I started to write a lot of things down, but the problem is that I can't always anticipate what I to need to remember later on. So what tools/methods do you use to help you overcome this?
1. Put everything in the issue tracker that you can. This includes notes on what actually happened when you did the work. Include technical details.
2. Try to push everyone else to use the issue tracker. Also makes you sound like the professional in the room.
3. Have a very lightweight note taking mechanism and use it as much as possible. I am gud at vim so I use the Voom plugin (which just treats markdown headings as an outline but it's enough to store a ton of notes in a single .md file). Don't try to make these notes good enough to share as that adds too much overhead.
4. Always take your own notes in a meeting.
5. I will revisit my notes on a project from time to time, and sometimes walk through all of them, but I'm not really treating them like flashcards to memorize. I'm just looking for things that might need some renewed attention. Same with the backlog.
6. In general, I don't try to improve my memory because I don't know what I need to know for a week vs. what I won't look at again for a year. So I focus on being systematic about having good-enough notes on everything and don't really expect to remember anything. (I do remember some things but it's random.)
Second this. I use sublime text almost exclusively for this purpose. I have one file called daily_notes.md that has everything from meeting notes to formal writing to pasted error messages and code.
Each day gets an h1 but that is the extent of formal organization. I’m actually decently organized (at work, at least) but the simplicity is all about lowering the overhead of jotting stuff down. Keeping everything in one doc makes for very easy search.
Otherwise, I try to write reminders right away with whatever is handy. Mainly: Post-its, slack reminders, and Gmail scheduled sends to myself.
Inspired by Seinfeld's "don't break the chain" calendar, but a lot more information dense. It's a big grid, tasks and day of month.
I make a hash mark for every completed task. The boxes are big enough for multiple hashes (eg walking dog 2x daily) and entering values (eg body weight).
If those three fundamentals don't improve anything, you should then consult a professional to help. If the professionals can't help then you can try out personal suggestions from others (like this thread). This is just the path in order of most-likely to least-likely solutions.
It is possible that you have an inherently bad memory. It seems like long-term memory from your post, but some more clarification would be good.
No sweat. Look into Anki flashcards and do all your note taking for things you want to memorize long term. For all other forms of notes, just have them easily accessible via search or time/date stamps. Gotta craft systems using reliable tools as crutches to improve on any innate abilities. I may not be able to dunk on a ten-feet basketball hoop, but I sure can with a trampoline!
Cheers, and I hope you find a reliable solution soon. You deserve it
I am seventy five. I have a very very good memory - for certain things. And a sucky memory for other things.
So, yes, harevesting memories is an issue for sure.
Nonethless: may I posit the other side?
Being able to forget is sublime!!!
I happen to be a person that writes software. The best thing I do these days is to forget the software that has already been written.
The "today" code I write - that even seems crazy - is singularity frequently better than yesterday's code.
My advice:
Forget the past
Remember your future
ox ox
Theo
My solution: keeping a journal handy, writing down everything. For example, when I was doing network engineering on large corporate networks, I would write down every step that I performed, configuration data, etc. Adding page numbers, URLs for referenced tech doco. In my programs I write comments against every class/method to remind myself why I did things the way I did.
From what I've read and also based on my personal experience, writing by hand seems to make things more memorable. I also find it quicker to flick through bound journals than trying to find things on a computer/smartphone -- obviously tried those and they weren't as effective for me.
The bonus for me has been that I always updated design documentation to "as built and installed" state. My managers and clients really appreciated the accuracy.
Everyone's giving you advice about changing your lifestyle so I'll go to the extreme: speak to your doctor and describe your symptoms, possibly a specialist (neurologist). They may want to do an MRI of the brain, or an IQ test (WAIS) to narrow their diagnosis.
At your age these problems are not normal (depending on severity of course, I don't know you). You want to get in front of this problem early if it's serious.
Active - Currently doing/note taking on current task. The idea is not to recall later but for the task at hand. This is physical.
Reflective - After completing a task take the active notes and refine and update them for someone other than you. This is a git repo my team has access to.
