short-term memory is sucking
 

I have been attributing this to stress, but it is getting to the point where I feel like I'm losing my mind.

I can't seem to remember pieces of information even after immediately reading them, unless the subject is computer or work related. When I meet people, I pretty much forget their names as soon as the conversation is over. Looking through my inbox, I have about 8 emails to myself reminding me to do one thing or another, and my monitor is covered in sticky notes.

Is this just an effect of working 80 hours a week and going being a full-time student, or is it possible I have a problem? Is there some kind of mental training I can try that will exercise my short-term memory? I'm starting to freak out a little bit.

Aaand, just for good measure. One of the greatest SNL skits ever. Couldn't find it on You-Tube.

http://forums.pelicanparts.com/uploa...1156303800.jpg

Maybe my problem is a short attention span. Lord knows I can't focus on one..... oh look, a kitty!!

Re: short-term memory is sucking
 

I'd say that's it.
I can't imagine myself doing that.

Welcome to my life. I can remember some of the most trivial sjit, but I forget people's names after a few moments. It sucks.

I'm sorry...what did you say again?

who the hell are you and what are you doing in my kitchen?!?!?

You're just overworked and tired out. I'll bet you aren't getting enough sleep either.

Weed will do that to you.

Weed will do what again?

A plain and simple case of sensory overload. Yes you may be losing your mind. A breakdown is a possibility.
Re-set your priorities - write them down. Develop a way of working and studying that reduces stress.
Have a daily plan.
Dont let other people steal your time or deflect you from your plan - dont be a victim of their needs.
Take exercise, dont booze too much. Eat sensibly.
Make sure you have time for fun and relaxation.
Oh - and lighten up!

Thats the story of my life. Both short and long term memory is embarrassingly weak. I will sometime concentrate on remembering what the guy I meet is called. Five minutes later its gone, no matter how I try.

I make sure the list of "must remember" is written down and as short as possible.

Most likely there is a stress related component. But then, we are who we are. I have a friend with at least the same amount of stress, that seems to remember every single detail during a day. On a long term scale he even claims he recalls most of his days in kindergarten. Would not be surprised if he still have vivid nightmares of his own birth..

some attack memory as an exercise. The older you get the more you need the workout.


If interested,
"Building Left Brain Power", by Allen D Bragdon & David Gamon, ISBN 0-8027-7683-3, USA

www.walkerbooks.com

Try this too....

http://www.managementconsultingnews.com/interviews/buzan_interview.php

Thanks, guys :) I'll see how setting a schedule for work/school/sleep works. Right now, there's no schedule... and that's probably a lot of my problem.

Don't masterbate or have sex for ten days and report back here.

If you don't experience a difference we will all know what you were doing.:D

Question: How many kids with ADD does it take to screw in a lightbulb?

Answer: Wanna ride bikes?!!

lol!

I think that's pretty common. I can remember the tiniest detail from projects I worked on months or years in the past, but I can't remember what I had for breakfast. I can get my kindergarten class picture out and name all the kids, but can't remember the name of the guy I just met.

I think level of interest, or importance, might have something to do with it. I can read a section in my Porsche shop manual, crawl under the car, and do everything it said without ever looking at it again. I can have a cookbook open in front of me in the kitchen ("helping" my wife cook) and forget how many eggs I need between there and the refrigerator. Weird stuff sticks in the memory and relevant stuff sometimes does not. I think we all experience that.

I'm not a big fan of "herbal" remedies. But I can't deny that taking ginko has noticably improved my memory. Despite the hype, it actually works ;). It also reduced the ringing in my ears (from my misspent youth playing punk rock). About two weeks after I began taking ginko, I started to "catch" myself remembering things that I'd normally forget. For instance, I'd suddenly realize I hadn't opened my personal phone book in a week. Or I'd notice that I no longer needed to check my "todo" list every five minutes.

You're only working 80 hours?

My thoughts exactly.

Think it's bad now? Wait til you have kids.