If you ever wondered where you lost your favorite watch or bracelet or even your own glasses in the comfort of your house, it’s good to know that there are some methods that can make this job much easier for you and less frustrating. You don’t have to get mad and start worrying, but rather look smarter.
By following a few of the following steps, you will be amazed at how easy these things are:
- Pay more attention to your daily routines!
If you ever stopped to wonder if you forgot to lock the door on your way to your car or if you left the iron machine on then you have proof that you do things automatically!
While this is not a flaw, you can re-educate your brain to pay (again) more attention to common stuff!
Try to use “mental anchors” – e.g. associate in your imagination a routine task with an exaggerated event or feature, like imagining inserting a huge key into a pink lock. The craziest thoughts work best!
- Use the “grid method“
When you look for something in a room, try splitting the room into 6 quadrants (like your Smartphone camera does) and start searching in detail for each quadrant.
Usually, a systematic search works much better than a random search, in which you search twice or more in the same areas!
By being more organized, your brain will work more efficiently and your focus will increase since you are conditioned to work better in an organized environment.
Adapted the Sherlock Holmes method to lost objects: “Once you eliminate all the impossible places, whatever place remains, no matter how improbable, must be the place where your object is hiding“.
In this method, you have to be very creative and let your imagination do the work! If you can’t focus enough on this task, give up for the moment and start doing something totally different like solving crosswords or reading a book. The subconscious will do the work for you and at some point, you’ll experience an “A-ha” moment.
- Start checking the “impossible places”!
Small objects like to hide behind the couch, between couch seats, between your car chairs, under the carpet, between floor cracks (e.g. if you’re looking for a bracelet), favorite clothes pockets, and lining.
Jewelry usually does a wonderful job by hiding in the most unimaginable places and also the money!
- Start creating a storage routine!
Always choose the same place for storing your most easy-to-lose items: your jewelry, your car keys, your wallet, etc.
You can use some colored small boxes for certain items, or you can create your own special drawers for keys, another one for jewelry, etc.
Keep using always the same storage places, and even if it becomes an automatic process, you can’t fail. A good habit will reward you with less stress and frustration and will prevent you to be late for your favorite concert or another happy event.
By following these 5 easy steps, you can keep a positive state of mind and remain Zen for many wonderful days!