I think this is a very constructive thread-- everyone has been providing useful info/feedback. Hope my perspective can add something +, too. Mine focuses on the 'forgetfulness' aspect, which seems to be a significant self-awareness issue in this case. My take on this is based on my own experience, AD[H]D Dx, and study/learning; please don't take this as my implying you have ADD but that the nature of ADD hopefully can shed some light on how it and related 'disorders' "work", to the extent that that can be helpful to you.
There is a great book "Driven to Distraction" (highly recommend), the title of which well-captures the problem, I think: A main characteristic/symptom of ADD is being highly distractable, and the book gets at the underlying reasons for this, which is where the 'driven' comes from. There are various views on root causes, but one that seems to be fairly well accepted is that distractability in the case of ADD is because the mind has difficulty in 'filtering' out various if not all inputs, or streams of consciousness (sensory, emotional, mental, ...) and thus has a tendency to get 'distracted' by one or the other, typically to the detriment of the person, since it is typically work or a class at school or the task at hand which is what is getting distracted from. This is often said to be a lack of concentration or ability to concentrate. A typical symptomatic reaction is fidgetiness, hyperactivity, etc. Another is the counter-reaction known as "hyper-focusing', in that it takes extra if not super-concentration to 'stay on track' or 'on task', so to speak.
It also tends to engender short-term memory problems, since the 'track' that your mind is [was] on gets distracted, sort of side-tracked or hijacked even, by these other competing input streams (which are often ALOT more interesting, or at least pre-occupying than the subject at hand [eg. class, food shopping,etc. ;) ]. This is typical if not necessary with ADD-- and related 'disorders'-- , since it is pretty much 'normal' to consider various inputs to assess them and determine how best to deal with them. But it is 'abnormal' to the extent that 'normal' people don't seem to have this problem, or at least as much, or at least to the extent that it significantly affects one's behavior and experience continually in a mostly and chronically negative way.

One view of the underlying cause of this might be interesting to you. It is that while one is thinking, or at least dealing with these various input streams, one's mind/brain is remembering or storing them, at least short term-- the translation to medium- or long-term memory happens over time and apparently with other parts of the mental machinery than the one that has the most problem in ADD, which is the short-term part. In this, there is a natural tendency to put the very distractions into short term memory, which, when you play these back, like to 'remember' where your keys are, or why you came to the store, or whatever, turns out to have been literally hijacked or distracted into the very track that the original thread got sidetracked to! :eek: Sometimes, for example, if the distraction went into say, a daydream or something, there can be a serious disconnect. Or if there are number of things that you are concerned about that are simultaneously competing for your mind's attention and to the 'distraction' of the task at hand-- like work or class or going to the store-- then you can literally STAY distracted. This is often called being 'preoccupied'. In severe cases, apparently 'abnormal', disordered cases, this can be manifest itself as OCD-- perhaps it's the other way around, though, in that the OCD engenders the behavior not the other way around. [One insidious variant of this is when mind gets into a kind of endless loop; if there is a serious underlying psycho-pathology, then, well, well, I won't go there now, OK? :bouncing: ]
But I hope you can relate to what I'm talking about at this point if this distractability-type-thing happens to you in general. For me, it was quite enlightening and explained a lot of my (and others') behavior and experience. In the book, there's a passage to the effect that 'the diagnosis is often the better part of the cure' in that just KNOWING about how this works; affects one's behavior, relationships, and experiences; and can be worked with through behavioral techniques [please check out cognitive behavior therapy [CBT] for non-med approaches]-- well, just knowing about it can go a long way towards or at least facilitate therapy.
There's ample evidence that meds can help alot but also [read the boards, here] that they have their issues and a lot of folks would rather avoid them if possible, but then again, there's ample evidence that there can be serious if not tragic consequences for NOT getting the right meds early enough in the progress of a disorder, so I have a lot of respect for this part and recommend the same to you (and everybody). So, therefore, I think that this requires a rigorous diagnosis through a qualified doc, if not more than one, since this area is difficult to Dx and Rx. I know this can be a $$ problem but the important part I think is that you realize that it is really important to get more knowledge, reach out, get help-- expert help as necessary and you can get access to-- but maybe most important set your mind to getting on top of. Boards like this encourage me that there's help out there! And best wishes along the way! :wave: