Attention to detail.

[koyote]

I'm gonna go a bit off the wall again. You know me.

We're mostly gearheads of a type. Whether minimalist or massive collector/historian/reviewers. What that means is we pay attention to the minute details of our gear- things like exact angle of a belt clip retainer can drive me crazy (the reason I don't offer more belt clip sheaths is that I can't find one I can purchase for sheaths that's really right. I have some on gear, but can't find them.)

There are often discussions of gear, and skills. Every once in a while I touch on practices for skills with gear- like the 30 day commitment to only using a P38 in the kitchen, or an SAK can opener.

There's another level to this, which is going to cause an overall increase in self and situational awareness. IT boils down, really, to what the military calls attention to detail. To quote every chief or top in history, it doesn't REALLY matter how you folds your socks- the ability to have enough awareness to do it the same way every time is critical, though.

I've had some sort of psk or soemthing similar- an alien abduction bag or liberty bag- since I first was stationed overseas. What I carry and how varies a lot with the time of my life. But I've continually made a oint of knowing what I'm carrying, where, and - while it slows you down in the beginning, trying to apply a carried item to a task or problem as much as possible.

In large part this means carrying things in the same place, every time. setting things down in the same place, every time. Never leaving my desk without my belt case.

A lot of survival situations are brought on by 'doing soemthing different'- taking a chance and not testing a step- not looking in the car window before passing a parked car on a bike- not checking the mirrors before opening a car door- leaving the pack behind to go to the slit trench in a camp just ONE time.

How do you, if you do, effect this in your life? WHat can you do to increase you attention to detail? I have new exercises I add in from time to time and others I drop.

 

[mcjhrobinson]

i like this post koyote! i thought i was the only one...i keep the same things in the same spot, my dad taught me that (he was a marine).

i use it at work all the time...when i use the blower i put piles in the same places every house. i train my workers to use a routine.

right now i could reach my BOB in the dark from any room in our apt....my ol lady knows where the torch and knife are at.

 

[Rockywolf]

Hmmm, interesting. Im not military or former, but my dad was career Navy and taught me the same thing. I rarely lose or misplace anything and can picture in my mind just where something is based on organization principles he taught me.

It saves me time when performing tasks both outside and in. Now I teach my sons. They're getting used to it!

 

[j williams]

As a former Army Cav Scout, and currently working EMS, and the son of a career Marine, attention to detail is something Ive heard and practiced most of my life.

On my ambulance, everything is accounted for and everything has its place. I check it every shift, exactly the same. Every time. My closet is the picture of orginization. Shirts hung up in order (from short to long sleeve, then sweaters and jackets), hangers 2 fingers apart. My ammo is in ammo cans, all labeled with caliber and type on side of can, and I ALWAYS keep the same amount of ammo in inventory. Guns are cleaned exactly the same, everytime, after every use. And put up in the same spot. My EDC items are removed from my pockets every evening, and mornings I come off duty, and put in the same wood bowl I made on my dressor. My weightroom is always put back the way I found it pre workout.

Same goes for my shop. All tools in there place, bikes maintained and stored the same after every ride. Cars and mower maintnance done at pre scheduled times.

My wife calls it OCD, I call it attention to detail.


ya know its funny, because my wife is the exact opposite.

I believe attention to detail is vital in preperation. Prep for whatever.

 

[kgd]

Where the heck did I put my mouse??? Ahw here it is under that stack of books........

 

[C_Kyle]

I do the same thing. It was a trait learned in the Army, and it makes everyday life a little easier. The only issue I have is when something is different, it throws you off a bit. For instance, this morning, I could not find my green SAK Climber, which rides in my front left pocket at all times. I remember putting it in my gym bag last night when I changed clothes, but it wasn't there.

 

[sicily02]

Cool thread Koyote, Yep do the same. It is just being better prepared for the what if.
Almost like being becoming second nature.
Bryan

 

[Joezilla]

My father used to beat attention to detail into me when I was a tiny thing. It got to the point where he could take me in the kitchen after a brief period of time and ask what was moved.
A few of the little drills I would engage in is color memorization. Instead of going by a sign on the road, I would remember what color it was. Instead of a few trees, what specific tree shape in the grove and what color. It really works! Now I can walk along on a trail and spot all sorts of bug paraphernalia.


