question about memory loss, or memory weakness.

vash · vash's Garage

my supervisor:

i think his memory is getting foggy. i dont really care that much, but he keeps forgetting that i have done something for him and keeps asking me for it.

i told him a certain issue has been addressed and is clearly in the Contractor's court. i have told him 3 Thursdays in a row. just yesterday, he came to me to say.."hey the contractor read me the riot act..he wants a response from us"

i told him it has been with the contractor for a month..WE are the ones doing the waiting!! (funny how the Contractor PM forgot too..but she is kinda hot, so gets a pass.)

it is like Groundhog day (the movie)..

sometimes it works in my favor. like when i forgot to announce my vacation plans..i said, "what? i told you months ago." he said, "oh, yea..i remember". hahahha,.

is this a sign of something more sinister? or is my boss just a scatterbrain?

motion · 10-04-2012, 08:09 AM

You really think this should be on a public forum?

IROC · IROC's Garage

Email is your friend.

dad911 · 10-04-2012, 08:24 AM

Do everything in writing or email with him.

Frankly, I sometimes have the same thing, not that bad, don't know if it's because I'm getting old, or a side effect of one of my meds, or vodka killed the brain cells.......

Zeke · 10-04-2012, 08:27 AM

Many of today's medicines cause short term memory loss. Some, of course, impair function. Combined, they can be debilitating. In a lesser form, just noticeable and irritating if you have no patience. I find I need patience with many of my older friends as they tend to repeat themselves.

I do it too and I'm not at all offended by being "reminded" that I'm repeating myself.

Many of today's medicines cause short term memory loss.....

Anyway, if your boss is taking blood pressure medicine or cholesterol lowering medicine, this may well be the cause. Some of these same medicines can cause irritability as well. Ask me how I know.

nynor · 10-04-2012, 09:35 AM

does he drink to excess? age related? too much stress? not enough sleep?

Bill Douglas · 10-04-2012, 11:24 AM

I lost my memory a while back. I can't remmember exactly when (joking) but it came back after about six months.

In my case, I suspect it was to do with really bad sleeping patterns. Phew it is good to have it back.

aigel · aigel's Garage

I'd ask for a weekly sit down meeting. 30 minutes to go over a spread sheet with your major tasks / projects. Update at the end of the week and send to him. This way he will be reminded of what is going on 2x/week and you will have a record.

G

romad · romad's Garage

How I remember things is doing what ever it takes to make sure that the oil is in the engine before starting and then correctly loading the right software on my day off. Did anyone catch the scores last night?

DanielDudley · 10-05-2012, 07:26 AM

Wait, What ?

oldE · 10-06-2012, 01:31 PM

Note my sig line.

In the days I was under a bit of stress, I would ask the folks working with me to tell me twice about things they needed: Once when they found out about it and once when they really needed it. It took a while for some of them to be reassured I wouldn't take offense.

I wasn't under any meds, nor was I drinking. I just lacked the ability to keep up with all of the things that would come my way.
I don't miss those days.

Best
Les

notfarnow · 10-06-2012, 05:06 PM

sounds like me.

it's not a fun way to work... the more you forget, the more you're putting out fires. The more you're preoccupied with the growing chaos, the more stressed you are, the later you get to sleep... and the more you forget.

I hired a full-time assistant a few months ago, that helped A LOT, but then I just seemed to pick up more business and am back at my frazzled state again. Good problem to have I guess, but hard to deal with the memory issues.

Best advice for YOUR situation would be that if you have something pressing or urgent, get at him EARLY in the day before he gets frazzled, and then follow up after lunch.