Day 15 – Agony Quest
Where are my keys? Where is my phone? Where is my wallet? These are questions I never want to ask again. Losing any one of these items is a nightmare. Over the years, I wonder how many hours I’ve spent looking for these items? Too many. Way too many. It’s not like I haven’t already tried to remedy this. I have a place where I “always” put them now, in my man-bag, a over the shoulder camera bag that works well. The problem is I don’t always do it.
I worked late tonight feeling energized all day and pouring it on in the late afternoon as I tend to do. I walked across campus and up to the 4th floor of the parking structure. As I approached my car I looked to the top of my “man-bag” where I “always” clip my keys and . . . they were not there. They were not there! Crap. Hastily I looked through my all my bags: man bag, computer bag, gym bag, lunch bag . . . and did not find them. Crap.
I noticed how tired I was, not physically, just mentally. It was 7:15 and I wanted to go home. From the 4th deck of the parking structure, I walked back to my office, thinking I must have left them on my desk. As I walked, I remembered going to my car in the afternoon to get some snack from my trunk. Scenarios swirled in my head. Maybe I left them in the break room where I heated up the food I had fetched from the car? Maybe someone turned them in and security has them? Why don’t people leave keys where they lay so they can be found? I quashed this rampant pointless speculation and comforted myself, surely they are on my desk. They weren’t on my desk. Crap.
OK, back to the car. I looked methodically through my bags this time on the third bad I found them, in the gym bag. I wasn’t happy though, just relieved and annoyed with myself. This whole needless drama could be avoided with a good habit. Clip my keys onto my man-bag when not in use. Every time. That’s it. Same for phone and wallet.
I’ve come to the conclusion that making a “home” for every item is the solution to clutter and losing things. Unfortunately, for this to actually work I have to put things in their “home.” So, I’ve decided to use my 365 Commitment protocol and add “put keys wallet and phone in their home, when not in use, every time” to my 365 list staring tomorrow morning.
This solution seems mundane and obvious, but until I really ingrain this habit with no exceptions, I am likely to have to suffer again, and again in the future. I will succeed with this! I am resolved to succeed. After 90 days I will begin adding other items like clothing, and tools, password list, and the vacuum; yes, we lose the vacuum in our house on occasion. Then bills and paperwork. It’s either embrace the suck of putting things back in their home, or be doomed to suffering through another . . . “agony quest.”
This will be a practical test of the 365 Commitment. I’ll report back in 90 days.
Ben Wagner (22)
Member 365 Commitment
PS – I think “Agony Quest” is a good name for a band.
