Where do you place tags so they get used daily?
Where you already stop and already have a phone in your hand. Placement decides whether an automation survives far more than what it actually does, and the places that work turn out to be boringly predictable once you start looking for them.
Places you already stop
Beside the bed. By the front door, on the inside. On the desk. Beside the kettle. In the car, where the phone goes.
These are places where you pause for a moment anyway, which is what a tap needs.
A tag in a corridor is a tag you walk past. A tag in a place you stand still is a tag you use.
Watch yourself for a day before choosing. Where you actually pause is not always where you think.
Phone already in hand
The second condition, and the one people miss.
A tap requires the phone out and awake. If your phone is in a pocket at that moment, the automation costs more than doing the thing by hand.
So the best places are where the phone is already out: putting it down, picking it up, charging it, checking it.
A tag on the surface where your phone lands every evening is the strongest position in the house.
Places that look right and are not
The light switch, because your hand is already on the switch and the switch is faster.
Head height on a wall, which looks tidy and is uncomfortable to reach with a phone.
The fridge door, which is steel and needs an on metal tag, and where people rarely have a phone out.
Inside a cupboard, which hides it from everyone else in the household and from you after a fortnight.
The surface
Wood, plaster, plastic and glass are all fine.
Metal is not, without an on metal tag: a fridge, a radiator, a metal lamp base, a metal framed mirror, a steel doorframe.
Test before sticking. Hold the tag in place, tap it, and only then peel the backing.
And prefer something you can move for the first month, because the right position is usually not the first one you choose.
Frequently asked questions
Why is my hallway tag never used?
Because you walk past it rather than stopping. A tap needs a pause, so tags belong where you already stand still.
Can I put one on the fridge?
Only with an on metal tag, and it is rarely a good position anyway because people seldom have a phone out at the fridge.
What is the best spot in a house?
Wherever your phone lands every evening. The phone being already in your hand is the condition most people forget.
Should I stick it down straight away?
No. Hold it in place, test the tap, and keep it movable for a month. The right position is rarely the first one.