Externalize Your Working Memory

Image of hands holding open a notebook and writing an entry with a pen. Text overlaying the image says, ”Write it down. Everything.”

Most of the inquiries I receive about coaching include desperate pleas for help about how to get things done, and how to create more consistency because life for the person reaching out has begun to feel like it’s out of control and falling apart.

I assure you, it is absolutely possible to improve daily life with more consistency, to feel better, and regain your confidence, and it begins with externalizing your working memory because your working memory is not reliable.

Externalizing your working memory means capturing your thoughts, to-dos, goals, events, schedule, etc. This can be done digitally in an app, on paper, or both. In other words, write it all down.

Sometimes committing to something as simple as writing things down doesn’t occur to us because we know how smart we are and we think we shouldn’t need a “crutch.” And so we struggle daily wondering why we can’t remember anything, and why we’re spinning our wheels because nothing seems to get done. Sometimes neurodivergent people feel horribly ashamed for being so forgetful; all we want is to look neurotypical and not stand out so much. It can all leave you feeling unmoored or untethered because you can’t tell whether you’re coming or going.

Not only do we have neurodivergent brains, but many of us are also dealing with hormonal fluctuations due to childbirth, PMDD, perimenopause, or menopause, all of which impact working memory. We so want to function like we used to in the Before Times (before our hormones began to fluctuate and drop).

If you haven’t done so already, buy yourself a notebook with attributes that support the way you work best—spiral or lay-flat binding, dimensions that fit in your purse or on your desk well, paper that will hold the ink from your favorite pen without bleeding onto the next page, a beautiful cover that makes you smile—and start writing things down. Everything. That’s how you begin, and then you adjust your strategy as you learn more about what works best for you.

Some ADHDers love using Bullet Journals because you can customize them to meet your exact needs, which is how I started my journey of externalizing my own working memory. Here is a nice video overview by Jessica McCabe’s on Bullet Journaling: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jkZEEQG6IVE.