📘 Part 3: Losing things

This episode's vocabulary

To juggle (verb) - to succeed in arranging your life so that you have time to involve yourself in two or more different activities or groups of people.

Rapid (adj.) - fast or sudden.

To lose track of something (phrase) - to stop keeping a record of something, or stop being certain that you know or remember what has happened.

Unattached (adj.) - not physically joined to something else.

Noticeable (adj.) - easy to see or recognize.

Tolerance (noun) - the ability to deal with something unpleasant or annoying, or to continue existing despite bad or difficult conditions.

To replace (verb) - if you replace something broken, damaged, or lost, you provide a new one.

Conscientious (adj.) - putting a lot of effort into your work.

Neurotic (adj.) - behaving strangely or in an anxious (= worried and nervous) way, often because you have a mental illness.

Angsty (adj.) - often worried or unhappy, especially about personal problems.

Ramification (noun) - the possible results of an action.

Desperate (adj.) - needing or wanting something very much.

Hard up (adj.) - having very little money.

Explicitly (adverb) - in a way that is clear and exact.

Regimented (adj.) - too organized and controlled.

Fall into place (idiom) - when things fall into place, they happen in a satisfactory way, without problems.

To set (something) up (phrasal verb) - to prepare something for use, especially by putting the different parts of it together.

Questions and Answers

M: What kinds of people tend to lose things more often than others?

R: I imagine people with a lot on their plate. If they're constantly juggling tasks and switching attention from things, well, from one thing to another in rapid succession, they might overlook something or leave it behind. I'm not sure whether that's a type of person or just a situation you could get into. Disorganized people might also be more at risk of losing track of things.

M: What kind of things do people often lose?

R: Well, I think keys or any loose items like that, to be honest. I mean, they're just sitting there unattached to anything in your pocket. So something is bound to go missing at some point, especially if it's a small and not very noticeable item. You might not even feel it drop out if it's a... If you have a big pocket.

M: Why do some people worry more than others when they lose things?

R: I guess people have different tolerances for loss, don't they? You might have a lot of money, and so can afford to replace things easily. Or you might just not be very conscientious about that sort of thing. And by contrast, poor people or really neurotic people might get really angsty about losing their personal possessions.

M: Should parents teach their children to return things lost by others?

R: Oh, if it's something important, yes. So I'm not sure they really need to teach this beyond saying that it's a good idea. I mean, how often does the opportunity to do that come up? I imagine it's a pretty rare experience. Usually, the context does the prompting for you and people lose things, you have to decide whether or not to give them back.

M: What do you think are the reasons why some people pick up lost things and do not give them back?

R: It might just not be that important, really. I mean, something like a penny has almost no value, and people are unlikely to go looking for it. So you could just keep a hold of it. And there would be no ramifications. Other than that people might be really desperate and need the money or seriously benefit from not giving something back. It is of course sad when that happens. But some people really are that hard up, they might not have a choice.

M: Do you believe that schools should teach organizational skills to children?

R: Well, they probably do in their head and curriculum. That's the name for things that aren't taught explicitly at schools. Most schools have a timetable or fairly regimented affairs, so they impart things just from the contact with the institution. They could do it explicitly though, since knowing how to organize yourself independently is valuable for running a business or a household. You can do things more efficiently because things just seem to fall into place once you set them up.

M: What are some methods people can use to improve their administrative* skills?

R: Well, I think a diary is a pretty good way of getting things in order, as is having a set routine you can just follow automatically. Something else that seems to work for a lot of people is tidying things up. So they're easier to find. Like with bookshelves, having a shelf of particular books could be useful. You could also set reminders on your phone to go off throughout the day and remind you to do things after you plan them out.

M: Hey! Thank you, Rory, for your answers!

R: I hope you didn't get lost in all the vocabulary.

Discussion

M: Some people tend to lose things. So they have this tendency. That's a very good expression. Like people tend to do something, other people don't.

R: And that's all.

M: People who have a lot on their plate tend to lose things. So to have a lot on my plate.

R: So if you have a lot of things on your plate, then you're very busy, you have things to do.

M: For example, I have children., I have a job, I have, I don't know, my hobbies. So I have a lot on my plate. And sometimes, well, I lose things. I juggle tasks. So juggle? Like a person who juggles things, usually in a circus, you know, like they have balls in their hands, like three balls and they go... And they like juggling. So, we can also use it with things, like I juggle tasks, I juggle jobs.

