Get Rid of GPS Addiction and Really Find Your Way
I just moved to a new city and live and die thanks to my phone’s GPS. But as a result, I realized that I still don’t know anything about how the city works, and I can’t just get to my friend’s house – where I’ve been many times – without GPS navigation. … If you also lack a sense of direction and want a more intuitive understanding of your city, here are a few things you can do to get rid of this GPS addiction and really learn to navigate.
Blast From The Past is a weekly feature on Lifehacker in which we bring old but still relevant posts to life for your reading and hacking enjoyment. Today we are lost in the big city.
Buy a paper card
Seriously, find a paper map of your city and keep it in your glove box at all times. You don’t have to go out and buy an atlas or whatever, just a simple foldable highway and city center map can work wonders. Not only can you learn how the freeways work, which is a big step towards knowing what you need, but you never run out of batteries – which means that no matter what happens to your phone, your carrier’s service or Google, you can always at least look at a map and say, “This is the freeway I need to get home.”
Remember directions
Instead of just typing addresses into your GPS navigator, try to get directions and remember them. Whether you get them on your phone and read them or print them out from your computer, the driving directions will actually make you think about every step of the process. When you travel, all you think is “left turn here,” “merge here,” and so on — you don’t necessarily think about where you are going. By printing out the actual routes, you memorize the names of streets, freeways, and other landmarks to help you remember where to go. It is also helpful to review these directions before and after each trip to help you remember them. After a trip or two, you probably won’t need them anymore. Photo by Chris Lawrence .
Ask for directions
From the files “yes, yes”: do not be afraid to ask people for directions. It’s almost impossible when you’re lost in the city and don’t know how you got there, but now that you have a paper map (right?) And a general idea of where you are going, asking for directions becomes a viable option again, so take advantage of ! The gas station clerk probably can’t tell you how to get back to your house, but he can definitely tell you how to get to the freeway that will take you there, and with your paper map, you’ll know exactly which freeway it is.
Use your environment
If all else fails and you still get lost – without GPS to save you – you can always use your surroundings to at least figure out where north, south, east and west are to get out of there. Whether it’s looking at the direction of the satellite dishes or using a stick and a piece of tape to find north , you’ll never really get lost, although you might still have to ask for directions to find out where you are.
Some of these tips may seem simple or obvious, but without the conscious decision to wean yourself from turn-by-turn navigation, they become much less useful (after all, how can you ask directions if you don’t even know which freeway will take you home?). So fire up Google Maps, print these directions, and start looking your way.
Remix title image originals placed Cristovao / Shutterstock and Christoff / Shutterstock .