This is the 5508th most frequent Polish word.
trudniej
"Trudniej" means "harder" or "more difficult" in English.
The word "trudniej" is used here comparably to indicate an increasing level of difficulty as proximity to the goal increases.
Im bliżej celu, tym trudniej jest go osiągnąć.
The closer you get to the goal, the harder it becomes to achieve it.
"Trudniej" expresses a relative increase in difficulty over time for recalling details.
W miarę upływu czasu, trudniej mi było przypomnieć sobie szczegóły.
As time went by, it became harder for me to recall the details.
Here, "trudniej" conveys a comparative difficulty linked to the lack of preparation for completing a task.