How would you rate your navigation skills on a scale of one to ten, where 10 means “Who needs GPS?” and 1 means “I get confused getting in and out of the shower, but I’m still a better navigator than Dorothy Rosby.”
If you rated yourself an eight or higher, you could stop reading right now. Actually, you could stop reading right now no matter how you rated your skills. We’re a free country. But I encourage you to keep reading. I heard the following tips on an episode of NPR’s Life Kit program. And I listened carefully because I’ve been worried about my navigation skills ever since I got lost somewhere between my RV and the bathroom shed in a nearly empty campground.
Let me preface this by saying that the information was more practical than some of the silly old sayings you used to hear, like the one about moss on trees. I can never remember which side of the tree it’s supposed to grow on, and I’m not convinced the moss knows either.
I was also glad that these tips applied to both the city and hiking, as I got lost in some of the most beautiful areas of both places.
On the other hand, not all of these tips work for me, and that goes for the first point too: 1. Turn off your GPS. The experts interviewed on the show said that when we rely on technology for guidance, we are likely not paying attention to the cues around us. Feel free to try that, but I don’t plan on doing that. I hate to give up technology after I finally learn how to use it.
I also save a lot of travel time when I use Google Maps because I don’t have to stop and ask for directions at every gas station on my route. However, there are some places I can find without help, like the post office and the grocery store.
2. Get lost on purpose. I’ve been using this tip my whole life – except for the part about doing it on purpose. Feel free to try it if you want, but I’m not convinced it’s really helpful. If getting lost helped improve navigation skills, I could be a tour guide right now.
But I’m not saying you can’t learn anything from getting lost. I learned not to turn off my GPS.
3. Use landmarks as a guide. But don’t make the mistake I made more than once. Never choose landmarks that are moving. Parked cars, for example, are not good landmarks.
The experts at Life Kit said the ideal landmark would be large and far away, like a mountain or a tall building. That makes sense. I imagine you could keep your bearings by noting your position in relation to a larger, distant landmark as you travel. Plus, it wouldn’t move.
4. Remember to look back every now and then. Someone might be following you. Just kidding! The real reason you should occasionally look back the way you came is so that when you turn around to go back, it will look familiar. Everything looks different on the other side. For one thing, the trees might be covered in moss.
5. Tell people where you are. For example, “Hey, this is where I tripped over the tree stump and sprained my ankle,” or “This is the street where I hit the UPS truck looking for the turn.” I’ve never done this, but I imagine I’d remember the street if I ever did.
6. And finally, pay attention. They didn’t say this directly, but it was implicit. I admit that inattention is part of my navigation problem. My husband usually drives, partly because he likes to drive, and partly because I tend to doze off in the car. That makes it hard to pay attention.
Dorothy Rosby is an author and humor columnist whose work appears regularly in publications throughout the West and Midwest.
