I'm a little younger than you (27) but I know what you mean. When I get like that I solve it by re-adjusting my mode of thinking.

Often I end up getting into this mode of thinking like "I need to play on the computer because it's the only thing that keeps me sane when dealing with all the other pieces of life." This is a rediculous way of living that leaves me feeling doomed to always be miserable.

A few mental screw drivers can fix my thinking back into the proper way of living: "I need to do my laundry so that it's done and I dont get angry later when I'm trying to play my games (or read my blogs or whatever)"

The difference is subtle, but the first tells your subconcious that the reason you're living is to work and do chores....and that you get fun time in between to rest and "come down" so that you can go back and properly do what you have to.

But the later.....tells your subconcious that reason you're living is to have fun, and sometimes you need to work and do chores so as to not interrupt your fun.

Your subconcious helps your out alot more when it's goal is to play

I was going to do something, I forgot what it was. Oh yea, I was going to tell you I like your article. I forget everything too, obviously. (laughs at her own joke)

Sometimes my boyfriend talks and I can't listen to him cause I am trying to think of what I was thinking about. Strange.

My theory is .. Get things done in the morning , then take the rest of the day to relax so you don't have to worry about forgetting to do something.

"That way, if I find myself wandering off, I refer to the list. Should I have to do this?"

Yes. Pretty much everyone who has to do a variety of things during the day, day after day, needs some sort of orginizational tool, eg. notes, day planner, pocket pc etc. Most people who think that they don't need such a tool are the same people who are often late getting things done or often forget to do them at all.

Another extremely useful tool is meditation. Many people say "I don't have time to meditate", but often even just 5 minutes can make a difference. I recommend "The Relaxation Response" by Herbert Benson.

I think it's just due to information overload. I have to keep myself in a routine in order to keep stuff organized. I start out my day with making a mental checklist of everything that I need to accomplish that day as well as that week. Notes and other "written" things don't help (except when I make a grocery list) because I never seem to have them at hand when I need them. I then follow my normal routine while adding in anything extra that I need to get done. Doing things in the same order every day helps me remember things like taking my meds in the morning, paying bills, packing lunches, getting stuff ready for the next day, etc. If I don't do it in the same order, then I have a tendency to forget things. Too much to do in too little of a time.

At the age of denial, that is where we are. Not young but cant remember not old but want to dance. I dont know what I would do without a list now, or what it was like before - when we had no lists just endless time. Sun and life with every opportunity in front of us. Now life trudges on endless, with nothing out of routine but yet no remembrance of what should be every day things. Im gone, this person I maintain now is a stranger, where is youth, and not having a cre in the world??