7. The Forgetting Game - When Great Ideas Vanish Before They’re Written Down
Supporting staff with memory and recall issues
Angela manages a mid-sized marketing team in Wellington. Her team leader, Reuben, is sharp, driven and full of ideas. But lately, something’s been bugging Angela - Reuben keeps forgetting things.
Not the big stuff - he nails campaigns, hits targets and shows up with energy. But the little things? Not so much. He asks the same questions after meetings. He forgets which tasks he agreed to do. He leaves action points dangling until someone reminds him.
Angela finds herself getting frustrated. "Was he even listening?" she wonders. But then she pauses - Reuben is engaged. He’s just not holding onto the details.
So instead of blaming, Angela looks for a better way to support him.
What You Might Be Seeing
If you’ve got a team member like Reuben, you might notice -
Repeating questions or needing information repeated
Forgetting meeting takeaways
Losing track of long-term projects
Struggling with instructions that have multiple steps
Leaving tasks half-done, thinking they were finished
This isn’t laziness, carelessness, or "not paying attention." It’s usually linked to working memory - the brain’s ability to hold and juggle information in the short term.
What Is Working Memory, Anyway?
Think of working memory like a whiteboard in your brain. You jot things down to use right now - the phone number you’re about to dial, the three things someone just told you to do, the next step in a task.
The whiteboard is wiped clean about every 20 seconds, and any information that hasn’t been recorded or transferred to long term memory is lost.
But for some people, that process happens at an even faster rate whiteboard is small. Or the marker fades quickly. - sSo unless they offload that information somewhere else, it disappears.
This can happen for lots of reasons - ADHD, anxiety, stress, fatigue, brain injury, or just being someone whose brain isn’t wired for short-term retention.
Back to Angela and Reuben
Instead of labelling Reuben as forgetful, Angela tried something else. She introduced a few simple supports -
Meeting Recordings: All team meetings are now recorded, with a quick summary email sent afterwards.
Shared Task Log: They use a shared digital checklist that everyone can view. Each person updates their own items, so there's a visual cue of what’s done and what’s pending.
Chunked Instructions: Angela breaks multi-part tasks into individual steps with short bullet points, instead of long emails.
These small changes took the pressure off Reuben’s memory. He could focus on the creative work, not keeping track of every to-do in his head.
Simple Supports for Staff With Working Memory Challenges
1. Write It Down - Together
Encourage staff to take notes during meetings or to-do chats. Better yet, co-write action points on a shared whiteboard or document as you go.
2. Use Checklists
Checklists aren’t just for beginners. They help people focus, track progress and avoid missing steps. Digital checklists can even send reminders.
3. Send Follow-Up Notes
A quick summary email after a meeting helps lock in what was said. Bonus: Iit also clears up any misunderstandings before they snowball.
4. Keep Instructions Short and Clear
Instead of one long paragraph, use short bullets. Limit steps per instruction and prioritise key actions.
5. Record When Needed
If staff are comfortable with it, record verbal instructions or meetings. This can be audio, video, or a screen share. Some people retain more from watching or re-listening than from reading.
6. Use Visual Aids
Calendars, Kanban boards, colour-coded folders, or even post-it notes on screens -visual prompts help memory-challenged brains stay oriented.
7. Normalise Repetition
Let staff know it’s okay to ask again. You don’t want them guessing or covering up their confusion. Create a culture where clarity beats pride.
Tech Tools That Can Make It Easier -
Trello / Asana for team task boards
Otter.ai / MS Teams for meeting transcriptions
Google Keep / Microsoft To-Do for personal reminders
Rocketbook or smart pens to capture handwritten notes
Screen recorders (like Loom) for instructions or tutorials
These aren’t gimmicks - they’re scaffolding and they help your sharpest thinkers spend less time chasing details and more time doing what they’re great at.
The Payoff for Angela
With the new systems in place, Angela isn’t repeating herself as much. Reuben is more confident. The team moves faster and no one’s wasting energy getting annoyed over things that can be fixed with structure.
Angela didn’t lower expectations. She just changed the way information flowed - from memory-based to support-based.
Final Thought
Everyone forgets things sometimes. But for some people, it’s a daily battle.
If you find yourself frustrated by someone who keeps losing track, pause and ask - Is this a memory problem, or a system problem?
Most of the time, it’s the second one. and that’s something you can fix.