Professor Solomon is offering a free download of his book, How to Find Lost Objects. In the book the Professor explains twelve principles that will help you find just about any missing object.

I first read his twelve principles several years ago and have found them extremely helpful in finding things. But the most helpful principle for me was #10, what the Professor calls “The Eureka Zone.” Most missing objects are within eighteen inches of where you think they are. You just have to look more carefully. I have applied this principle again and again, and it seems to hold true. In fact I used it to find some missing electrical tape in the garage just last week.

Here is the Professor’s explanation of the Eureka Zone:

The majority of lost objects are right where you figure — once you take a moment to stop and figure. Others, however, are in the immediate vicinity of that place. They have undergone a displacement — a shift in location that, although minor, has served to render them invisible.

Some examples:

• A pencil has rolled beneath a typewriter.
• A tool has been shoved to the rear of a drawer.
• A book on a shelf has gotten lodged behind other books.
• A folder has been misfiled, several folders away from where it belongs.

Objects are apt to wander. I have found, though, that they tend to travel no more than eighteen inches from their original location. To the circle described by this eighteen inch radius I have given a name. I call it the Eureka Zone.

Check out the Professor’s other twelve principles, too. They just may help you find that something you’ve been looking for.

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HT: Lifehacker