Not Focusing on the Problem
A while back, I made a blog talking about how my boss at the time hated me because I could barely remember the names or faces of anyone who came looking for him whenever he wasn't in the shop with me. I mentioned at the time that I felt I was going through some sort of health issues but then as time went on, it turned out that wasn't the case because it didn't get worse, instead it felt like things got better instead.
Well, after more than ten years when that happened, I think I might be going through a similar situation again, but this time, rather than focus on the problem, I've instead invested my time in finding solutions and currently there are two main things that I do to help me not forget. The first one is something almost everyone does, as for the second one, I don't think so.
So, whenever I see something that I don't want to forget, or whenever I'm busy doing something else and an idea for a blog pops into my head, rather than rely on my weak ability to remember anything, the first and most effective thing I always do is write it down.
I have something like a journal on my phone where I get to write down different topics and whatnot that I don't want to forget. What's unique about this method is that I get to write it in a way only me understands. I never write in full sentences that make sense.. So let's say I see a kid playing football and a topic pops into my head that surrounds the kid playing football, I could write the idea down as "kid, ball, goal" and then that will be it.
To the average person, it will make zero sense, but to me, the moment I see it, I immediately know what it's all about. The second way I help myself remember things though is a crazy one and I usually use this method mostly when I want to remember people's faces.
So I have this friend who's like the complete opposite of me when it comes to the memory department. He has this amazing ability to remember almost anything he sees, seconds after seeing it and it's fascinating to me how he does that. You could show him an eleven digit mobile number for five seconds, and then ask him to call out the same numbers to you two minutes later and he would do that with no stress at all.
Thankfully, this person also happens to be a very close friend of mine and we're mostly always together all the time. So whenever I'm with him and I see someone that I want to remember later, I would show him the person, and then tell him to help remind me of that person later, and he never disappoints.
Sometimes, when I find myself in a place where I'm not with my phone and can't write down my blog ideas, I say them to him the same way I would write it down, so "kid, ball, goal" and then tell him to remind me of it when we get home, and it works perfectly for me.
Currently, those are the two ways I help myself remember and for now, both ways works just fine for me.
I do feel you. For the past 2 or 3 years I have started to forget some of the most obvious things. For example, my mother asked me to do something then I completely forgot about it. I don't know what exactly is making this happen, but it is causing me some great difficulty. To combat this I do the same thing as you. I sometimes just write it down. But the sad part is sometimes I even forget what I wrote. And then when I look back at my notes app sometimes I forget and go, “okay, what was this for?”. And that's really problematic.
I used to forget many things but with time my situation improved and I don't forget things easily in recent days. I also write some key point in my pc sticky note for the safety when I have something important to do. It's a good strategy.