Master Your Memory: Remembering How To Remember

Helen Day
Oct 29
5 min read

Do you ever feel like your brain is a sieve? You're in the middle of a task, or about to say something important, and suddenly, poof—the thought is gone. You lose your momentum and have to start all over again. This isn't laziness; it's a common and incredibly frustrating reality when you have ADHD. This constant 'switching channels' makes even simple tasks, like fetching a glass of water, challenging. Today, we're taking a deep dive into the engine room of this struggle: your working memory.

Understanding your working memory shelf

What exactly is working memory? It’s the ability to use information held in memory to complete a task. Think of it as your brain's mental shelf. For people with ADHD, this shelf is simply smaller than it is for neurotypicals.

The things you need to remember are like items balanced on the shelf. The main issue is that your shelf can only hold so much before things start falling off. When you keep adding new items, the older, necessary information gets knocked right off. This limited capacity determines how much information your brain can hold before it "crashes". Mastering this shelf allows you to follow through a sequence of steps or collect a list of items, and use a range of interrelated information when planning or solving complex problems.

The cost of a sieve-like brain

The practical cost of a smaller working memory shelf is huge. It’s why you feel like you're constantly fighting an uphill battle against tasks that demand multiple steps. While following complex instructions, you might easily forget the first step the moment you focus on the second. You start a project with enthusiasm, only to be completely sidetracked by a notification or a random thought. By the time you manage to return, the momentum is lost, and you have to mentally 'boot up' the task all over again. This experience often leads to a feeling of incompetence. However, it's merely the result of your brain struggling to hold and process enough information simultaneously.

Six strategies to master your memory

You can support your working memory shelf with systems and strategies.

1. Externalise your brain

If your mental shelf struggles to hold essential items, the most effective first step is simple: externalise them. Transfer information from your temporary internal memory onto a reliable external support system. Instead of relying on your limited shelf, use lists, reminders, and visual aids strategically. Think of this like creating a physical reference for the items on your shelf, such as sticking a list in a photo frame right where you need it. Be strategic about where you place these memory triggers. This ensures the right memory is in the right place, preventing you from being overwhelmed.

To truly take the strain off your shelf, make it visual: write a list, draw a mind map, or use colour-coding—whatever captures your interest. Use whiteboards, digital reminders, posters, or sticky notes. The goal is to ensure you recall the information when you need it most.

2. Chunking: the spice jar method

The next powerful technique for managing your shelf is chunking. Instead of placing many small, individual items on your shelf, you can group related tasks or information into a single, larger container. These are your spice jars. You can categorise your tasks by location, time, purpose, or role. By placing all related items into one jar and labelling it, you only need one jar on your shelf. This lets you take one jar off, deal with all the contents, and then put it back.

For example:

Location: Put 'tidying the kitchen', 'washing up', and 'emptying the dishwasher' into the 'Kitchen Tasks' jar.
Time: Put 'review email', 'check calendar', and 'plan next day' into the 'End of Day Routine' jar.
Purpose: Put 'research', 'draft outline', and 'collect sources' into the 'Blog Post Prep' jar.
Role: Put 'pay bills', 'update budget', and 'schedule appointments' into the 'Household Manager' jar.

3. Creative linking

This strategy takes more effort upfront. However, it's highly valuable for lists and sequences that regularly go together. Creative Linking is about transforming a bunch of separate ideas on your shelf into one whole, cohesive item. You achieve this by using creative tools like making a rhyme, rhythm, song, or mnemonic to link related ideas. This allows your brain to remember the sequence as one piece of information, not ten. Music, particularly its rhythm and pitch, is powerful because it activates a different memory/communication centre in your brain, allowing you to supplement your working memory.

4. Visualise it

Visualisation is a powerful, internal strategy that helps you use your imagination to support your memory. Instead of relying on passive recall, you make it one experience by living it in your imagination before you get started. This might be mentally rehearsing the steps of a complex task or picturing the precise items in your shopping basket.

The science is clear: practically, your brain processes visualising a task as though you were actually doing it. By mentally rehearsing a sequence, you are actively building the neural networks required to turn it into a habit. This process creates internal links between items that solidify them in your memory. This ensures the items on your shelf are easily accessed when it's time for action.

5. Gamify your tasks

If you find a task boring, your brain is far less likely to commit its steps to memory. You can boost your working memory by making the task into a game. Introducing game elements can make mundane tasks exciting and memorable. This could involve setting a speed challenge, creating a mental map of your route, or using word association to link steps. You might even create a side quest counter for small, related duties, or introduce difficulty levels to manage overwhelming projects. By harnessing the engaging power of play, you trick your brain into focusing and retaining the information needed to finish the job.

6. Optimise your fuel: the lifestyle factors

No amount of strategic planning can compensate if your working memory shelf is already overburdened. Think of lifestyle factors like stress, big emotions, lack of sleep, poor nutrition, or lack of exercise as rocks placed on your shelf. These rocks take up valuable space, leaving less room for the items you actually need to remember.

When your energy is low, your executive function and working memory become far more difficult to use. By ensuring you get adequate sleep, food, and movement, you are effectively clearing those rocks and restoring space on your shelf. Furthermore, a mindfulness practice can help reduce the impact of stress and big emotions, freeing up your working memory for better use.

Conclusion and action plan

Working memory challenges with ADHD can feel like a life constantly governed by a small, chaotic mental shelf. However, you are not powerless against this reality. By deliberately using external systems like the photo frame, grouping items into 'spice jars', employing creative links, and consciously visualising success, you can fundamentally support your memory. Remember to remove the 'rocks' of stress and poor habits to give your strategies space to work. These practical steps empower you to manage your memory, step out of the chaos, and reclaim your focus.

Improving your working memory is a journey, not a single leap. Start small. What is the first, tiny step you can take to improve your memory?

What is the first, smallest step you can take?
When will you do it? What will trigger you to take action?
How confident are you out of 10 that you will do it? What can you do to increase those chances?
How will you celebrate your progress?