Why do I forget what I was doing?

Your mental notepad is small

Working memory holds what you are doing right now. In many ADHD brains it holds less, and it wipes easily. One new thought, and the old one is gone.

A doorway wipes it clean

New room, new scene, and the reason you came is gone. Standing in the kitchen with no idea why is not old age. It is a full notepad.

"I'll remember" is a trap

It feels so clear in the moment that writing it down seems silly. Ten minutes later it is gone, and so is the memory that there was anything.

Forgetting is not not caring

Missing a birthday or a promise can look like you do not care. You care a lot. The memory just was not kept anywhere it could come back from.

Write it down right now

Not later, not after this. One app, one notebook, one place. If a thought is worth keeping, it is worth ten seconds before it disappears.

Say it out loud as you go

"Going to get the scissors." Saying the task out loud keeps it in the room with you. It feels odd, and it works.

Leave clues where you already look

Keys on the bag. The letter on your shoes. A note on the door. Put the reminder where your eyes already go, not where it belongs.