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Lost and Not Yet Found
Set it and forget it?
If you, like me, can’t see, set it and forget it has a whole
other significance. I know, you don’t lose track of your stuff. You resent my
suggesting that, just because you can’t see, you might not remember where you
set something down or where you put it.
I apologize, so let me start this over. I sometimes set
things down or put them somewhere and can’t remember where. Even worse, I look
for whatever it was and end up knocking it over, spilling it or maybe just
bumping it, with the result that it goes flying and I have an even harder time
finding it.
If I could see, I would just look around and would usually
find whatever was temporarily lost. I can’t. I don’t.
Okay, you’ve got the idea. I occasionally set it and forget
it.
If that ever happens to you, here are a couple of tips.
First, work on putting things away, where they belong. Yes, I’m actually
serious. Even if you plan to use it again fairly soon, take the extra minute to
put it away, back where it’s easy to find. It’s nearly as easy to get into the
habit of putting things away as it is to habitually set things down
willy-nilly. "I’ll put it away later" is mostly a sign of laziness.
That isn’t much of an issue, unless you can’t see. But if you don’t mind not
being able to find your stuff, don’t bother with getting into the habit of
putting them away.
Here is my second tip. If you need to set something down
while completing a task or activity, put it beside something else that doesn’t
move, and that you always know where it is. This comes up when working in the
kitchen, at your desk, in your workshop, etc. You need to lay down a tool or
supply while you do something else. It needs to be handy when you need it.
The main point here is not to just randomly lay it down in
an open area on a counter or other surface. Put it next to the wall, against an
appliance or other object that you seldom move, or beside another fixed object.
The idea is that you can first locate the spot that doesn’t move and then
locate whatever you sat down.
This technique is much harder to explain than to do. It’s
like having a mental map showing where things are. When setting something down,
put it next to a familiar landmark on your mental map. Then, even if you forget
where you put it, it’s easier to check near the usual landmarks than to have to
randomly search around for it. It will make finding your stuff even easier if
you get into the habit of trying to always use the same reference landmarks as
much as you can. If you set things down beside the regular landmarks, they will
be easier to find, when you set it but forget where.
A quick reminder and a tiny
extra tip
Remember to move your hand low and slow when reaching for
whatever you have temporarily set aside or laid down. The tiny tip is to always
lay knives down with the cutting edge away from you and on the other side of
where you may be feeling for it. The same edge that can cut a cucumber can and
will cut your finger, if you aren’t careful.