Notes

Is anyone else a compulsive note taker since their BI? My thoughts are so damn fleeting now, like butterflies, and if someone talks to me or I hear a noise when I am thinking about something, whoosh, they are gone. Everything, but EVERYTHING, gets written down. Go through a lot of notebooks, lol x

[Mads1975]

Hey Abi, yes I

Note taking is my coping strategy. If I don't write something down there is a 75% chance that I'll totally forget it.

I use my iPhone to record my notes and if also has an alarm and reminder functions which I find invaluable

[RogerCMerriman in reply to Mads1975]

Another notes/calendar on the iphone/iPad/mac user I don't hold much in working memory, not sure it's nominally worse or simply that once tired I function so much worse than I used to.

My working memory was always extremely poor. It hasn't got better that's for sure!

[RecoveringH]

Hi Abi,

Yes, I ask people if I can email them (to ensure I have had time to say everything in the right order with the correct spelling and meaning). I also ask people if they can email me for the same reasons. Following an incoming telephone conversation, if it has critical consequences, I will ask them to put the main points in an email to me so that I have it in writing, I say, but it is so I can reread it, check I understood correctly.

It also is an aid to develop. After a phone call, I write down what I think was said. Then at a later meeting face to face or when they send an email, I am now checking to see if that was indeed what was said. I have just started checking on the finer detail to ensure I am work office ready. So where I thought I was getting everything, I discover I remember just over half, but the info I do write, is correct so I'm nearly there.

Repetition repetition repetition.

I have discovered this week that when someone is chatting away telling me a story and there is a word I don't understand or that I misheard and interrupt to repeat back to them to check the meaning and show I am listening, I forget the story easily an hour later if they refer back to it.

Whereas a story I read or hear straight through with complete understanding, I remember. So it is the interruption of clarification that prevents my short term memory from working. If I didn't check with them for meaning, I would have to pretend I understood at the end of the story. Not sure how to improve the area of the brain that recognises sounds and words - sure I'll work out some game or skill training to advance its function.

I used mindfulness meditation to help progress my focus and concentration. Working up from sitting for 2, 5, 10, 30 minutes in silence, clearing your mind of any thoughts. If there is pain in the body, sit and focus on it, observe it without reaction.

I used Lion's Mane (with Reishi & Cordyceps), a NOOTROPIC, to improve concentration. There are others.

Nootropics, also referred to as smart drugs, memory enhancers, neuro enhancers, cognitive enhancers, and intelligence enhancers, are drugs, supplements, nutraceuticals, and functional foods that improve one or more aspects of mental function, such as working memory, motivation, and attention.

Here is a list of nootropics - Braintropic website - list of nootropics

braintropic.com/list-of-noo...

All the Best.

[Gaia_rising in reply to RecoveringH]

Oh, I was the Queen of the email BEFORE, so it's been a bit of a coping strategy since... Previously, I used email because it gave me a timed, dated PRINTABLE record of what I had instructed people to do, now, it gives me breathing space when I'm tired, or worried I might flub my words on the phone.

My job's weird, anyway, I'll be running across site, with a first aid box, or even the defibrilator in my hand, and some Noddy will stop me, and say "Can I just ask...?" "NO! Not now!" (I was rude before, as well.)

I'm lucky, in that my recall doesn't seem to have suffered, there was the couple of days in the hospital, where I cried because I couldn't remember the husband's mobile number, but I didn't want to phone him, and it's not MY job to remember his phone number, National Insurance number, insurance renewal dates, or parent's birthdays!

I'm well known at work, for using email as post-it notes, we're all busy, and pulled in a million different directions, so if I say something to someone, there's no guarantee THEY will remember it, and if I write it on a post-it, there's every chance it'll end up stuck to something else, like a "Kick me!" note.

I don't write myself notes, or lists, and I was a bit cross at the rehab lady assuming that the one-size-fits-all "Stick a noticeboard to the fridge!" was going to be practical for me- we're all different, and colouring in a household tasks schedule wasn't for me. Off-topic, and rambling again, my attention span was poor BEFORE.

[RecoveringH in reply to Gaia_rising]

Gaia

You make perfect sense, articulated clearly and I enjoyed reading your post! Thanks for sharing, helped me!

Best

[Gaia_rising in reply to RecoveringH]

Thank you. I'm lucky in that words sit still on a page for me. The computer doesn't mind if it takes me a minute to remember the word I want, whereas, in the middle of a conversation, if I start saying seemingly-unconnected words, to get my tangent-brain back to the one I want, people look at me a bit funny.

It's all new, this brain-injury journey, and this forum is helping me a lot, even when I'm just spouting.

[cat3]

Yes abi if I forget my notepad when I go to the supermarket I end up staring into space like a duck in a thunderstorm. At home I have reminders written on newspapers, envelopes, anything close at hand when it enters my head ; otherwise it's gone for good.

Trouble is, I so often forget where I wrote it or even that I did write it.

I've always been diligent about locking doors & windows when I leave the house but last week I came home to find not only the back gate ajar (usually locked) but also the back door wide open. Only thing missing was a large sign saying 'No one home ; please help yourself to anything you fancy !'. xx

[Flumptious]

I have Word files - I have a *really* detailed calendar, for work, and another one for home, noting down what needs to be done, each day. Then I have a long 'To Do' list, which details all the stuff that needs to be done - starting with the urgent stuff, but going on and on. Names, dates, places, references... Then I have an 'Official Stuff' file, detailing how to get certain stuff out of databases, the people in admin who have to be told whatever... Without those 3 files (plus the 'Home Calendar' one), I'd be lost!

[Hidden]

My problem at the beginning was remembering to check my notes would spend ages doing a list of stuff I had to do that day and then get caught up in things and forget to check the list. Ah, amnesia, wonder what life used to be like before I had it? Can`t remember the 39 years of perfect memory (obviously) x

[Jaec]

I have been taking notes and making lists for over twenty years now and finally friends now ask me to remind them! Taking notes, reminders on phone, alarms and lists keep me going!