Seven Tips to Help You Avoid Losing Your Phone (and Your Wallet and Keys)
According to a recent survey , Americans lose five things every month and spend about 17 hours searching for them each year. If you regularly lose your keys , wallet or phone , you’re not alone. And while constantly losing things can be a sign of a condition like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), for most people, losing things is usually the result of simpledistraction .
Just because it’s not a sign of a serious problem doesn’t mean that constantly losing things doesn’t have a negative impact on your life. Losing your phone can be a costly mistake, and losing your wallet or keys can ruin your day, even if you have trackers and can find them relatively easily. Plus there’s the hassle of replacing items and possibly having to change door locks or take other precautions. If you keep losing things, there are a few simple techniques you can (and should) use to avoid losing your items.
Speak
Make it a habit to talk about your actions. When putting things away, say out loud what you are doing, for example: “I am putting the phone on the counter.” Reading and speaking aloud can help improve memory in a variety of contexts, as well as “fix” the location of an object in your memory.
Use dedicated storage
Stop dropping your things wherever you are. Designate areas in your home for commonly lost items—a bowl for your keys, a phone charging station—and always put them there, even if it’s a little inconvenient. When on the run, have a special pocket or bag that can hold everything. Also, if you come across your items outside of this designated location, don’t assume that this is not where they should be and move on – pick them up and move them to the right place.
Make it outstanding
Many of the things we lose look quite neutral: a white or black phone, a brown wallet, etc. They are easy to miss. If you add something different, it will draw their attention to you and make you less likely to leave them behind. Colorful key tags or statement keychains and a colorful phone case will help keep your keys the center of attention.
Scan your location
Develop a simple habit of scanning every location before you leave. Before you walk out the door, take a few seconds to simply look around your restaurant table, train seat, rental car, hotel room, or gym. This does two things: first, it helps you locate your things before you leave, and second, it stops you in your tracks and makes you wonder where your things are.
Attach items to yourself
Remember when you were a child and they used to sew mittens onto your coat so you wouldn’t lose them? This trick still works. If you’ve tried to be more mindful but you’re still missing something, try pinning it on yourself. Simple carabiner keychains can be attached to belt loops or a bag; wallets can be linked to you; glasses can be worn around the neck; and phones can be attached to your body, making it harder for you to leave a place without your belongings.
Take a photo
When you put something or store it in an unusual place, take a photo of it. If you realize after a few hours that you’ve left without taking it, you can scan your phone to determine exactly where you left it.
Use a separation alarm
Find My Device apps are great for finding your lost phone, but they don’t prevent you from losing your phone. The separation alarm for your phone will go off when you move more than 50 feet from your phone, instantly alerting you if you leave it behind. You can also buy a reverse split alarm so your phone will alert you if you move away from something else, such as your wallet.