Aspirational - Ideas, concepts, all that jazz. For me this is lots of mechanical drawings etc that I want to CAD up, interesting phenomena that could be reproduced with code, far fetched ideas to solve the world's problems, nothing is off limits. This is a physical notebook and the one thing I'd grab if my house was on fire.
Google has some good resources on technical writing[1].
Apps and such have the downside that you have to adapt to them and you have to learn the never ending variety. Also, nothing beats the portability and cost of a paper notebook.
For my case it’s definitely due to lack of sleep which is caused by consuming great amount of caffeine for my workout every other day. I’m considering dropping pre-workout but I just can’t control myself eating junk food!
I did not seek out a refill for that prescription. Of course, YMMV. But first, make sure your sleep, diet, and exercise are sources of strength, not weakness. Try to unplug & spend a bit more time alone with your mind each day.
It does give you terrible nausea if you take it with the wrong foods.
Just kidding, it's creepy and I'd never remember to look at it then suddenly I've got a recording of everything I've ever said and done.
But that would be really helpful.
It's very satisfying when someone is trying to gaslight you and you catch them in the act with evidence, or you happen to catch some tidbit you weren't supposed to know on the 3rd or fourth listen.
But keep the technical journal separate, imo.
First comment is allow more time for things you want to recall to appear.
Second comment is I got a small benefit by taking vitamin B12. Set up a note sheet, take some vitamin B12 the night before you want to remember something and write down the results.
Along those lines, I mention Daniel Khaneman's book Thinking Fast and Slow.
I suggest you study the phrase 'memory impairment'and until you find a much better phrase. A second book I recommend is Norbert Weiner in Cybernetics Command and Control in animal and machine". He proposed that the human brain differs from computers because the memory more or less lasts for the life of the human. In computers, the memory is reset.
You might have a health issue but it can fall into a wide range of stuff going from mild to pretty consequential. The only solid recommendation you can get from an online comment about that is to schedule a full physical exam and discuss with your doctor. In the meantime look for trends, try to record their directionality, and show those records to your doctor when you're seen. Keeping records might help catch issues that are rare or unexpected from someone of your age.
Sticky Notes can work really well too, if you don't let them get out of hand.
1. work on personal health: regular sleep schedule, balance your diet, mild exercise, etc.
2. On top of note taking, learn prioritization and time management. I use bullet journaling and create action items to focus on next steps.
I use a paper diary, paired with storing my important appointments on my phone in iCal.
I haven't found a good solution to the fundemental issue that paper notes are unencrypted but offline, while electronic notes are easily siphoned up by electronic intrusions.
But by turning off services like iCloud, using encryption when offered, and reminding folks who act on information they shouldn't have I'm not required to excuse such behavior, you can greatly simplify your life.
Focus on consent -- being able to recall bare facts like medical appointments or the day you need to return your video tapes, and keep emotional stuff on paper IMHO.
(I usually keep two notebooks, one for "emo BS" for lack of a better phrasing, and one for more sciencey stuff, but they've merged into one during my unemployment.)
That day has long passed.
Of course, that never happened...right?
A phrase that you actually thought came from "around 1860ish" is dismissed, but an ancient debunked hypothesis from the 1700s is your belief system?
"Hedonic treadmill" is from 1970 and not disproven. Going back to the 1700s would be a good demonstration - why would "late capitalism" be more depressing than being a subsistence farmer who had 10 children because the first 7 died?
Oh wow, you really didn't know
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Discourse_on_Inequality
> Going back to the 1700s would be a good demonstration
Of...mercantilism?
> not disproven
Are people with chronic illness just as happy as those without it?
If not, your 250-, er, 50-year-old hypothesis is destroyed.
Very nihilistic. "Why better things if people will always be sad" is darkly tautological in bad ways.
Do you watch the news?
Also memory is muscle, you can train it. Personally I think all children should spend a couple of years before proper schooling developing a photographic memory. It would make life so much easier.
But check out the 'method of loci' too https://www.amazon.co.uk/Method-Loci-Russell-Jesse/dp/550855... you can improve your memory to the point where it becomes photographic/editic.
Here’s a Wikipedia link for the curious: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Method_of_loci