What are some life hacks that you practice?

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I’m not sure I have many actual “life hacks.” Most of mine are probably better described as little tricks I’ve developed because I know myself well enough to understand that if I wait until later, there’s a very good chance I’ll forget.

One of the simplest is putting things in obvious places. If I know I need to take something with me the next morning, I don’t put it somewhere neat and convenient. I put it somewhere I can’t possibly miss it. Sometimes that means directly in front of the door or in another place where I’m practically forced to deal with it before I leave.

I also tend to do things in order instead of putting them off. If I know something needs to be done next, I try to do it next. Not because I’m especially disciplined, but because I know that once I move on to three other things, there’s an excellent chance the first thing will disappear completely from my brain.

One of my more ridiculous tricks involves getting gas. If I’m driving to work in the morning and realize I’ll need to fill up on the way home, I’ll cock my rearview mirror at some ridiculous angle. It drives me crazy, which is exactly the point. When I get back in the car after work, I immediately notice that the mirror is wrong and remember why I moved it: gas. It’s basically a low-tech reminder app that makes driving annoying.

Then there’s the pocket check. Years ago, the movie Nuns on the Run gave us the memorable line, “Spectacles, testicles, wallet and watch.” Mine has been modified slightly for everyday use: “Glasses, keys and phone, wallet and watch.” Before I leave somewhere, I’ll mentally—or occasionally verbally—run through the list and touch each item to make sure I have everything. It sounds ridiculous, but it also works.

That’s probably the common thread through most of my life hacks. They aren’t clever inventions designed to make me more efficient. They’re ways of leaving clues for Future Doug because Present Doug knows Future Doug cannot always be trusted to remember what he was supposed to do. If I can make something impossible to overlook, annoying enough to notice or part of a routine I automatically follow, I have a much better chance of remembering it.

Sometimes the best life hack is simply knowing your own weaknesses and finding a way to work around them. What little tricks do you use to keep yourself from forgetting things?

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