiosity leading to a project that they would share with the class at the end of term. It was truly amazing how none of them questioned whether they were geniuses. They just accepted it. We cultivated wonder in the classroom and this was just another extension of it.
Genius Hour was rumoured to originate with a practice that Google and other tech businesses use, where they allow their engineers 20% of their time to pursue passion projects. This “free time” has resulted in many innovations for the companies over the years.*
Sadly, as we grow older our spirit of inquiry often gets squashed by all the day-to-day stuff of living. But, as midlife adults who are retiring or recently retired, we have a fabulous opportunity to cultivate our curiosity again.
The Curiosity List***
Start by brainstorming all the things that you’re curious about. You can make a list and add it to notes on your phone, or doodle it in a notebook. It’s low stress and yet it’s starting to build some possible directions for the next chapter of your life.
Creating a collection of things that you wonder about, doesn’t mean that you will pursue all these ideas. You can pick and choose what looks most interesting. You can dabble in different things without committing to them permanently. The list is always there to be added to, and you don’t need to complete it by a certain time. It’s not a bucket list or a list of chores. It’s an invitation to explore!
Lifelong Learning Builds Health
A Curiosity List is a brainstorm of the bounty of learning that can lie ahead for you as a lifelong learner. There is ample evidence that being a lifelong learner has abundant mental and physical health benefits.
Learning something new increases your brain’s efficiency while helping boost memory. It also delays the onset of memory issues and Alzheimer’s symptoms.
Lifelong learning doesn’t benefit just your physical health, either. It can lead to less stress, better cardiovascular health, a boosted immune system, lower blood pressure, and decreased rates of depression and anxiety. **
Ask “Why” Like A Kid Again
Whether you allot time each week to pursuing something you’re curious about as your own “Genius” project, or just begin a Curiosity List, asking “why” and wondering about the world is not just for kids. Midlife is the time to wonder again. What are you curious about?
**https://abclifeliteracy.ca/news/4-benefits-of-lifelong-learning/
***https://boomingencore.com/en/article/you-may-have-bucket-list-do-you-have-curiosity-list
Retired, And Now What? 