Can there ever be a lasting solution to forgetfulness? People ask this question because it always feels like a behavior that can never be changed. You feel bad sometimes and beat up on yourself. Forgetfulness is being unable to remember certain things due to reactions in your brain. It’s a phenomenon that occurs occasionally.
However, you must remember that being forgetful happens to the best of us which means it can happen to anybody. No matter how impossible it seems to change your ways, there are practical things that could change this behaviour forever.
What does forgetfulness cost you?
1. Opportunities
Occasionally forgetting things that need to be done does happen, but when it becomes a big part of your life, you might miss important opportunities.
2. Makes people lose trust in you
Forgetfulness can make you look like a liar. You know how it is when you give your word to someone and they expect you to fulfill it, but you don’t show up or make what you said a thing. They might not take you seriously because you did not keep your word the last time.
3. Could cost you your mental health
It now feels like everything is slipping through your fingers because you won’t just stop forgetting things. It could get overwhelming that you’d start beating yourself up that you’re not good enough and can’t handle things right.
Causes of forgetfulness
1. Lack of sleep
When you don’t sleep, you might not function properly. Poor sleeping habits make you susceptible to anxiety and mood swings.
2. Depression
A constant feeling of sadness could also cause you to forget seemingly important things.
3. The environment of sleep
You probably forget things because the environment you are positioned to sleep is not conducive and is messing your head. It could be a noisy room or a poorly painted room.
4. Alcohol
Have you wondered why people hardly remember things that they’ve done when they were under the influence of alcohol. Even after the effect wears off you are left with unclear memories to deal with. Overdrinking has what it takes to mess up with your memory.
5. Stress
Being extremely stressed can also mess with your ability to remember things. You might never stop forgetting things until you’re able to identify your stressor and deal with it properly.
Practical solutions to get rid of forgetfulness forever
The idea of forever in this context means that if you are able to make a practice of these tips, they will become a large part of your existence.
1. Set an alarm
This particular tip works really well as a solution to forgetfulness. It’s an effective one. Set alarm for everything you are sure needs to be done. Imagine being occupied with a task when your alarm rings and brings back to your consciousness to the fact that there’s work to be done. How does that make you feel? Thankful that you forgot, but there was a system in place to help you remember, right?
Try this repeatedly every day. You can also set an alarm to remind you that you need to set an alarm for your tasks.
2. Journal
This is one big solution to forgetfulness that will change your life forever when it becomes a part of you. Journalling helps you to track your thought process, to identify your stressors, and to understand tasks that should be done and when. One thing that could cause you to forget is the fact that you have a lot on your mind and don’t even know which one to let go of or hold on to. It would help you free your mind and declutter your it in order to make your mind fit to breed productive ideas and anxiety free thoughts.
3. Interact with people
The people closest to you, or the people within reach can help you out by reminding you of what needs to be done. So, if it works for you, you can talk to people about what you need to get done and every other important thing pertaining to the tasks. So, that they can know how important it is to you and actively help you out by reminding you.
4. Mindfulness
Being mindful is another effective solution to forgetfulness that entails you giving your attention to present happenings that is, helps you with being conscious of your environment or whatever is happening in the moment. When your mind is all over the place, travelling through the past down to the future, there’s the tendency to always forget things.
5. Set Smart goals
Setting SMART goals could serve as a solution to forgetfulness. One thing that can make you forget things easily is having disorganized goals. That’s not a SMART way to create goals. If it’s not specific, measurable, achievable, realistic or relevant, and timely or time bound then it’s definitely bound to confuse you and make you forget the important tasks.
6. Have a to-do list
A solution to forgetfulness that appears really simple and common that could effectively work for you is having a to-do list. A to-do list would help you outline the things that need to be done for the day. It also helps you to track your progress and reminds you of what needs to be done in case you forget along the line.
If you know for sure that you’re forgetful, you may want to start keeping a to-do list.
7. Exercise
Having exercises helps to keep your mental health in check, especially in cases where you have big tasks coming up and there’s the tendency to feel overwhelmed and have too many thoughts at the same time.
8. Drink water
This one solution to forgetfulness helps with calming your nerves and helps you manage anxiety. Drinking water has numerous health benefits, some of which will help your internal system and aid maximum function of the brain while boosting your productivity level for work.
Above all, don’t ever think that you cannot overcome this habit of forgetfulness. A wise man once said that the greatest defeat first happens in the mind. Say to yourself, “I can and will overcome this behaviour.”
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