I did it again this morning – walked into my office with the intent of returning a call, picked up the phone and drew a blank. Who did I need to call again? Then I had that moment of panic. “I’m losing it!” I tend to blame hormones, but turns out, the doorway may be the culprit. (Because, of course, motivational speakers encourage personal responsibility!)
University of Notre Dame researchers have found that doorways mark “event boundaries.” Our brains associate locations with certain memories of events. So when we get up from our desk and go to the supply room, as soon as we leave our office, we’re taxing our brain’s ability to recall our decision. Makes sense. Who hasn’t then walked back into the original room and recalled their intended task? The upside? The extra calories burned with all that walking back and forth.
So cut yourself a little slack next time you walk into a room and have no idea what you’re doing there. It’s those darn doorways.
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I feel so much better about myself, phew!! Maybe we should take pre-emptive action and jot the thing down on a personalized post-it note (see Linda Larsen's blog) and stick it on every door jam in the place
)
If that helps you sleep at night…..
Hmmm. Think I'll move to Manhattan and rent a huge one room loft. Yeah. That's the ticket.