Yes, if you want to tip the balance in your favour, you provide that critical starting point. That makes the difference.

The simplest note changes everything. It's not the 11th item, it's the item that happens first, and the other ten follow. (Semantics maybe, but indulge me.) It is the first thing you do, before you strap on your 10 essentials. Always.

It's perhaps more important in the small trips than the big ones. Preps for a major trip include all standard notifications, planning for contingencies, etc. But in a local trip, I can cover a lot of ground in a 30-minute drive, and much more within an hour. That puts me into a range of different terrain. And it's a lot of square miles to cover, just to find my car.

Contrast that with the simplest method: a post-it note in the bathroom mirror. Gone for a stomp, Dearest, out at ____x____, back for supper/ before dark.