Establishing your command center
Does leaving the house daily feel like a scavenger hunt? Where did I put my phone, keys, wallet, purse, watch, etc.? Are you constantly writing yourself notes for the next day only to forget where you put them?
A concept I'd love to introduce to our readers is the idea of "designating a command center” in your home.
Take a minute and imagine that unofficial spot on your countertop next to the phone where you may typically leave your keys every day. There happens to be a few loose appointment cards, a sticky notepad, and maybe your mail or something you want to remember to take out with you the next day, all in one spot. This really is a memory aid if you think about it, and it truly has untapped potential that I’d recommend cultivating with some simple setup to improve day-to-day recall/orientation skills, which lead to maintaining our independence.
Let’s transform this maybe messy space into a central, organized station that is our go-to place for information. By adding some structure, intention, and slight daily maintenance to this area, we can set ourselves up for success to quickly orient to time as well as easily locate and recall important items/events/appts/etc.
Everyone’s command center will look a little different as we all live differently, but first I’d recommend choosing a central area of the home that is visible to you and visited several times throughout the day where you are able to designate space (i.e., countertop, coffee table, kitchen table, desk).
Secondly, I’d recommend investing in a valet tray to hold items securely together yet separately so they are not haphazard in the area.
Some examples of great items to include at a command center include:
◦ Purse/wallet
◦ Phone
◦ Charger (if you use a cell phone)
◦ Glasses
◦ Orientation clock
◦ Sticky notes and pen
◦ New mail/outgoing mail organizer
◦ Phone book/contact list/MD cardholder
◦ Appointment cards
◦ Things you need to remember: bring to appt or party, etc.
◦ Keys
◦ Daily checklist/dry-erase board
◦ Calendar
◦ Valet tray
Now that you have your center established, we need to develop a habit. Ideally, I'd recommend a “check-in” with the command center in the morning and evening to see what the day is bringing and to prepare for the next day ahead.
The discipline comes with practicing placing the selected items back in their correct place daily and adhering to the idea that important things stay in one place.
They say after 21 days it’s a habit—I say challenge yourself to do this and see how much easier it is to recall and stay on top of the tasks in your life.
Little modifications to things we are already doing can make a big impact—creating a ‘command center’ can truly help us regain control and instill a renewed sense of confidence in ourselves.
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Visit our product page to see a list of recommendations to help you build your command center!
Written by Dina Holland, MS-CCC SLP