Not to name names, but a certain family member occasionally forgets important items as he/she rushes out of the house at the start of the day. I, too, am not immune to such forgetfulness: from time-to-time, I find myself turning around a block or two from the house just to reassure myself that the garage door is closed or coffee maker is off or whatever. In an effort to reduce or eliminate these frustrations, here are some techniques I try to employ most mornings:

1. Keep your important possessions in the same locations

“That’s your home. Are you too good for your home?!”

Happy Gilmore

All your important possessions, work-related and otherwise, should have a home. Wallet, car keys, office badge, cell phone, etc. Designate a home for these items and keep your items in their homes at all times until you need them; otherwise, you’ll burn important minutes searching for your wayward items.

2. Make a checklist

After a third time of driving to my kid’s school to drop off a forgotten lunch–cutting into my work commute–I created a morning (and evening) checklist for each child, taped it to the refrigerator, and made each one go through it every morning. It worked for the most part. Such things should work for you, too.

3. Establish a sequence of events and make it a habit

I’ve established a set sequence every morning: make the kid breakfast, get changed for the day, unload/load the dishwasher, hit the bus stop, etc. Sticking to that order helps ensure I don’t forget anything important.

4. Establish a magic number

My magic number if four: 1) wallet, 2) keys, 3) cell phone, 4) coffee mug. Every morning, I count off these four items before I leave the house and every evening I count off these four items before I leave the office.

5. Verbalize when you’ve accomplished a task

If I’m not careful, as I start to pull out of my suburb or, even worse, onto the highway, I’ll start asking myself, “did I close the garage door?” Or, “did I turn off the coffee maker?” Arrghh! To conquer that second-guessing, as I close the garage door or turn off the coffee maker, I find it effective to say out loud: “I’ve closed the garage door!” Or, “I’ve turned off the coffee maker!” I will say these statements out loud to ingrain the fact in my brain. I try to make sure no one else is around to hear lest I scare the neighbors.

6. Set up alarms for yourself on your phone

I have a recurring alarm set up on my phone that goes on when it’s time to walk with the kid out to the bus stop. I have another set up weekly to remind me to take out the garbage (a snippet of The Coasters, Yakety Yak). Alarms are a great tool for remembering your responsibilities. Have some fun with your alarms, too. I highly recommend Zedge for downloading awesome ringtones and notifications.

7. Set up events and notifications in your calendar

The wife and I make heavy use of Google calendar for tracking all our events and activities. One helpful feature of Google calendar is event reminders: for any event you create, you can attach a “reminder” in the form of either an email or notification. For my more important events, I’ll select “notification” and then decide on when I need to be notified. If the event’s simply a reminder to do something–like call the cable company and threaten to cut the cord if they don’t lower my rates–I may want my reminder to be “on time”. If the event’s a dentist appointment for the kids, I might set it for 24 hours in advance so that I have time to clear my work schedule for that hour. When you’re on your laptop, notifications can be annoying; however, if you set up your calendar on your phone, notifications will usually appear in your system tray with a little chime and can be a helpful reminder tool.

8. Prepare the night before

Nighttime preparation is critical for a successful morning rush. Consider these techniques: A) pack up whatever items you can including lunches, school and work materials, gym clothes, etc. and places these items in their respective homes (see #1), B) perform whatever tasks you can the night before to lessen the morning rush including shaving and showering, choosing your clothes for the next day, etc. and C) rehearse your morning process the night before. Rehearsing your morning can be particularly helpful for unusual mornings, such as getting ready for a morning airplane flight, leaving early for a conference or college visit, and so forth.

9. Wear a watch

Am I showing my age by advocating wearing a watch? For a while, I tried the whole rely-solely-on-my-phone-for-the-time thing, but I don’t always have my phone with me or it’s inconveniently shoved in my pocket. A watch is a great way to keep you abreast of the time and help you stay on schedule, reducing the risk of forgetting tasks and items in the morning rush.

10. Get your kids (and/or spouse) to help

Your kids should be performing morning tasks, anyway: feeding and letting out the dog, unloading the dishwasher, packing their lunches, etc. Enlist their help!