Where did I park?
Everyone has walked round a car park looking for their car. Here's the practice: a car park from above with your car marked by a pin. You have 15 seconds. Then: which bay was it in, what level were you on, what was the plate, and what was parked next to it?
What it asks about
Each question is about one kind of detail. Here's the habit that catches each:
- Plates and numbers. Read numbers in chunks: KRT then 482. Say them, don't just see them.
- Vehicles. For every vehicle: kind, colour, and which way it's facing.
- Where things were. Split the picture into left, middle and right, and place each person in one.
- How many. Count the things that repeat (people, trees, birds) on purpose. Nobody remembers a number they never counted.
- Signs and words. Read every sign out in your head. Words you read stay; words you glanced at don't.
- The setting. Before the details, take in the whole: the weather, the traffic light, any animal.
- Everything you saw. Sweep once from left to right and name every object in a word.
Make it a habit
A test tells you where you are. Two minutes a day moves it: Clue Catch's daily decks bring back the kinds of detail you miss (plates, counts, what people carried) more often than the ones you catch.
Practise Car park dailyFree, no account needed.
Questions
How do I remember where I parked?
Say three things out loud as you walk away: the level, the bay number, and something next to the car ("level 4, bay 38, next to the white van"). A number you said is far more likely to come back than one you only saw. Taking a photo works too, if you remember to.
Why do I forget where I parked?
Parking happens on autopilot: your attention is on the next thing, the shop or the meeting, so the bay number is seen but never stored. Practising the habit of noticing it is what this game is for.