If you can remember to implement them, here’s how to stop losing things. Schacter likened losing your keys to drivers who arrive at their destination safely without remembering how they got there. “At the time of encoding, you have to focus your attention.”For things you use regularlyIt helps to not have to remember where some things are. Schacter suggested identifying problem items such as your phone, wallet or keys and creating a structure that becomes automatic with practice. For things you don’t use regularlyMcDaniel said that the brain does a better job at remembering things when it receives several bits of information that can later be connected.