Discussion: Short term memory

I remember Ted saying once that if he falls while orienteering, he completely loses his train of thought and has no idea where he was in the leg when he gets up again. Perhaps exaggerating a bit - the moral was about the advisability of thumbing so presumably Ted keeps a death grip on the map regardless of how severe the fall is.

I'm torn between suggesting that you should simply work on making it a reflex to check your compass when leaving controls and suggesting that you should run without a compass for a while in order to give yourself no choice but to plan your exit as you approach the control (or pay the price of having to stop and map read after punching until you figure out which way to go, if you even can based on only what's visible from there).

Thanks for the suggestions (and the confirmation that I'm not the only one who thinks this way). I try to remember to check the compass on leaving a control, because I think failing to do so is a major source of errors for me, but there's always so much to think about there. I never try to hit my watch button, for example, because I'll forget to do something more important, like punching the control. This is where having a mental checklist ("systematic orienteering") would be a good idea.

I have also practiced a little bit without a compass. It does force me to think ahead about leaving a control, but that hasn't been my main focus because I have to get to the control without a compass first.