The Top 10 Ways to Remember Things

Originally Submitted on 7/1/99.

How to use and improve your memory.....People who say they have a poor memory do not, they have just not learned how to use it!

1. Tell a story containing what you want to remember.

So, you need to remember the following: shoe, dog, door, corvette, book. Easy, make it into a story.... You are walking down the road when suddenly something sharp sticks into your foot. You scream with pain and notice that your shoe is missing from your foot. Suddenly a dog brushes your leg as it runs past you with your shoe in its mouth! You chase it but can't keep up as it is too fast. It runs through an open door. By the time you arrive, the door is closed. You open it and a corvette is heading towards you at great speed, you step aside and it comes through the door blasting its horn, just missing you. You watch it careen down the road, only to be stopped by a traffic cop who throws the book at the driver. To remember more, make the items part of the story.

2. Walk the kitchen for your shopping list.

To make your mental list, physically walk around the kitchen, open doors, look in cupboards, check the ice box, make everything very deliberate. As you notice what you need to buy think what you will use it for. Think what will happen if you forget to buy it at the store. When at the store, relive your kitchen tour... you know the layout of your kitchen right? Just go around it in your mind, the stuff you need to pick up will pop into your mind with ease.

3. Use rhymes & links.

Make strong links between things you need to remember. Make the links obvious like rhymes... you need to remember to stop at the store on the way home to buy some cigars. Make a rhyming link, get in the car - don't forget the cigars. Say it a few times. Imagine yourself getting into the car later to go home. Say it a few more times. Then leave it. Later, as you go to get into the car to go home it will trigger the rhyme and bingo!

4. Picture numbers.

Numbers are easy to remember if you associate them to concrete things. Example, you want to remember that the 3rd planet from the sun is Earth. The number 3 looks like two hills on their side, hills are made of earth, got it. You think earth...hills...number 3. Or number 3..hills...made of Earth. You can do this for all the planets. (Drop me an email if you would like my way of doing all 9 planets.) Once you have the technique, it is easy to learn other numbered lists, U.S. States, presidents, historic events, the possibilities are endless.

5. Detail, detail, detail.

When visualizing things add as much detail as possible. It helps it stick. Think of things in rich color, with loud sounds and texture, temperature, weight, speed.

6. Over-exaggerate.

To really help, overdo it. Going back to point 1 - Make the dog huge, gleaming teeth, breathing heavily as it knocks you out of the way. Make things rude, hey... it's your memory, you can't offend anyone. Use impossibility - the car coming through a doorway and carrying on, impossible but it will stick.

7. Be unkind with faces!

In order to remember faces, names, etc., you need to be unkind. Sorry but it works. Brian has a huge nose but I keep forgetting his name, every time I see him I say hey, there's the guy with the big nose. Use it, use a rhyme, his nose is so big it looks like a beak! - Beaky Brian, no problem remembering that, his face tells you his name. Another one, the guy with big ears is Henry, when he approaches your memory gives you ear comes Henry. Lots of fun this one. Try to pick a feature whenever you meet someone for the first time and store it. It looks really good next time you see them that you already have their name. By the way, keep the link to yourself, don't tell the person, they may not be too impressed.

8. Practice all the time.

Do it for fun. Link and remember 10 things you see on the way to the office. When you get in, try to recall them. You will be surprised. Pick some lists of things to learn, start with 5, then 10 and on and on. Link and rhyme all the time, it will become natural, automatic, then you can remember more and quicker.

9. Use what works for you.

The above are some guidelines; experiment, use what works for you. Invent your own number pictures. Test them out; if you forget things, then your links are not strong enough. Go back to point 6.

10. Mind Map it (copyright Tony Buzan).

This is a fantastic skill first introduced by Tony Buzan. Not enough room here to go into it but be sure to do a search on it.

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