First, think of as many words as you can that start with a certain letter (like “F”). At first this is difficult, but as you become more experienced, you can learn to “let you mind go” and easily and come up with a whole dictionary of words!
Another exercise that is always does by neurologists is the Luria manual sequencing task, in which one is asked to tap the table with a fist, open palm, and side of open hand and then to repeat the sequence as quickly as possible. Try practicing this when seated at a table, or on your leg.
When I was teaching, I used my walking/biking time to sing scales (hopefully not too loudly!)! Not only did I vocalize, but I also practiced and learned new modal scales (like Lydian, Dorian, etc.!). Exercise time is a great time to rehearse memorizations from the past, like the poetry you were forced to learn in high school. It comes back very easily for most people.
There are many tests, both on computer and with pencil and paper, that I do when I go to my annual clinical study visits. They include an exercise that has you look at a list of colors and names like the one above, and decide if the meaning of the color matches the ink color. There is also a written test where you practice sequencing of numbers, letters, and a combination of both.
Last week, I signed up for Lumosity, which is an app for my I-phone. I tried it for free for a week, and I got so much from it that I signed up for a one-year subscription, at a very modest fee. It has many challenging games, similar to the ones I have done as part of neurological exams, but it keeps track of my progress, and is a great program. I recommend it highly. I have been using Lumosity for more than a year, and my scores are improving!
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