R: But that just means you're dealing with loads of things at one time.

M: Yeah, you can say like if you're juggling, juggle something or juggle with something?

R: Just juggle something.

M: So you can say like, if you juggle a lot of things, or if you juggle a lot of tasks, well, you can lose something. Or you can overlook something. So you have a lot of things on your plate, and you just overlook something, you just don't notice when it gets missing, when you lose it. Like you leave it behind. So for example, you go out from a shop and then like, you have your children with you, you have your phone, you're talking on the phone, and then you have all these bags. So it's very easy to overlook something and leave one shopping bag behind, for example, in a shop. So it's not a person, it's a situation you could get into.

R: Yeah, so then I just thought of an adjective to describe the kind of person. So if you're not organized, then you are disorganized.

M: Yeah. Also, absent-minded people and disorganized people tend to lose things. And a nice synonym is that disorganized people might be more at risk. So here we mean like lose things. And also to lose track of things. So to not know where things are. So disorganized people usually lose track of things. So they lose things. Loose items. So what are loose items?

R: They're items that aren't attached to anything. So your keys would be a loose item because they're moving around freely in your pocket. A pen could also be a loose item if it's not attached to a notebook.

M: Sunglasses.

R: Your sunglasses, yeah. So just like small things that are not held in place really.

M: And I've Googled what things people usually lose. Car house keys, wallets. Okay? So where you keep your money. Phones, remote controls, dear listener. Glasses. Okay?

R: Oh, yeah. Well, I would never know about that. Because I just, I don't wear glasses.

M: Also umbrellas, passports and ID cards.

R: I still don't understand how you lose an ID card. Surely that's not something that you have very often.

M: Yeah. Other people lose headphones and cameras. Camera? But come on, like we have our cameras on our phones.

R: Yeah, you might lose your phone a lot.

M: Yeah, like phones. Yeah. Purses, backpacks, you know, license, ID. And again, like items, which are just sitting there aren't attached to anything. And these items are bound to go missing. So kind of like, you will lose them for sure. Yeah? So to be bound to do something, like if you are sure you will do it, you can say like it is bound to happen, it will happen. Like not very noticeable items, things. And you will not even notice when they drop out. So they drop out of your pocket. Yeah?

R: I suppose so. If they're not, I think about the small keys that I have, I wouldn't notice them if they fell out immediately because they're not very heavy.

M: Okay. Some people tend to worry a lot when they lose things. And here we can say that some people have different tolerances for loss. Loss is a noun. So we lose things and like my loss. So, okay, I lose this hat, this expensive Gucci hat. And, oh, it was such a loss, for example. Some people can afford to replace things they lose. So we usually replace things we lose or if people can't afford to replace things, they get upset. And people could get neurotic about it.

R: Yes, but that just means they get very upset and hyper-focused on it.

M: Or people get angry about losing their possessions. Possessions? It's a very good synonym for things I own. So my things, my possessions. Like my computer, my phone, keys, clothes, and your Gucci hat are your possessions. Actually, we have like five S's in this word. Possessions.

R: Oh, wow. That's a lot of S's.

M: We return things which are lost by others. And children should be taught how to do this. And I just like to do this.

R: Well, I mean, they should know how. I don't know how you teach that to somebody, though. Do you go looking for things which are lost? And then you practice the skill of returning things. Or do you just tell the kids like, if somebody loses something you should give it back?

M: When such an opportunity comes up, it's a good idea to give an example. Yeah? Or create, maybe create this example. Like, oh, look, daddy lost his keys. What shall we do? And then like, oh, look, your sister lost something. So when the opportunity comes up. When it kind of happens, it could be a pretty rare experience for the child to find other people's stuff. But maybe like in the playground your child finds some toys and thinks it's, oh, I found them, they are mine. But no, let's ask around. Maybe somebody lost them. Because usually when children find something, they assume like, okay, it's mine, I found it, it's mine. So we pick up lost things. So you just walk in there like, oh, okay, I find something, I pick it up. So I pick it up and give it back. Or can I find something, I pick it up, I give something back? Some people prefer to keep things and not give them back. Okay? So they find, I don't know, a hat. So they keep it. They find something and they keep it. And here, Rory, you told us about a penny. So a penny? Like you mean, this small coin? Like you mean money?

