Interesting. I've spent a lot of time "bushwhacking" off trail in our wilderness areas and one of the things I learned early on was to make a point to focus on landmarks, and more importantly, to turn around and look at where I'd just been so I could recall it on the way back because it's a completely different view.

It's a lot easier to travel off trail in areas with hills and hollows than flat lands with little variation in terrain and flora, and a compass makes a huge difference in that case, but even then stopping and turning around to look for something even a bit out of the ordinary can make a huge difference in rather you begin to panic over being lost or not.