Honestly in some ways, I think having a poor memory actually makes me a better engineer. For example, out of necessity I always thoroughly comment my code and w

Honestly in some ways, I think having a poor memory actually makes me a better engineer. For example, out of necessity I always thoroughly comment my code and write descriptive commit messages, even for solo projects. This is especially important for background context which isn't readily apparent just from the code itself, as that context is easily forgotten. Regarding ignoring your editor: I do that on purpose! I avoid use of many IDE features, especially when learning a new large codebase. I find that after grep'ing for some method enough times, I'm more likely to memorize its location; eventually I develop the muscle memory for going to the right file, as well as a more complete understanding of the codebase's layout and design. In contrast, if I lean on IDE jump-to-definition features, I find that memorizing the codebase layout is completely hopeless for me. The IDE then becomes a crutch which also impedes my ability to get an intuitive feel for the architecture.