TromboneAl
Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ...
- Joined
- Jun 30, 2006
- Messages
- 12,880
Absent-Mindedness runs in my family, and in me too. But I've found some strategies that help me compensate for it. For example,
Any other tips?
- Have rules about where you put things down. The biggest problem is putting something down (e.g. screwdriver, keys) in an unusual place. For example, I never put my keys anywhere but in a particular drawer, clipped to my belt loop, or in the car ignition. I take them out of the ignition and put them on my belt loop even if I'm just getting out to clean the windshield.
- For me, at least, half of the absent mindedness problem is one of laziness. I don't want to go all the way out to the garage to put the screwdriver away, so I put it where it doesn't belong. A compromise is to have central transition areas. For me, it's the stairs. If something is to go upstairs or out to the garage, I put it on the side of the stairs.
- Whenever you think "I shouldn't put this here" stop and don't do it. Don't put anything on the top of the car for just a second, for example. Coming home from college, I put some important papers in the mini-fridge to save packing space. They were lost for years.
- Don't joke about how forgetful you are, you are just rewarding yourself for the behavior ("Want to hear what a silly thing I did yesterday?").
- If you go to a room and can't remember why you went, go to the exact place in the room you were headed for. I might not remember why I came into the kitchen, but I do remember that I was headed for the bottom shelf of the fridge. Go look there, and you might remember your goal.
- Use your computer to remind yourself of appointments (library books due tomorrow, confirm credit card payment, back up), and don't click something as "done" until it's actually done. Use a snooze alarm if you are busy with something else.
- Write out and use checklists. And don't just look at an item (e.g. cell phone) and say, "Yeah, I'll get that." When you read "cell phone" put your hand on it. Make it a habit to check the appropriate checklist each time you go out.
- If you need to take, for example, a library book back, don't put it on the bench or near the door, put it in the car.
- Understand what triggers absent mindedness. For example, once I left my keys in the ignition because when I stopped the car and got out, a stranger was talking to me. That distraction/shyness triggered the problem.
- Have a spare key hidden somewhere on the car.
Any other tips?