how do i stop being so forgetful?

Question

i am a teenager who has had this niggling problem since early childhood.

I am constantly forgetting tasks and dates, and always lose things. as a result of my forgetfulness, i am very disorganized.

i once took a look at my school records, and saw that throughout all my history of teachers' comments, every teacher i've had since grade 2 has said that i need to improve my organization!

i am an above 90 student and a creative individual, but this problem gets into every aspect of my life. i constantly find myself having to compromise on things because of my forgetfulness (Eg. having to photocopy someone else's binder a week before exams because mine is so scattered, or buying the same lip balm over and over again because i keep losing it!)

i am determined to gain control over this annoying problem, that shouldn't really be a problem.

your tips (any at all that you find useful) would be very helpful and appreciated!

thank you.

Answer 1

As a mental health professional with 20+ years experience, now retired, I can tell you that the best way to overcome "forgetfulness" is to RELAX. People put a lot of pressure on you, maybe moreso when you're young, to remember this and remember that, and most of it isn't worth remembering anyway. They tell you to "get organized" because they can't figure YOUR "system" out. That's their problem, not yours, but they're working hard to make it look like and sound like your problem. I've worried that I couldn't remember people's names. Then I realized that I only worried about it when people told me I should do better. Then, after quite some worry, I found that I did remember peoples' names. The ones I wanted to remember. Those that weren't as important to me, I forgot. That's okay. I'm not the telephone book or the Yellow Pages, so I won't try to be. Your "problem" isn't annoying you. It's the people around you whining because they can't get you to do their bidding that are annoying you. You'll feel better once you truly realize that. God Bless you.

Answer 2

Ask a nutritionist about your diet and specifically taking Lecithin and other herbal memory products.
Get a brain scan to determine if there are differences from normal sensory processing.
Take piano lessons, paying particular attention to phenomenon of muscle memory and how it might be transformed into your daily mental activities.

Answer 3

umm.. check with a doctor, it might be serious like altzheimer's disease
well organization on the other hand, the less you have, less things to clean up. so dont doodle, and dont buy useless, but witty things, they just take up space. and keep things in the right place, like lip blams in the bathroom or where you dress yourself. and books in the shelves,
you have to break away from your laziness to throw things in the floor, or else it will just build up :)
good luck, and please go to your doctor or tell your parents or.. even ask your parents about the family history.. ^-^

Answer 4

i have the same problem, i just repeat what i have to remember out loud to myself three times. it actually works most of the time.

Answer 5

make lists but dont let the list making become obsessive

Answer 6

Forget that you are forgetting.