If you want to attack this from the “quit losing them” angle, one way is
to use spaced-repetition
software to train you to
notice when you’re in circumstances where you might be about to walk
away without your computer (or whatever your failure mode is). I do
something like this to train myself to be mindful whenever I get out of
my car. (For context, I drive almost every day.) Specifically:
I have an Anki card that says, “When’s the last
time you got out of a car? Did you check what you should have?” The
back of the card says “Dome light, keys, headlights, lock.”
When Anki gives me this card, I score myself well only if I remember
getting out of the car and checking the things on my checklist while
doing so.
I’ve been doing this for less than three months and it has not fixed my
brain yet. But I’m pretty sure it works: Currently I might go up to
three days without doing my getting-out-of-car ritual, while previously
I might go for months and months at a time without doing it. (I lock my
keys in my car around once a year.) I have similar cards for checking
the parking brake, doing my leaving-the-house checklist, and putting my
car keys in my pocket when I turn the car off but do not immediately get
out. (This last is a specific locking-the-keys-in-the-car failure mode
for me.)
If you want to attack this from the “quit losing them” angle, one way is to use spaced-repetition software to train you to notice when you’re in circumstances where you might be about to walk away without your computer (or whatever your failure mode is). I do something like this to train myself to be mindful whenever I get out of my car. (For context, I drive almost every day.) Specifically:
I have an Anki card that says, “When’s the last time you got out of a car? Did you check what you should have?” The back of the card says “Dome light, keys, headlights, lock.”
When Anki gives me this card, I score myself well only if I remember getting out of the car and checking the things on my checklist while doing so.
I’ve been doing this for less than three months and it has not fixed my brain yet. But I’m pretty sure it works: Currently I might go up to three days without doing my getting-out-of-car ritual, while previously I might go for months and months at a time without doing it. (I lock my keys in my car around once a year.) I have similar cards for checking the parking brake, doing my leaving-the-house checklist, and putting my car keys in my pocket when I turn the car off but do not immediately get out. (This last is a specific locking-the-keys-in-the-car failure mode for me.)
Or fix the door lock to require a key to lock the door.