ADHD and Forgetting Tasks: Keep Important Things Visible

Bandai Choi
Clinical Psychologist | Board-approved supervisor
Breathe-n-Smile Psychology, Essendon North, Footscray and telehealth across Australia

Why important tasks can disappear from view

You may hear about a form during a phone call, remember an email while cooking or think of a bill as you are leaving home. The intention is real, but it arrives when your hands, attention or device are somewhere else. If it is not captured quickly, another demand can replace it.

Executive function is a broad term for the mental processes that help us hold a goal in mind, organise actions, monitor progress and adjust what we are doing.¹ ADHD can make organisation, working memory and managing attention more effortful, although the pattern differs across people and tasks.²

A task is also easier to lose when you are interrupted, tired, stressed or moving between places. Sometimes you remember it repeatedly, but only when you cannot act on it.

Where Spot it fits in the STARTS framework

Getting something done involves several different kinds of effort. The STARTS task-flow map gives these points six short names:

• Spot it: notice the task, capture it and bring it back into view.
• Target it: decide what you are trying to complete now.
• Act: begin the first physical action.
• Remain: stay connected to the task or return after distraction.
• Transition: pause, switch or enter the next task.
• Sign off: complete the final check, handover or record of completion.

This article focuses on Spot it. If the task was visible but you could not choose, the sticking point may be Target it. If you had chosen but could not begin, it may be Act. The same person can meet a different sticking point with another task.

If you want a broader picture later, the optional STARTS self-check covers all six stages.

Tool 1: use one trusted capture point

A capture point is the first place a new task goes when you cannot act straight away. It might be one notes-app inbox, paper list, voice-assistant list or tray for forms. Choose somewhere you will review again.

1. Choose one place. Pick an option you can reach when tasks usually appear.
2. Record an action. Write “upload signed form” rather than “insurance”, or “ask Sam for the date” rather than “school”.
3. Choose a review point. Check it during an existing part of your day, such as opening your laptop.
4. Remove duplicates. Move loose notes into the chosen place.

For example, during a work call you remember a rebate form. You add “upload signed rebate form” to your phone inbox and review it at the kitchen table after work. The task now has a route back.

Tool 2: bring the task back with a context-matched cue

A reminder is easier to use when it appears near the time, place or material needed for the action. “Do form” at 10 am is easy to dismiss when you are in a meeting and the form is at home.

1. Name the action. Use a verb: open, call, upload, place or send.
2. Match the context. Choose a time or event when the materials are likely to be available.
3. Make it noticeable. Use one calendar alert, a note on the relevant object or an item in your normal line of sight.
4. Give it a next destination. If you cannot act, move it to a specific later time.

The cue could be: “When I sit at the kitchen table after work, the form will be beside my laptop and I will open the upload page.” Choosing whether it is today’s priority belongs to Target it. Opening the page belongs to Act.