I do that (say it out loud) to remember where I parked at the grocery store. As I am walking in, I say, “come out the ‘pharmacy’ door, next row to the right, facing the high school.” Seems to work. But I am young enough I should maybe remember better without that crutch?
No, I don’t think what you cite, in the circumstances is a crutch, in a young age, or when “old”. The context involves not just “memory” but “mapping” of the physical context (the parking lot) as well.
We all have different physical mapping abilities - making a mental map of some physical layout in some context of an event.
Some of us (like me) can go some place once and not go there again until years later and yet not need a map or directions to do it (having great internal map making and mapping memory ability). Some of us need either the map or the directions, at least until it becomes a frequent and regular trip.
But, the “parking lot” experience is a varied experience each time - we don’t park in the exact same spot every time. So, speaking the directions to ourselves in that instance might be quite normal. (in my oh so un-expert opinion).
I try, when I think I need to, to use some single landmark either near to my car, or that sits at the horizon of the view when looking back toward my car from the entrance to the building. When I exit the building I look toward that landmark and remember where I left my car in relation to it.
In some big parking lots, like at airports, the light-posts are numbered and I’ll simply write down a landmark light-post number on something; and then usually the best place to write it down IS on the parking-exit ticket itself.