What we’ll do is dismiss forgetting when young, and blame it on absentmindedness, but it’s frustrating all the same. As we grow older, the occurrences of going into a room and wondering why we did so, or suddenly losing our train of thought when on the computer, becomes routine and annoying.
Forgetting is a condition that’s thought it can be cured to some extent, or at the very least be counteracted.
What’s needed is to become more mindful of our everyday movements and activities. Then decide to take control and become aware of that activity, by monitoring it.
What’s also thought is multitasking is a detrimental activity, forcing us to forget, which is also reversible.
What’s needed is cognitive awareness, to keep on top of all our daily memory challenges.
Loading Up The Brain
Multitasking, and more importantly it’s evil twin task-switching, is the exercise of attempting to, or needing to go back and forth. To mentally engaging activities simultaneously.
What task-switching is thought to result in, is potential memory loss, because of the switching back and forth between activities.
The reason being, the information from Task A might be forgotten or decay, once Task B is being performed.
So what can result is forgetting where you left off, or what you were doing in that first task, once you decide to turn your attention towards the second task.
To Improve Multitasking
What’s known is there are some, who are better at multitasking than others. There are ways on how to prevent forgetting, when attempting to do two or more tasks at once.
What inefficient multitasking involves, is completely forgetting about doing Task A, once you decide to do Task B.
For instance, say you’re looking for a book, when you suddenly get a text message you need to respond to.
What you want, is to remember you’re looking for the book, after you’ve responded to the text message.
What’s needed is remembering to remain mindful, when it comes to looking for the book despite what distractions arise.
We’re constantly being bombarded with interruptions in our lives, which tears us away from the original task at hand.
What’s known, is there’s effective ways on improving multi-tasking or task-switching.
Give Yourself Time
You need to give yourself sufficient warning, to get back to finishing what you were doing before you were interrupted.
Mindfully tell yourself you need to take out the garbage, and then keep reminding yourself of this once you happen to get distracted, such as adding more items to your grocery list.
Know What You’re Doing
Stop and monitor yourself on exactly what you’re doing. If you’re putting something away in a drawer or your backpack, register it in your mind you’re doing so.
What most will do instead, is think about what they’re going to do next, and then end up forgetting where they put that item.
Instead, imprint it in your mind by taking a “mental photograph,” which allows you to conjure the item’s possible location in the future.
Repetitive Routine
For routine tasks, always do the same steps in the same order. Take advantage of a certain sequence of events.
What this does is places the task on autopilot, allowing you to sail right through it, without needing to double check the steps.
Always look back when leaving, especially when in a public place. What most will do, is think about where they’re going next, rather than where they’ve been or done.
It becomes easy to forget you left your phone on the counter, once you’ve packed your bag and put on your coat.
What a quick look around does, is prevents multitasking, which can alleviate or avoid a potentially disastrous situation.
When You Need To Remember
Talk to yourself or write it down, when you’re wanting to remember something.
What locking information into your memory does, even if it’s your short-term memory, is it provides reassurance against forgetting.
By narrating back to yourself what you’re doing while completing it, does is provides a deeper level of processing and remembering, other than just giving it a fleeting glance.
Develop A Retrieval System
You’ve somehow misplaced that favorite pen of yours a few days ago. You now have no idea where it’s at. What you need, is a systematic retrieval system.
Begin by forcing yourself to recall everything you did, where you were, the last time you used that pen.
This process will help you in learning how to focus your attention, when doing everyday tasks.
You’ll then become more conscious, on what you were doing, and when you were doing it.
It’s Okay To Forget
Don’t beat yourself up for forgetting. What’s known, is some are better at doing multiple tasks, than others.
Those who are proficient, has a system along with more self-confidence in their mental abilities.
Once that mental ability begins to erode, is when the concerns of having a poor memory becomes a distraction.
What then occurs is it further detracts your ability to perform your daily tasks with a sense of purpose.
Mastering Multitasking
What many think is multitasking is a series of multiple tasks.
What giving those tasks the attention they deserve, or making them predictable and on autopilot, does is helps reduce the incidences of you not performing them.
Once your memory does begin to recover, you’ll then begin to feel more sure of yourself, when doing these everyday tasks.
What empowerment involves is a variety of abilities. Once you add good memory to that list, you’ll then be able to accomplish these challenges you face on a daily basis.