What did I come in here for?
I just sat down with my tablet again, for the third time. I already made two trips to the bedroom to get something but forgot what it was by the time I got there.
The first time I went in the bedroom, I changed my shoes, emptied trash cans and, wiped off the top of my nightstand. As I finished taking the last bag of trash from its container and tying it shut, I glanced around the room to see what else I needed to do. Nothing!
That done, I start for the den.
Oh, wait! What did I come in here for in the first place?!
Ummm, I don’t remember. Oh, well.
Back in the den, I grab my tablet to take up where I left off. Click. I turn it on. OH DANG . . .
. . .my battery is almost dead!
THAT’S WHAT IT WAS! I went to the bedroom to get the charger to charge my tablet’s battery.
Ok. Back to the bedroom! Durn battery!
As soon as I enter the bedroom, I hang up a couple of shirts. Then I…
What was it I came in here for?!!!
Has this ever happened to you? To anyone you know? How long did it take you to remember why you went into the room? How do you handle it when this happens to you? What are your thoughts on this phenomenon?
12 Answers
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What I have to do is to repeat in my head the reason for going to the room until I get there, AND don't let myself get pulled into doing something else, then I do remember. Otherwise, I'd forget.
Certainly distractions can contribute to lack of concentration. Your mother's recent passing could occupy your mind and cause you to loose focus. Having attention deficit disorder can also. Someone with ADD has difficulty concentrating and can have a million things running thru their mind at any one time. I've never been diagnosed with ADD, but confront memory issues regularly. For me it's an every day thing, always has been.
If you're worried about your memory, have it checked out by your doc.
I blame it mostly on the aging process and partly on stress caring for my wife.
The "Doorway effect"
Psychologists believe that walking through a door and entering another room creates a mental blockage in the brain.
(thanks to Google I went down a 'rabbit hole" reading about this....glad I remembered what I was doing and came back to finish this response!)
The phone's calendar app is my best tool to keep me from forgetting my to-do list. I put things that I need to do on the phone's calendar with reminders. It reminds me at the scheduled times. Once an event on the calendar pops up on the screen, it stays there until I either dismiss it, or snooze it to remind me again later.
I use the alarm app is to schedule things that must be done at an exact time, like taking/picking up my kids to/from school.
The kitchen timer saves me numerous times from overcooking or burning my food, or forgetting to turn off the stove.
Then, the good old daily/monthly planner which I also use to write things down so I can see the whole week/month at a time. Very helpful in planning things in advance.
People in their 20s, 30s and early 40s even forget their babies sitting in the car seats. During the cold months, we don't hear about it, but summer times, the hot months, there will be kids forgotten and left in the cars all day. Very unfortunately, those kids die. As recently as last week, twin boys were supposed to be taken to a daycare but never were. When the parent realized s/he forgot, the boys were dead. So so sad.
Seems reasonable that our focus can shift from one thing to another. I've done it multiple times - without leaving a room. (Like remembering why I turned on the laptop an hour ago after reviewing emails, searching for something that just came to mind, ...)
I used to be good at multitasking. Now I see it's not a good thing.
You're okay. Deep breaths...
Having 5 kids didn't make it better either!
Since I don't KNOW any different, it doesn't really bother me. I've learned to make copious lists and take a minute before I walk out the door to regroup "where am I going? Why? What do I need to buy?" It was a joke amongst my kiddoes all their lives and now they all have it, so there!
Sadly, chemotherapy made it worse and it's not getting better, so, more lists and cutting back on the sheer volume of 'stuff' I need to do...and getting plenty of sleep has helped.