Resetting Memory
Remember that thing you told a person with ADHD two seconds ago? Chances are, they do not. Those of us with ADHD have a poor working memory, which is the part of short-term memory that deals with immediate processing. That thing we were just holding and set down, like, two seconds ago that we could not possibly misplace somehow goes missing all the time. If you give us a set of instructions containing six parts and we do not write down all six parts, we will be lucky to remember one or two. It can be difficult even to keep a thought in our brain long enough to be able to address it. That is why a person who has ADHD will frequently have a bunch of internet tabs and windows open at the same time. We want to be able to remember that thing we wanted to look up on the internet after we finish looking at that thing on which we should currently be working which we will get back to after finishing watching that YouTube video we just remembered existed. These memory problems are among the most significant frustrations a person with ADHD faces on a daily basis.
Filing Cabinets
Those of us with ADHD do not have the interior filing cabinets that neurotypicals do. Therefore, we must create external filing cabinets to store information. This means writing things down. Whether it is on a piece of paper or stored in a note-taking app on a phone, you will be more likely to remember information if it is externalized.
My family used to make fun of me for all of the lists I used to make. We did not understand why at the time, but in hindsight, it is clear I was compensating for my memory challenges. I wanted to sort out and remember all of the ideas in my head. My lists are a perfect example of creating external filing cabinets to help remember important information.
If you want to improve your memory, I suggest setting up some external filing cabinets of your own. Your external filing cabinets might be lists. They could be something completely different. Whatever your strategy is, make sure it works for you. Lists work for me, but that does not mean they will work for you. Your memory strategy will be as unique as you are.