Visualize Where You Parked Your Car

Quick Win

It's no fun getting lost in a crowded parking lot, but you can use the power of visuals to jog your memory and track down your car.

Try This Today

• Before you leave the lot, take a mental snapshot of where you parked and what’s nearby. Visualize your car parked by Macy’s or the pizza joint.
• Turn letters and numbers into something you’ll remember. If you park your car on the second floor of section CC, turn 2CC into two clawing cats or some other image you can easily recall.
• Some lots have parking numbers. Turn those numbers into pictures. For example, if the spot you parked in is 214, break down the numbers to 2 and 14 and visualize red hearts, for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.
• Once you've decided on a visual, replay it in your head periodically to keep it top of mind.

Why

According to AARP’s Global Council on Brain Health 2017 report “Engage Your Brain,” remembering where you parked your car is a function of your episodic memory, which is “the storage of unique events or experiences associated with a specific time and place.” In a brain imaging study published in Brain Structure & Function in 2021 in which 81 stroke patients and 29 stroke-free adults ages 62 to 90 did memory tasks, researchers concluded that episodic memory and visual working memory (where your brain temporarily stores visual information) often work together. That's why the GCBH report suggests that, to help overcome everyday forgetfulness, you “take time to examine visual characteristics of your surroundings.”