Remembering little situational things

December 20, 2019 11:38 PM

Do you have ways to remember the things you overlook in specific situations, that would enhance life or make it more efficient? For example, to take a jacket when you head out when it's sunny because you know it will be cold when you return; to take something to plug your ears when you go to the beach; to take a bag when you go for a walk in one direction because it's quite likely you'll pop into the grocery store on your way back; and so on. I'd love to hear your strategies.
posted by miaow to Education (17 answers total)

If I have a phone or device plugged in or charging, I put my purse next to it so that when I leave, I remember to unplug the charger and bring the phone. I also put things I want to bring with me next to the front door.
posted by gt2 at 11:44 PM on December 20, 2019 [2 favorites]

I have a bowl where I keep my glasses and headphones, if there’s something I need to remember before going out, like take out the trash, I leave a post it in the bowl with the task written on it.

I also have a whiteboard where I write things I need to do at home each week, and use remember the milk to remind myself of future things to put on the whiteboard.
posted by ellieBOA at 11:56 PM on December 20, 2019 [6 favorites]

There are certain small things I always have in my purse because they don’t take up much space, but I know I frequently need them and I don’t tend to remember to take the, unless they’re just always with me. I have a small foldable bag in my purse and a pair of earplugs, and they just...always live in there.
posted by hurdy gurdy girl at 12:01 AM on December 21, 2019 [5 favorites]

I have a stack of transparent boxes (maybe 20 litres each) labelled North, South, Survey etc. I just chuck (and store) stuff in the relevant one as the day approaches - it saves some of the remembering overload, and I don't forget much now.

I put all my job hardcopies in transparent A3 sleeves. As a lot of it is hand drawings on translucent paper I can shuffle through them quickly fast for what I need without much hassle.

And it's southern NZ in early climate change chaos so I ALWAYS take a raincoat.
posted by unearthed at 12:09 AM on December 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

I use pointing and calling to point at and say out loud the status of various settings on the washing machine (and stovetop). It's rather important to wash hand-knitted wool socks on "Cold/Cold", and not "Hot/Cold".
posted by sebastienbailard at 12:51 AM on December 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

i often bake things to bring to work the next day but i worry about forgetting about them in the morning. so i put them in my cake carrier and put the cake carrier in front of the door, and as i'm leaving for work i have no choice but to pick up the cake carrier so i don't stumble over it.

when i got a notice from the DMV to get my car smog-checked, i put the notice in the car's glovebox right away so when i had a free moment out and about (and the spirit moved me) i could stop by the smog station and get it done. previously i'd let the smog check get down to the last possible day because there was always the barrier of not having the letter with me.

where i work, the walk from the parking garage to my office is about 10 minutes long, which turns out to be the perfect amount of time to call someone i've been thinking of and say hi.
posted by pmdboi at 12:55 AM on December 21, 2019

Have intense social anxiety and visualize your entire day before leaving the house in order to get yourself outside.
posted by book 'em dano at 1:18 AM on December 21, 2019 [7 favorites]

I don't have intense social anxiety, but I still visualize my whole day the evening before. Then I write down all the pertinent details, reminders, todos, as part of my plan for the next day. I can't understand people who have 3 items on their to-do list and rely on their memory to remember everything else. Stuff I need to pack for daycare/school, things I need to ask the staff when I get there, how early do we have to start if I want to be on time for my meeting at the office, what do I need to take to the meeting etc etc it all goes into my plan. There are just too many details to keep it all in my head. (Parent of 2 kids with a full-time job outside the house and without any hired help.) YMMV.
posted by gakiko at 2:29 AM on December 21, 2019 [3 favorites]

Like others I try to have everything in the same place. I also have a rather strict routine to get out the door. I do things in the same way every day as much as possible so my brain just does the thing.

Though I somehow lost dinner the other day. I haven't figured that out.