But no matter what, I still misplace things here and there. As a matter of fact, even with all these fun little games, I still put the milk jug in the microwave a day ago. Hakuna matata

 

[Mentor]

Hmm. Interesting topic.

This is really not the case with me. I tend to avoid routines, and I actively try to mix things up when I can. Documents and books migrate around my office like living things, there are knives all over the place, and I seem to be incapable of putting things back where I found them. I wouldn't say the place is a mess - just a monument to functional disorder. Somehow, this arrangement works for me. My PSK represents a conscious effort to break with my chaotic routine, as it is a pre-packaged kit that I always make sure to stuff in my bag when I leave home.

I suppose it comes as no surprise that I do not have a military background, eh?

All the best,

- Mike

 

[j williams]

Hmm. Interesting topic.

This is really not the case with me. I tend to avoid routines, and I actively try to mix things up when I can. Documents and books migrate around my office like living things, there are knives all over the place, and I seem to be incapable of putting things back where I found them. I wouldn't say the place is a mess - just a monument to functional disorder. Somehow, this arrangement works for me. My PSK represents a conscious effort to break with my chaotic routine, as it is a pre-packaged kit that I always make sure to stuff in my bag when I leave home.

I suppose it comes as no surprise that I do not have a military background, eh?

All the best,

- Mike

Its ok Mike... Your Canadian.




(kidding)

 

[koyote]

I expect that the military upbringing or service (I have both) has something to do with the habits. I think that they are very good traits.

It's not the sort of thing that prevents adaptation or appreciation fo surprises- and for sure we all make mistakes. But I'm happier saying, "where are my keys? I always put them in the bowl" rather than "I can NEVER find my keys"

In terms of carrying and using PSK/BOB/BOE stuff, it's a huge benefit. I'd hate to have my BOE look like the one carried by proto-goth girl from the Breakfast Club.

 

[Bushman5]

Its ok Mike... Your Canadian.




(kidding)

beat me to it! (i'm Canadian too! ) :thumbup:

i got stuff strewn about everywhere. I got ticked at Pops when he came down to the house one day and cleaned up. I couldn't find anything. If stuff is strewn about I know EXACTLY where everything is.

 

[dawsonbob]

I'm a former Marine, who's the son of a former Marine, who was the son of a former Marine, who was...

I grew up with just the mindset and habits you're talking about, and they're good habits to develop, too: they can save your life, or the lives of those around you. Having said that, you wouldn't believe it of me if you saw my place, yet I know just where everything is (except when I'm looking for it, that is: old age is hell on the memory).

 

[j williams]

I'd hate to have my BOE look like the one carried by proto-goth girl from the Breakfast Club.

Thats sig worthy. :thumbup::thumbup:

 

[DOC-CANADA]

beat me to it! (i'm Canadian too! ) :thumbup:

i got stuff strewn about everywhere. I got ticked at Pops when he came down to the house one day and cleaned up. I couldn't find anything. If stuff is strewn about I know EXACTLY where everything is.

And me . However, let me bring up a point, by being the way we are, we have to be able to adapt at a moment's notice, because, quite often, life is one surprise after another.

The ability to readily adapt to a given circumstance is a very important survival skill. :thumbup:

Doc

 

[absolutindian]

I am the Operation Director at a large summer camp, and maintenance of the property falls partly under my umbrella, but not fully. When I walk into our shop looking for a wrench of a specific size, or any tool for that matter, I am constantly frustrated at how difficult it is to find. There's crap thrown everywhere, tools laid down and left there, nothing where it should be. There have been attempts made to organize, but it never sticks. Drives me insane... definitely not the way I would run my shop if it were fully under my control.

Seems to me that organization and attention to detail are what facilitate the efficiency of the job at hand. If the shop were organized properly, I could walk in and grab the tool I need in less than a minute. As it stands now, it sometimes takes me an hour to find something, if I ever actually find it at all.

No military training... yet. Planning on enlisting in the Army with an Option 40 in the contract for Ranger training... most likely within the next year...

