It's always a pleasure to hear the thoughts of other puzzlers, so we're delighted to bring you a guest blog with PuzzlesByNathan! Read on to find out what he loves about puzzles, and why they are so good for young adults...
“Jigsaw puzzles have been on the rise over the past year or so, and there’s been no bigger puzzle boom in any age group other than the young adults. But what is it that these young adults have found in doing jigsaw puzzles?
I’m Nathan, a 20-year-old mathematics student at the University of Bristol and a die-hard dissectologist, which is just the fancy way of saying I’m addicted to jigsaw puzzles. I have been puzzling almost non-stop since the summer of 2017, and now run a popular social media channel dedicated to sharing my love of puzzles with the world!
I’m often asked why as a student in my prime student years I choose to spend my time putting thousands of little pieces together, instead of doing the stereotypical student things – whatever that may be, and my answer is simple. I love jigsaw puzzles. And here’s why
They give a calming sense of control
We all have had uncertainty and change thrown at us in the past year or so with the pandemic, leaving many of us not knowing what tomorrow will bring, filling our minds with worry and anxious thoughts.
But jigsaw puzzles allow us to escape this mindset, for a much needed few hours of relief. The entire purpose of jigsaw puzzles is to bring order from chaos, to bring the hundreds of pieces into one stunning picture, and that’s exactly how they help to relieve your brain of the stresses that we are all facing day in day out.
In fact, this is the very reason I got into puzzles in the first place and is a big reason why I still puzzle today. My parents bought me my first puzzle back then, during my GCSE exams – which was then a very stressful time for me. I must admit I was skeptical at first, as it wasn’t something that the average 17-year-old was doing in their spare time.
But as I did that first puzzle (which was of the London Underground Map for those interested), I knew that puzzles were right for me. Something clicked. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought about me for doing puzzles. It worked for me, and that’s what is important.
And this is still one of the reasons why I love doing jigsaw puzzles today. As a university student, I have had deadlines, coursework, and exams week in week out, for the past few years, and with that there are times where it feels as if I’ve been almost swamped in work, not knowing what to do next.
Taking a break to do a puzzle is just like pressing a reset button. It allows me to pause relax and then revisit my workload with a more level head, being much more productive in how I get my work done.
I for one can say that I’ve never sat in front of a screen as much as I have in the past year or so. Whether it be watching university lectures, browsing social media on my phone, or on zoom with friends, it is seemingly impossible today to get away from staring into a bright LED screen.
Unless you’re in the middle of a puzzle that is.
Now trust me when I say this, but it is impossible, yes impossible, to do anything other than puzzle when you’re in the middle of a puzzle. You just get on a real roll. Once you make that first connection, you’ve entered what I like to call ‘the puzzle zone’ and become duty-bound to put more and more pieces into place. Before you know it, you’ve spent your entire day puzzling, without even contemplating glancing at social media, or any screen at all.
They give you that feel-good feeling
I’ve done hundreds of puzzles over the past few years, and there’s one feeling that I remember when doing every single one of them. That feeling was a mix of fun and enjoyment. It’s a feeling, that in my opinion, has gone missing for many over the past few years; people have forgot how to have fun.
Now, generally, as a person, I’d call myself a worrier – I worry about what my actions and words cause, and I worry how people perceive me. I don’t think this is a bad thing by any means – like anything it has its positives and negatives. However, saying that, it is vital to be able to cut loose and have a good time without thinking too much every once in a while. And with a jigsaw puzzle I can really let myself loose and have a good time.
From what I hear I’m in the minority of jigsaw puzzlers here, but when I do a puzzle, I love to have some cheesy pop music on and I love to ‘sing,’ if I can call it that. It’s a side of me that even any of my closest friends reading this would probably be surprised at. And it’s all because a jigsaw puzzle takes up your brains cognitive power, you can’t overthink anything else which will stop you from having a good time. And that’s a wonderful mood to be in.
And how can I forget the satisfaction when you get to the final piece?! Undoubtedly that’s the best feeling of all – the culmination of hours of hard work, and the sense of accomplishment it brings. Even after doing as many puzzles as I’ve done, I still get that excitement with every puzzle, and it’s really what drives me to finish all the puzzles I do.
The choices are endless!
One thing that there is no shortage of is puzzle designs – that’s for sure! From maps to cartoons, movies to rainbows if you can think of a picture you can make it a puzzle! And in the times we live in today, stuck at home many of us simply can’t go and do the things we want to. But jigsaws allow us to be engrossed in the things that we love but can’t do. Whether it be your favourite movie, musician, or hobby, you get to engage with it in puzzle form, which makes the puzzling experience impossible not to love!
Personally, I’m a fan of bright colourful geometric puzzles, of which I’ve done many! They’re ones in which progress is very obvious and steady; it’s easy to see yourself getting closer and closer to that end goal with every piece. This continual progress for many, myself included, is a key aspect of why puzzles can be such a rewarding activity. Being able to see progression in front of your eyes, is really a rather wonderful sight to behold.
The future of puzzling
In a post pandemic world puzzles will undoubtedly be a massive part of my life – for me they are certainly here to stay. For me they’re just downright fun to do, and there’s a never-ending list of new ones that I’m eager to do. And there’ll be many young adults who will be in the same boat, many of whom will have picked up a puzzle for the first time in the past year or so and have fallen in love with them and engraining them into their working week.
And then some may have taken up puzzling as a one-off whilst we’ve all been trapped inside and go on to forget about jigsaws completely, and to those people I’d like to say this. Think of a jigsaw puzzle as an essential tool in a toolbox for the mind. No matter what lies ahead, they’ll undoubtedly be tough and stressful days for us all, and times where it is seemingly impossible to switch off from life, we just don’t know when. But when that day does come, give yourself the opportunity to go into your toolbox, and sit down for an afternoon with a jigsaw puzzle to clear your thoughts, clear your mind and just have a bit of fun.”