Winter time it's check weather, get dressed, shoes, gloves from coat pocket, coat ,pocket check (everything should already be there but check) phone, glasses , food into backpack(if work), backpack, key check(again), out the door.
posted by AlexiaSky at 2:54 AM on December 21, 2019 [1 favorite]

I have a small semi-transclucent bag in which I keep all my essentials (eg inhaler, painkillers, earbuds, pen, pencil, chewing gum, phone charger, foldable carrier bag) and then move that between different larger bags. It massively cuts down on the things I need to remember, and/or means I don't have to carry a laptop sized bag out with me on the weekend.
posted by plonkee at 3:42 AM on December 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

Items frequently used or easily forgotten live as close as possible to where they're needed. So the spare shampoo lives by the shower, my glasses live underneath my packet of antihistamines overnight so I can't forget to take a tablet in the morning, walking shoes live by the door so I'm less likely to walk somewhere muddy in my everyday shoes, I have enough gloves for one pair to live in the pockets of every coat or jacket I might wear in cold weather, my water bottle lives in my handbag and goes back there straight away after being refilled, a tube of lip balm lives in the pocket of every pair of jeans I own, etc. If I were dealing with your scenarios, I'd be finding somewhere as close as possible to the front door - maybe actually on it - for hooks labelled BEACH, UNSETTLED WEATHER, WALKING NORTH and so on, and hang bags of appropriate items on them. Those items now live in that bag on that hook.

Although for your "taking a bag" example, I've found it's a good idea to *always* have one of those flimsy fold-up-small shopping bags with me irrespective of my intentions, so that's another thing that lives in my handbag and goes back there as soon as it's been emptied of what came home in it.
posted by ManyLeggedCreature at 3:42 AM on December 21, 2019 [3 favorites]

MetaFilter taught me to consider my future self, and what she'll be thankful for. This includes: daily application of sunscreen, no matter the weather; a string bag, multitool, lip balm, and spare pair of reader glasses in my purse; a bicycle pump in the trunk. I used to be concerned with a more global preparedness and now it's much more situational--the intentional question, each day, given where I am likely to be, what objectsor bits of forward planning are going to keep me safe and healthy, make things easier, and help me work with the immediate environment? What's going to make me say "Thanks, past self!"? I don't always get it right, but there's a better than 50/50 chance that something I prepped for is going to pay off in a small way.
posted by MonkeyToes at 6:27 AM on December 21, 2019 [7 favorites]

Similar to the smog check letter: if you're a casual coupon-user (instead of someone who has binders of them), convert as many as possible to digital things you can access wherever, and put the rest in a nice plausible spot like your purse/wallet/glove compartment. Having $2 off a fast-food meal, for example, does you no good if it's magneted to your fridge at home when you're busy driving around feeling tempted by the restaurant's signs.
posted by teremala at 8:44 AM on December 21, 2019

I have a launch pad to start my day. Everything for the next day lives there. So if I know I'm going to need a certain bag, a jacket & gym clothes, they all go to the launch pad. I check my calendar every night AND I am fanatical about writing down every single thing in my calendar as soon as I plan or agree to do a thing, then I set up my launch pad before bed.
posted by wwax at 9:26 AM on December 21, 2019

I have some things that are so frequently useful that I keep them in my purse. Other things I only need when I have my backpack, so stay in there (when carrying my backpack, my purse goes inside, so I still have all of those things without transferring stuff around and potentially forgetting things). I also have an open box of things that are sometimes useful and I'll glance at it to see if they're applicable for my current trip.

For things like whether to bring a coat, I think about what I'm planning to do and potential outcomes. (Like waiting for the bus, what's the longest you're likely to wait or how might weather effect you at the stop you're waiting at? If you're walking, how far and how likely are you to get overheated and carry all your layers?)

There's also knowing yourself well enough to know whether carrying an umbrella that you use ten percent of the time is better or worse than occasionally getting soaked. Do you mind being too hot or too cold more? Is carrying extra things better than either discomfort?
posted by Margalo Epps at 2:26 PM on December 21, 2019 [2 favorites]

I make notes in my calendar about events when I’ll have to remember something like “print tickets” or “return pan” or “wear closed-toed shoes.”
posted by lakeroon at 9:52 PM on December 21, 2019 [3 favorites]

I no longer accidentally leave my phone at home in the morning on my way to work because I now listen to daily podcasts during my commute and would notice right away if I couldn't do that.
posted by not.so.hip at 3:54 PM on December 23, 2019