When you get home what do you do with everything that went out with you or that you’ve brought back? Where do you unload the day? Do you walk in and put your keys somewhere different every time? Does your handbag have a week’s worth of build up?
My arrival strategy starts the moment I get home. I go to my room (or if staying elsewhere, a designated spot) and I put the things that have accompanied me back in their place. I take off my shoes and put them back in their place, put my keys back in my handbag, put away my sunglasses and return items special to the day (the scarf I wore, a water bottle and any shopping acquired). This way my handbag and the rest of my things are fresh and ready for their next outing. It also has the mental effect of officially signing off the day for me.
Arrival strategies are as individual as we all are and they can also be learnt. If implementing an arrival strategy is something you want to do I’d suggest taking into account your living arrangements, do you live alone or in a share house? And then take note of where you gravitate to when you first walk in. Whether it’s a table, a bookcase or a couch that you collapse on, could that work in as a part of your arrival strategy? Your arrival place?
Try purchasing or re-purposing a splendid bowl or platter and place it within reach of your arrival place. If you can only really leave things lying around in your own room, a bowl or platter will still help as it triggers your brain towards identifying a certain spot as a destination. Make the deliberate choice to place your keys, sunglasses, change or travel cards there and see if it doesn’t become habit in only a short while!
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