R: Yeah, like just the lowest denomination of coin, basically. In my country, we call them pennies. And I think it's the same in America, but they're like, they're just almost worthless coins. So you wouldn't give them back because no one would be looking for them.

M: So people keep hold of things. So keep hold of things, they keep it. Like, I find it, I will keep hold of it. Like, oh, I found a nice hat. I will keep hold of this nice hat. Or, for example, if you find something small like an umbrella, and you can't keep hold of it, there would be no ramifications.

R: But ramifications are just like negative consequences of doing something.

M: But if you find some millions of dollars, and you keep the money, there would be some ramifications. Some consequences. Because, okay, you found the money, you stole the money. Because like, yeah, this, this case of money belongs to somebody. Yeah? People might be really desperate. So they lost their passport. So they are desperate to get it back. Or they lost their smartphone. So they're desperate to get it back. Or they lost a backpack.

R: Well, I mean the people that find the thing might be really desperate. So they might be in a desperate situation. And when they find this money that you lost, even though it's a lot, and you probably need it, they think they need it more, so they keep it.

M: Yeah, true. If someone finds a wallet with money, with credit cards, and that person is poor, they're desperate. So they just take the money. Instead of giving it back. So they can give the backpack back to you. But they just take all the money, for example.

R: Yes. That's never happened to me. But it's happened to people I know.

M: And some people are hard up. So hard up? They need money. So they are poor. Organizational skills. Of course, children should be taught some organizational skills at school. And probably it's already in the curriculum. So curriculum? The school program. And organizational skills are not explicitly taught at schools. So they just don't tell you like, now it's a lesson on organizational skills.

R: Well, they might.

M: Actually, yeah, they might. But, well, I've never experienced it, actually. But they kind of like teach you to be organized in a... In a what, in an implicit way. Not directly.

R: Well, that's what, that's what the hidden curriculum is. That's the thing that... Those are the things that people learn, which aren't explicitly taught to them. And so because your school is organized, you just imagine that everything else has to be organized too.

M: Yeah. You have a timetable. You have deadlines. You should submit your homework, like on this day, and this organizes you. What did you mean when you said regimented affairs? Regimented?

R: Oh, schools are highly regimented affairs. An affair is just a situation. So if they're regimented, then they're very organized and everything must be done in a certain way.

M: Yeah. So they have a regime. Yeah? So regimented affairs.

R: Yeah. A way to do things.

M: And this could also be useful for an independent life. Like for running a business or running a household. So like managing your house, you can do things efficiently if you know how to set them up.

R: But that's just how to organize them.

M: People can improve their organizational skills by having a diary. Okay?

R: I am very good at this. I will always talk about my diary.

M: Yeah, Rory has his diary where he organizes all his life, he writes things down, and he organizes everything in advance. Yeah? A very efficient tool. So keeping a diary is a pretty good way of getting things in order. So you get things in order, you get your life in order. So having a set routine is also pretty good for being organized. So like you have a set routine. So like every day you do certain things And follow your routine automatically.

R: Yeah. So if you do it automatically, then everything is just there and organized, waiting for you.

M: Also tidying things up. So cleaning up, cleaning your house is a good way to get organized, organizing books on different shelves, and setting reminders. So when you set a reminder on your phone, like to do this, not to do this. So you plan it out. And then you set a reminder on your phone. And a reminder could go off throughout the day. So you kind of set a reminder and it goes off like at 3 pm telling you, okay, drink water.

R: That's what I do.

M: So setting reminders and planning things out are efficient ways of kind of being organized, improving your organizational skills.

R: Yeah, it works for me, I always look at my diary. And then think of the things I need to remind myself. So I put a reminder on my phone. Easy.

M: Yeah, but Rory didn't speak about himself. Like, oh, like, I keep a diary, I do this. But just people do. It's a good idea to do something. Yeah So just like avoid talking about yourself personally, dear listener, okay? Just think that I think it's a good way to do this.

R: People could do this.

M: Some people blah, blah, blah. Other people blah, blah, blah, blah. I think this is the most effective way. Yep. Like this. Sweet. Thank you very much for listening! And we'll get back to you in our next episode! Okay? Bye!

R: Bye!

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