For years, I would frequently get to work missing something vital I needed for the day. This was due to the fact that I am frequently switching things out of various bags: work bag, beach bag, evening out bag, light carry bag, etc… resulting in the things I needed being left at home or in various bags.

Finally, I started using the device that got me through nearly every high school, college and law school exam.

Remember Roy? He’s the only way I could remember the colors of the spectrum.

Here’s how I used mnemonics to make sure I never forgot anything at home again.

* I chose the items I MUST have with me during the day. There are many things I might want to have, but these are the things that will be a real pain point throughout the day if I leave them behind.
* I chose a letter to represent each item and strung those letters together to make a word.
* If they are all consonants or some other string that will, not form a word, then try to come up with a memorable sentence using the first letter of each word.

Here is what that looks like for me:

1. C. This is for chargers and cards (license, debit card, access card).
2. L. Lunch! I used to eat out most days. But, I have recently started meal prepping every week and if I forget this, it throws me off plan and costs a lot of money.
3. E. Earbuds. These are part of every introvert’s tool kit. I sit in a open office for hours at a time where the volume is out of control. I cannot get through the day without these.
4. S. Sunglasses (prescription). This might sound like a strange pain point, but I live in Southern California. If I only get out the door with two things, it’s my keys and my sunglasses.
5. P. Phone. This speaks for itself. I have turned around and added 30 minutes to a commute because I left this at home. Not having my phone makes it impossible for me to get anything non-work related done during the day and leaves me without the music, podcasts and audiobooks I use to drown out the work noise. I work in an open plan office so the phone (and earbuds) are non-negotiable.

That spells CLESP. No, CLESP is not a word, but it’s close enough to CLASP for me to remember. If it hadn’t been easy, I would have formed a sentence…like maybe,

Charlie
Loves
Eating
Sweet
Pineapples

It doesn’t matter what it is as long as you can remember it.

When I start to pack up to leave, I just remember to CLESP everything I need for the day. It sounds stupid, but it works.

It’s important though that you not just mentally think, “oh, earbuds…pretty sure I packed those.” That has led to many tears.

After I say CLESP out loud, I go through each letter. I physically touch each item and put it in my bag before I go onto the next letter. I haven’t left anything behind in months and it’s brought so much peace to a part of my life that was a major pain.

What do you absolutely need to get through the day? Could mnemonics help you?