AFM-4 · PROMPT AMNESIA

You found the perfect prompt and lost it before you saved it

3 min read 1 EF unit · light

DESKRUNE

For when you come back.

01THE PATTERN

Here's what it looks like.

The pattern: you write the perfect prompt. It produces exactly what you needed. Then you close the tab. Two weeks later you need that output again. You have no idea what the prompt was, where you saved it, or how to reproduce it. You start from scratch.

02WHY IT HURTS

The cost isn't the time.

AI tools have working memory the size of one session. ADHD adults have working memory shorter than one session. Without an externalization step, every great prompt is a one-off. The skill of prompting compounds for neurotypicals; for us it resets.

03THE SIGNALS

Three ways you'll know you're in it.

Hook by hook. If you recognize even one of these in the last week, this is the failure mode that's costing you.

  1. 01You close the tab and the perfect prompt vanishes
  2. 02You try to re-type the prompt and it fails
  3. 03You realize you have asked the same question three times this week
04THE CIRCUIT BREAKER

The protocol that breaks the loop.

DESKRUNE PROTOCOL · AFM-4

The Deskrune Protocol for AFM-4 is the Context Anchor. When a prompt generates a successful result, do not copy the text. Instead, immediately duplicate the entire conversation thread into a dedicated 'Prompt Vault' project in Claude or a specific folder in ChatGPT. Name the project with the outcome, not the topic. This preserves the system instructions and the few-shot examples that made the prompt work. If the tool does not support projects, use a browser extension to save the full page as a PDF with the prompt highlighted. This creates a permanent record that can be searched later. The rule is absolute: if it works, it is saved before the next keystroke. This breaks the cycle of re-creation and ensures your best work is always retrievable.

06CONNECTED FAILURE MODES

Often shows up with these.

AFMs cluster. If this one hits, the next two probably also do.

07TAKE IT DEEPER

Kits that solve this directly.

See the full library →

99YOUR PATTERN

Log a moment when this hit you.

Most ADHD-AI loops feel random until you can see them next to each other. Log a moment in the form below — intensity, time, AI tool, brief context. After three or more entries, you'll see your own pattern in the recap. Stays in your browser. Nothing is sent to us.

SIGNAL TRACKER · PROMPT AMNESIA

When did Prompt Amnesia last happen?

You don't have to be precise. The point is to capture enough that the pattern becomes visible. Future-you reading this in three weeks will have something concrete to work with.

Often hits in the same week as AFM-4

Deskrune. For when you come back.