 

[Wandering_About]

beat me to it! (i'm Canadian too! ) :thumbup:

i got stuff strewn about everywhere. I got ticked at Pops when he came down to the house one day and cleaned up. I couldn't find anything. If stuff is strewn about I know EXACTLY where everything is.

I have what I call "organized chaos" in my stuff. If an OCD person walked into my room, they would probably have a seizure. I can tell you off the top of my head where almost everything I own is, or at least should be in my room and house, though. Same goes for the shop at home. And if stuff isn't where it's supposed to be, there are usually certain areas they've been left that are pretty easy to figure out.

 

[Mistwalker]

Koyote,

This is an interesting thread. I am curious to see the responses. My primary influences in my young life were all combat veterans. I had the "PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL" drilled into my brain from a very early age. I got lost in the woods once when I was six or seven...the punishment I received from my ex Marine father for that was so high as for it to never happen again...at least not yet. I always know where the primary or most essential elements of my kits, indeed of my life, are at all times. However I do not follow a discernible routine. I don't do anything at the same time of day, week, month, or year. I do not leave home at the same time every day, or even in the same direction. I don't have my coffee breaks at the same time in the mornings, I don't have a set time for lunch, I don't have set days or times for going after groceries (I'm the cook, I like to pick my own stuff), no set time for lawn work. Sometimes I come home for lunch, sometimes I'll go out the road to my brother's house for lunch, sometimes I just drive through my neighborhood at lunch at keep going. I randomly do maintenance on my father-in-laws office at the end of the road I live on because it affords me a time of observation from a higher vantage point. And even though I demand that everyone is at the table when supper is served, our one group meal of the day, even that doesn't happen at the same time everyday. Though this probably sounds like chaos it isn't, it is still the same attention to detail. It is attention to the details of avoiding a perceivable pattern. It keeps the crack-heads and thieves at a disadvantage... But I can still tell you if anything at all in my general area has changed at any given time.

 

[koyote]

Koyote,

This is an interesting thread. I am curious to see the responses. My primary influences in my young life were all combat veterans. I had the "PAY ATTENTION TO DETAIL" drilled into my brain from a very early age. I got lost in the woods once when I was six or seven...the punishment I received from my ex Marine father for that was so high as for it to never happen again...at least not yet. I always know where the primary or most essential elements of my kits, indeed of my life, are at all times. However I do not follow a discernible routine. I don't do anything at the same time of day, week, month, or year. I do not leave home at the same time every day, or even in the same direction. I don't have my coffee breaks at the same time in the mornings, I don't have a set time for lunch, I don't have set days or times for going after groceries (I'm the cook, I like to pick my own stuff), no set time for lawn work. Sometimes I come home for lunch, sometimes I'll go out the road to my brother's house for lunch, sometimes I just drive through my neighborhood at lunch at keep going. I randomly do maintenance on my father-in-laws office at the end of the road I live on because it affords me a time of observation from a higher vantage point. And even though I demand that everyone is at the table when supper is served, our one group meal of the day, even that doesn't happen at the same time everyday. Though this probably sounds like chaos it isn't, it is still the same attention to detail. It is attention to the details of avoiding a perceivable pattern. It keeps the crack-heads and thieves at a disadvantage... But I can still tell you if anything at all in my general area has changed at any given time.

Well, we have few routines. There are routines and routines, though. I check my pistol the same way, every time. It's a routine. I don't eat, cook, or walk the samae direction in any sort of predictable routine. I think that attention to detail in things like your kit, where kitchen utensils go, and such- that helps make it easier to go without larger routines.

 

[Mistwalker]

Well, we have few routines. There are routines and routines, though. I check my pistol the same way, every time. It's a routine. I don't eat, cook, or walk the samae direction in any sort of predictable routine. I think that attention to detail in things like your kit, where kitchen utensils go, and such- that helps make it easier to go without larger routines.

In this I agree, I think we all have some routines that can't be or don't need to be avoided. Firearms maintenance is semi-routine for me. The dis assembly and assembly are routine and decided by the design, how I clean each part is a routine but not the order in which I clean them. However I have folded my socks the same way since I was eight or nine I guess .

I learned many years ago that predictability is a weakness, and a tool that others out there will use against you if given the opportunity.