This 3-Second Trick Will Ensure You Don’t Ever Forget Your Belongings Again—And You’re Totally Going to Thank Us for It

I always bring a book when I fly. I like the opportunity to unplug (no in-flight Wi-Fi for me, thanks), and I welcome the uninterrupted time to escape to another place before I land in the place I’m going. Sometimes I bring my Kindle, but usually it’s a paperback. Easy, portable, and if I finish it while I’m away, I can leave it behind for someone else to enjoy … and make room in my bag for a souvenir—maybe a new book!

But the last time I flew, I was tired, so rather than read, I slept. When we landed, I grabbed my bags and deplaned—only to realize later that I’d left my book in the seat pocket in front of me. Luckily, I wasn’t too far into it, and I’d packed my Kindle. But still! I’m not usually forgetful, but I was in a rush and forgot to check to make sure I had everything. I hope the person who found it read and enjoyed it!

A paperback is one thing, but what about a computer, phone or other expensive item? And why do we forget these things in the first place, especially when we were just using them?

Ahead, I talked to Barbara Oakley, PhD, who studies the connection between neuroscience, learning and memory, to learn a simple trick to remember all my stuff before I get off the plane—and anywhere else I go. Keep reading if you need help remembering things, because this trick works!

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Why do people forget things?

Memory involves many processes, but stress, lack of sleep and just plain being distracted from too many tasks can affect our ability to remember things. Think about how many times in a day you have to remember to do something, like grab your book from the plane or pick up your keys from the dining room table. When you’re trying to remember a bunch of things—and who isn’t, all the time?—you’re priming yourself to forget something.

Here’s an example: I was super-organized with packing for my last trip, but even so, I kept forgetting where I’d put the little bag with hard candy and gum to keep my ears from plugging up during the flight. (It was in my purse the whole time!) Every time I rummaged around for it, I got flustered. And flustered can easily lead to forgetting.

That’s not a big deal when you’re home and just need to retrace your steps until you see that your phone is on the kitchen counter—right where you left it. But when you’re out in the world, the stakes are higher.

Why is this such a problem?

Forgetting things—on planes, at work, at a restaurant—can have adverse consequences, depending on what you leave behind. There’s theft, of course, and the ordeal of canceling your credit cards or buying a new phone. And don’t forget stress! Losing something important to you, from a favorite book to your sensitive personal info, creates anxiety that you definitely don’t need.

And this isn’t a small problem. While it’s hard to get a number on exactly how many things are forgotten on a daily basis, we can get a pretty good idea of the enormity of the issue just by looking at a travel example: According to the TSA, travelers leave behind some 100,000 items at checkpoints every month. We’re talking phones and chargers, wallets, water bottles, sunglasses and even clothes. All things you need! And all things we tend to misplace at home too.

What’s the trick to not forgetting?

It’s called the look-back rule. And it’s as simple as that: Before you move on from wherever you are, turn around and look back. Take a solid three seconds and make sure you didn’t leave anything behind on your chair, on the restaurant table, in the airplane seat pocket.

This practice takes just three seconds and can prevent minutes of pain as you kick yourself for forgetting, and hours of hassles if you leave behind something super important like your wallet and have to cancel all your credit cards, or your work computer and have to fess up to IT and wait for a new one.

How can you make this a habit?

Oakley made herself a rule: Whenever you move, you check. It’s extremely simple, but it works, she says. Anytime you’re transitioning from one position to another, from one task to the next, that’s the reminder. When you move, you check. For example, whenever she goes to a restaurant, when she gets up from her seat, she does a mental assessment: Where’s my phone? Where’s my purse? Where’s my jacket?

Think of it like a scene change in a movie, she says. There’s usually some kind of closure—a visual transition or a line of dialogue that signals the scene is ending. That way, your brain knows it’s the end of that particular scene and opens you up to be ready for the next one.

“If you train yourself that whenever you move, you check, you get closure. And then you’re able to close that scene out,” Oakley says. “You get habituated to the fact that you don’t have closure until you turn around and look.” In fact, she goes one step further than just looking back—she physically touches each item so she can confirm that she actually has each thing in her possession before she moves on.

Oakley has one other trick she uses while traveling, when the stakes are high. “I never use drawers in hotels. I don’t put things in the nightstand. I never hang clothes in the closet,” Oakley says. “I don’t need to remember things because I set up this habit of never leaving things where they’re easy to forget.”

What else can you do to make it easy to find your stuff?

Forgetting where you put things from time to time is completely normal, but you can help your brain remember with a few easy tricks.

Before you go anywhere, make a list: It could be an actual checklist, or it could be a mental one you run through before you hop in the car in the morning. Then use it again on the other end of the trip, workday or outing, so you remember everything you need to bring home with you. Also, pause and go through your mental checklist before you leave a room, when you go to bed at night, when you head outside to weed the garden, whenever.
Use trackers and “Find my” features on your devices: Apple Air Tags and similar products tuck easily into a suitcase or wallet, or clip onto a key ring, and allow you to track your items’ whereabouts on your phone or computer. Phones, tablets, laptops and other devices have built-in “Find my” features, so you can always see where they are. You just have to enable and use them.
Have a place for everything: I’m a big fan of Baggallini bags, which have pockets on pockets on pockets. I always keep my keys in the same small pocket. My lip balm, my wallet, my gum, the card I need to put in the mail—everything has its own place. During a recent trip to France, I kept my passport in the same zippered pocket the whole time, with nothing else in that pocket, so I didn’t risk pulling my passport out by mistake and losing it. This works at home too.
Make your stuff hard to ignore: If you’re constantly setting your phone down on the table at the coffee shop and then forgetting it, next time group it with something you can’t leave without, like your keys, or set it on top of your coat.

How is forgetting actually helpful?

If the worst happens, you’ll still be OK because, believe it or not, forgetting something once might help you to not make the same mistake again. I told Oakley about the time I left my favorite shirt and jeans behind in the closet of an inn after a weekend work trip. I called the front desk as soon as I realized, but they said the clothes weren’t there. I never got them back—and I still remember this even though it was many years ago!

“See how that memory is seared into you?” says Oakley. “It can be a really good idea to develop a mentality of forgiveness. Have fun with it and laugh if something doesn’t work out, because no matter how bad it is, you’ll always remember it.”

If you’re always trying to remember all the things, constantly running through a mental checklist, it can be crazy making. Like me with my little bag of candy. Better to keep this simple three-second look-back rule in mind. When you move, you check. I’m already doing this with my phone at home and can’t wait to put it into practice next time I travel.

About the expert

Barbara Oakley, PhD, is a professor of engineering at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, and the Ramón y Cajal Distinguished Scholar of Global Digital Learning at McMaster University. She specializes in bioengineering with an emphasis on neuropsychology and cognitive psychology. She has written several books and teaches courses about how to learn.

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Sources:

Barbara Oakley, PhD, professor of engineering at Oakland University; interviewed, April 2026
TSA: “Lost and found”

How to Keep Your New Phone Safe

Do This Simple Activity to Reduce Stress

How to Create Your Own Analog Bag

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