I got in trouble at work because I forgot to turn in a sheet. I had completed it yesterday and I meant to turn it in, but then I got distracted and forgot. I'm sure my boss saw it and thought that I hadn't read her emailed instructions explaining what to do, because I've gotten in trouble about this before.

So today I wrote this note to my boss explaining that I had read and understood the instructions, but I got distracted and forgot. I still said that I understood it was my fault, but I wanted to clarify that I did read the email.

I wasn't trying to make excuses. I was just trying to spare myself another scolding about how I wasn't reading the instructions carefully or I was being apathetic to my job.

I frequently run into these situations where I forget or I'm not paying enough attention so I miss things I should know about. Earlier this month, I had gotten this long memo about changes the library has made. I had read it, but when my boss asked me about it several weeks later, I couldn't recall one of the dates she mentioned. And she asked, "Didn't you read the memo?"

I feel like I'm too stupid to retain every bit of information that I'm expected to know. I forget things too easily, and people know it's because I'm not trying hard enough at my job.