Remembering Made Easy: Make Action Items Stick with This Simple Trick!

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Lately, I have been coming up with action items and then forgetting about them. I was at a loss for how to take my handwritten notes and make them actionable. My action items from meetings were getting lost in my head. I’d close my notebook, and they would be out of my head. After discussing this conundrum with some colleagues, I came up with a solution that I am testing out. I have confidence in this new system, but before I reveal it to you, let me share what the mechanisms behind the forgetting.

Notes = Good

Taking notes is a good thing, and I do not want to discourage anyone from doing so. There is even research that says taking handwritten notes is better than typing. So, keep taking notes in a notebook or wherever you take them. This is good, but to make them actionable, there is an additional step.

Out of Sight, Out of Mind

The reason you need an additional step is the ADHD tendency to forget things. Our memories are slippery and difficult to hold onto, especially when we cannot see them. Without the ability to see what we want to remember, the note flees. The old expression “out of sight, out of mind” is true for those of us with ADHD, and there is a simple solution.

Make It Visible

We need to make our notes visible. So, what I have begun doing is taking my action items from my meeting notes, putting them on a sticky note, and sticking it to my desk. They have become visible. This is still in the experimental phase, so we will see how it works. However, the principle of “make it visible” is what will aid me. Therefore, even if the sticky note on my desk idea fails, I know that making it visible will help me remember what I need to remember. Now, I just need to remember to create the sticky note.