The average person loses nine things every day and spends 15 minutes searching for them. Countless individuals across the globe have a problem with keeping track of items they own. When they cannot find something they want or need, they become frustrated and annoyed. When the same item gets lost, again and again, their frustration and annoyance likely increase.
Home and car keys tend to be the items most frequently misplaced, due to their small size and the fact they go everywhere a person does. When the time comes to put them away, a person might set them down in the first convenient spot rather than a home they have designated specifically for keys. Fortunately, several methods exist for keeping track of keys, so if you have lost your keys, don’t despair. Learn from this situation and begin making use of one or more of the methods described below.
Don’t Panic
People often become frantic when they cannot find their house or car keys. Don’t make this mistake. Even those individuals who frequently lose their keys need to remain calm at this time. Getting angry does no good other than allowing you to vent your frustration. The time you spend investing in this activity takes away from the time you could spend searching for the keys and coming up with a solution so it doesn’t happen again.
Start by looking in the spot where you thought the keys were. It might be that the keys are exactly where they are supposed to be and they were simply overlooked. Professor Solomon offers some advice in this situation. Look within 18 inches of where you believe the keys to be. That’s where they likely are, and he refers to this 18-inch space as the Eureka Zone.
If you still cannot find the keys, move on to the next spot. Don’t search the same area more than once. Move through the building one room at a time, searching each thoroughly to find your missing keys.
Retrace Your Steps
Once you are calm, stop and think about the different places you have been. Close your eyes when doing so and retrace the different places you went since the last time you can remember having the keys. Scientists refer to this process as context reinstatement, and it is so effective law enforcement agencies use it with eyewitnesses to crimes. However, the mind can play tricks on a person and send you on a wild goose chase when it comes to finding your keys. Don’t overthink the process or spend a great deal of time trying to retrace your steps. It’s best to move on to another method if the missing keys aren’t located quickly.
Invest in a Smart Key Finder
Everyone loses something at one time or another, even those people who tend to be extremely organized. Life gets busy, and their brain simply fails to remind them where they placed the item they need. A smart key finder becomes of great help for situations such as these. This device attaches to the keys and the individual then connects it to their phone. The great thing about this device is it can be used to locate the keys with the help of the phone or the phone with the help of the keys.
Consider investing in a device that will allow family members to help you locate the keys. Share the tracker through the app and they can join in the hunt. Although they may express frustration that you have misplaced the keys again, the missing items will be found quickly with more people helping.
Eliminate Clutter
Clutter makes it hard to find anything when you need it. Researchers at the Scotland’s University of Aberdeen conducted an experiment that found a human will focus on clean areas when searching for an item. They will subconsciously move past cluttered areas to find those that are clean. The researchers recommend individuals focus on cluttered areas when searching, pointing out that if a lost item were somewhere obvious, it would already have been located. Keep this in mind the next time you lose something, as finding it will become easier once you can eliminate obvious areas and focus on those places the lost item will probably be.
Don’t Lose Your Keys
People probably roll their eyes at this suggestion, but it does serve as the best way to avoid the loss of time searching for them. Fortunately, cleaning the home makes it easy to find missing things. Furthermore, when everything has a place in the home, things won’t get lost. Every person will know exactly where to go when they need something. An added bonus of keeping a clean home is the occupants are happier. They have more time to do things they love because they are spending less looking for things they want or need.
Start small. Clean one room and keep it clean for a month. When you reach that milestone, clean a second room and keep both areas clean for a month. Research has shown it takes 66 days for a person to form a habit and begin doing something without a thought. You can do this, and you have to start somewhere. Start with the room where you normally keep your keys so you can always find them.
Another thing to consider is investing in a second key. Doing so could be costly, as many newer keys come with anti-theft measures built-in. The owner might need to show proof that the item belongs to them before a second key can be obtained. If you frequently misplace keys, this serves as a great option. If they only disappear occasionally, the above methods serve as a better option.
Obviously, remembering where the spare key is located is crucial to this method’s working. Don’t hesitate to add embellishments to the spare key to make it easy to find. If all else fails, call a locksmith. They can be of great help in replacing your keys and allowing you to return to your normal schedule. They do this for countless individuals every day, so don’t be embarrassed to contact them. They’ve seen it all at this point.
Girl on Fire
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