Mom Life
What Am I Forgetting?
A two-minute safety net for busy weeks: paste in your list and AI points out the important things that never made it onto it.
Best With
ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini (free versions work)
What You’ll Need
• ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini (the free version works)
• Your current list or brain dump, however messy
• About two minutes
Standard Prompt
How to use this prompt
Copy the prompt and fill in the brackets. Specific details, like kids' ages, dates and what's different this time, are what make the answer useful.
Paste in your list just as it is. Messy notes, a screenshot or a spoken brain dump all work.
Start with the top 5. That's usually where the "oh, I almost missed that" moments are.
Add the new items to your own list, or screenshot the checklist at the end.
For anything with a lot of moving parts, run it once more the night before.
Sam’s Tips
This is my go-to check before anything with moving parts: a trip, the holidays, a packed school week, a work trip. It takes two minutes and almost always catches something.
It does a different job than organizing your notes. Instead of sorting what you already wrote down, it looks for what never got written down at all. (To sort the mess first, try Turn Your Notes + Screenshots Into a Plan.)
The unusual details matter most. "My husband is traveling that week" or "first time flying with the baby" is what turns a generic checklist into one that fits your family.
Not in the mood to type? Tap the microphone icon in the chat box and just talk, and it will turn what you say into text. It works great while you fold laundry.
Think of it as a second set of eyes, not the boss. You know your family best, so skip anything that doesn't fit.
Packing for a trip? Make the list with my Packing List for the Whole Family prompt first, then run this as the final check.
Doing the same big thing every year, like the holidays? Save the chat in a Project (a saved space in ChatGPT that remembers past chats), and next year just ask, "Same as last year, what am I forgetting?"
I am getting ready for: [WHAT IT IS: a trip, a holiday, a school week, a birthday party, a work trip, etc.]
When: [DATES]
Who is involved: [for example: me, my husband, kids ages 7, 4 and 2, the dog, grandparents visiting]
Anything different about this one: [for example: first time flying with the baby, my husband is traveling that week, it's at our house this year]
What else is on the calendar that week (optional): [for example: I work Tuesday to Thursday, soccer Saturday, my husband is away Monday to Wednesday]
Here is what I already have on my list or in my head: [paste your list, notes or brain dump, messy is fine]
Your job is NOT to reorganize my list or repeat it back to me. Your job is to find what is missing: the important things that never made it onto the list in the first place. Think through it like a very organized friend who has done this exact thing many times with a family like mine.
If something important is unclear, ask me up to 3 quick questions first. Otherwise, go straight to the answer.
Give me:
1. The big ones. The 5 things I am most likely to have forgotten, ranked by how much trouble it would cause if I forgot them. One line each on why.
2. Everything else I might be missing, grouped only into the categories that apply:
- Book, confirm or RSVP (reservations, tickets, appointments, sign-ups)
- People to tell or ask (school, teachers, sitter, work coverage, neighbors, pet care, carpool)
- Things to buy or order, and how far ahead
- Paperwork, forms, payments, documents and deadlines
- Kids' stuff (comfort items, school things, outfits, snacks, medicine, chargers for their devices)
- The day before and the morning of
- After it is over (returns, thank-you notes, unpacking, laundry, putting things back)
3. Time-sensitive items. Anything with a deadline or that needs lead time (order by, sign up by, book by), in date order.
4. Possible conflicts. Anything on my list or the calendar I shared that looks like it could clash or be harder than I think.
5. My add-to-list checklist. Only the NEW items, as a short checklist with boxes, short enough to screenshot.
Rules:
- Keep it specific to my situation. Skip generic filler that obviously does not apply to me.
- Do not repeat things already on my list.
- Keep it realistic. If something is a nice extra, not a must, label it "optional".
- For medications, travel documents, IDs and anything health or safety related, remind me to double-check them myself instead of assuming.
- At the end, offer to set reminders for the time-sensitive items if you are able to, and ask if I want a version I can share with my husband or partner.