Coping with "What Did I Come Here For?"

[tmm99]

I don't know how I used to be able to find my car in a parking lot with no electronic keys.

 

[audreyh1]

I've posted this before:

It's known as the Doorway Effect. Basically, every time you pass through a portal (a doorway is the most common), you lose whatever thought had been balanced on top of that rickety stack in your brain.

DW and I joke about it all the time, as it happens to everyone.

Maybe my imagination, but I often try to reverse it by going back through the portal I just passed through, hoping the thought will return. That technique works often enough that it's always worth a try.

Why Walking through a Doorway Makes You Forget

Right - I appreciated your help on this and backtracking my steps almost always lets me remember what I was trying to do.

 

[Amethyst]

My father would say, "If I was a [lost object], where would I be?" He said this really helped him find things.

I tend toward "What did I [or family member] do differently today, that busted our routine and made us drop stuff in a different spot than usual?"

My DF lost things all the time. Family joke, has anyone seen my glasses?

One year he lost his prescription sunglasses and eventually had to admit it to DM. He replaced his lost sunglasses and took DMs jokes. A year later, hawking golf balls in the woods, he looked at branch on a tree. There they were, right where he'd set them down a year before.

 

[TromboneAl]

I remember the OP had a thread, or maybe a couple of posts, on this same subject a few years back.

I think you're right.

I think I also posted about how I mentioned to a friend that I gauge my cognitive decline by comparing myself to my sister (76) and my mother (at 92, you could give her a book that she's just read, and she'd happily read it again).

Then I said to my friend, "Have I told you this before?"

He said, "Yeah. Twice."

 

[NW-Bound]

Not picking on anybody, or trying to make anybody feel bad.

Several times, I suddenly forgot my sister-in-law's name, or the name of my nephew, or niece. And I see them monthly. It was particularly bad and embarrassing when I was introducing them to somebody else.

 

[NW-Bound]

I was cagey.

I remember T-Al brought this problem up back a few years ago, when I myself described my forgetfulness. And he suggested something to alleviate that, and to jog one's memory.

And that's how I remember that exchange.

 

[Lakewood90712]

For me, one trick in figuring out what the heck I came in here for is "location." I've found that although I've forgotten what I was going to do, I usually remember exactly where I was going to do it. The exact part of the room, drawer, etc. That sometimes helps.

I've also noticed that I usually have a clear memory of the emotion involved. Yesterday I was in front of the fridge, I couldn't remember what I was planning to do, but I remember it was something I was looking forward to doing.

It turned out I had planned to move some leftover olives to another container to free up the jar I needed for something else. Not sure if that helps.

Looking for that $.01 Steak no doubt.

 

[Gumby]

When I find myself somewhere and can't remember why I went there, I look around to see if there is something useful I can do while I'm there. Could be as simple as seeing something out of place and returning it to where it belongs. Maybe that's why I went there in the first place, maybe not. But at least I ended up doing something useful.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

The surest way to remember is to go back to the spot where you originally had the thought)

Not always practical; for instance, when I am deplaning after a long flight.

-BB

 

[NW-Bound]

Not always practical; for instance, when I am deplaning after a long flight.

-BB

If your carry-on has some ID on it, the airline can get it to you.

 

[Bryan Barnfellow]

If your carry-on has some ID on it, the airline can get it to you.

I meant that I cannot easily return to my starting place if, upon landing at the airport, I have forgotten why I traveled to a particular place! Hasn't happened yet; but you never know!

-BB

 

[donheff]

It is called the "threshold effect." Our 14 YO Golden Retriever has it. She gets up from the living room, walks into the dining room, and then starts looking around like "what was I planning?"

 

[Which Roger]

It’s easy, just

Stand in the place where you live
Now face north
Think about direction
Wonder why you haven't before

At least we still remember thete was something we wanted to do even if it’s hovering on the edge of our brain.

I'm glad you omitted the 5th line, which might offend many on this forum:
"Now stand in the place where you w*rk"


This is a good thread. We've quoted both REM and The Eagles.

 

[HFWR]

This is a good thread. We've quoted both REM and The Eagles.

Don’t forget the Talking Heads...

I not sure how much of my forgetfulness is getting older, or being naturally ADD...

 

[TromboneAl]

Several times, I suddenly forgot my sister-in-law's name, or the name of my nephew, or niece. And I see them monthly. It was particularly bad and embarrassing when I was introducing them to somebody else.

Yes, my family has some kind of inherited hole-in-the-brain when it comes to names. Even when we were young, family gatherings included a lot of calling one another by the wrong name.

Eighteen years ago I blanked on the name of a band-mate, so it's not just an age thing.

 

[Clone]

Of all the things I've lost, I think I miss my memories the most.

 

[Ronstar]

I go to the home improvement store almost daily. I buy some stuff I need but fail to remember a few things. So I have to go back the next day to get the stuff I forgot. I need to start writing things down.

 

[Dawg52]

I go to the home improvement store almost daily. I buy some stuff I need but fail to remember a few things. So I have to go back the next day to get the stuff I forgot. I need to start writing things down.

Oh yeah. If I fail to write items down when going to the grocery store I will certainly forget something. Even if it's just 4-5 items.

 

[CaptTom]

Oh yeah. If I fail to write items down when going to the grocery store I will certainly forget something. Even if it's just 4-5 items.

Yes! Even with I list, I forget an item or two once in a while.

As I mentioned, my list is in my cell phone. This makes me look very trendy; I walk around the supermarket with my head down looking at my phone just like all the young folks.j

 

[audreyh1]

We have become religious list makers for shopping, and started using a shared list on reminders app on our phones that we both can see, update and check off while shopping. And that list shows on our watches now, so we just need to look at our wrists in the store and tap to check things off.

 

[NW-Bound]

List on the phone? Hah!

Just a couple of days ago, I made a list before going to Home Depot to get stuff, and I forgot to look at the phone when I was there.

And I am sure that it was not the first time that happened, but I could not recall the previous occasion.

And yet, I remember some random things that are not at all important from long ago. It's strange how our memory works.

 

[target2019]

A folded index card with shopping list or to-do items works well.

 

[Amethyst]

Until you need a big sheet of yellow paper with large writing, b/c taking out reading glasses in the grocery store is a pain.

A folded index card with shopping list or to-do items works well.

 

[imoldernu]

Here's a small call for help.
For years I have been looking for a very small recorder for points of memory, that requires only the push of a button, to voice record, and a second button the shows a date and a few words of the reminders by sound, but preferably as a small visual note.

I'd like one that fits on a keychain. I've bought several that purpose to be memory joggers, but they're either too simple, of too complex.

Becoming evermore important as the memory problems are accelerating. Keeping up is becoming much more difficult. Jeanie and I are working to simplify, plan, and to trying to learn patience.

 

[TromboneAl]

I need to start writing things down.

Most of my life I wished for something that you always have with you that will allow you to add an item to a shopping list the moment you think of it.

With phones and computers and tablets always within reach, we have that. Plus a checklist for leaving the house and a notepad for ideas: