I used to think (or at least I’d like to think) that I have a good sense of directions. After all, I have not gotten horribly lost in any of my globe-trotting adventures. To be fair, I have often been in the company of people who are great at directions. In reality, I might be a bit directionally challenged.
Directionally Challenged
For as long as I can remember, I always had a hard time remembering street names. Whenever I ask for directions, I’d prefer to be given only the first 3 or 4 instructions. Unless I jot it down, I simply just can’t remember directional instructions beyond the first 3 or 4 sequences. (i.e. Second left at the second set of lights, then a right after 3 blocks, and then a left…wait, what?)
I still remembered that one time when someone approached me on my way to work and asked me for directions to a specific street. The street name sounded awfully familiar. I looked to my left. Then right. I then looked towards where I had walked from. Is it one of those streets? Why can’t I place it?
Finally, I turned to her and apologetically let her know I didn’t know where it is. I looked it up later. It turned out to be a street I walk by all the time.
Like every workday. For at least 6 months.
Where Technology Shines
Because I had never been great at directions, I remembered I was excited when I bought my first portable GPS many years ago. This was long before GPS was even considered a mainstream device. I got a bulky and expensive Magellan, but I knew it would solve my “how to get to such-and-such place” challenge. These days, you don’t even need a separate GPS — your phone’s Google Map or Apple Map can take care of the navigation for you.
The Best App for Remembering Your Parking
With GPS available to guide you from Location A to B, the occasional challenge I find is figuring out how to get back to Location A. While Google Maps has something called, “Parking Location Card”, I have to admit that I’ve not used it. I’ve been using an app called TrakCar for some years. I like the app a lot because it is simple and functional.
(Disclaimer: I have no financial affiliation whatsoever with the company or the app).
Even though the app is marketed as a Trak “Car” app, you can use it to track any location. The app knows to automatically set a location marker when you park, though you can also “manually” add a location event.
Since the app tracks location using location services, no bluetooth or extra device is needed. To get back to Location A, you can tap on the location marker to open up the phone’s GPS to help navigate you back to the marker location.
The app is free (with ads) so you can do a trial run. The free version of the app allows you to track event location for up to 6 hours. If you need to unlock event location past the 6 hours mark, you will need to upgrade to the full version for $1.99USD. I simply upgraded mine, as it is a lifetime upgrade and not a yearly subscription.
Since the app has already bailed me out on at least a couple of occasions, I personally think it’s worth it.
What other apps do you use to help you with directions or locations?
[…] Forgot where you parked? There’s an app for that. – Great app, but bummer that you need to upgrade if you need its functionality for more than a few hours. […]
Never lose your car again using this app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vannenus.inc.wheredidipark
Save the location of your car in the app.
And if you want to go back to your car, you just open up the app and follow the instruction to go back to your car.
$1.99 seems to be worth it. But you can do the same thing with Google Maps or Waze. When I park at the airport or amusement park, I take a pic of the nearest sign and jot it down on my Google Calendar. Makes it super simple to remember.
Never lose your car again using this app.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=vannenus.inc.wheredidipark
Save the location of your car in the app.
And if you want to go back to your car, you just open up the app and follow the instruction to go back to your car.