Memory Tips: Storing and Retrieving Information
So far in our mind and memory improvement articles, we've looked at numbers. These are ideal pieces of data to apply such methods too, but more often than not it may be that we have words to remember.This could be something like a shopping list, or perhaps a list of items we need to remember to pack in our bag before going to work the following day - umbrella, sandwich, water bottle, paper, business cards and so on.
Even when we leave the house we often do a mental check of a list: have I got my keys, my breath mints, mobile phone, rail card for the train / car keys, CD to listen to, i-pod and so on and so forth.
Quite often, we forget items on these practical lists.
So how can we easily remember a list of items? Well, there are various different methods available.
One method that works quite well when we can't easily categorise items on the list is the so-called Journey Method.
This involves us making associations between items in the list and parts of a journey. So, we need a journey that has as many 'stops' or key points on it as there are items on our list.
Let's say we have an item of ten objects that we need to remember - how can we learn that list effectively in a reasonable time, and recall it whenever we need it?
Using the journey method, of course!
First, you need to create a journey of ten stops. The best way to do this is to think of something you already do every day, and then chop it into segments. A classic would be the morning routine - either the route to work or the way you move about the house.
It doesn't have to be spectacular it could be as simple as:
1 - wake up and look at alarm clock
2 - get out of bed and open the curtains
3 - put dressing gown on
4 - go to the bathroom
5 - put the kettle on
6 - make breakfast
7 - climb the stairs
8 - open the wardrobe and get dressed
9 - clean teeth
10 - open the front door and leave house
Now all we do is associate an item on the list with each step of the journey. When we do this association, we don't just say:
"alarm clock = apple" but rather create a mental picture that is readily memorable, and using as many senses as you can (imagine what it looks like, smells like, sounds like, perhaps even feels like). Put emphasis on the senses that you think are dominant for you, but use as many as you can.
Practical example time again.
List:
orange
screwdriver
magazine
hamster
piano
box of chocolates
football
flowers
television
toaster
Now, if you need to learn the list in order, then you will need to replicate the order in your journey (e.g. start with the orange and alarm clock image). However often you don't need to remember the list in any order, so in that case feel free to create the associations with whichever stage of the journey you wish.
It's over to you! Once you've worked out your own unique journey, start making associations. Here's a couple of examples.
On waking up and lazily opening my eyes, I am surprised to see that the alarm clock has a massive bunch of flowers sitting on top of them - hundreds of big colourful flowers, and a smell of nectar. Remember to stop to smell the roses.
On getting out of bed, I pull back the curtains, and to my amazement the road is not empty but is swarming with hundreds and hundreds of hamsters running up and down it - a hamster (traffic) jam of squeaking, furry hamsters.
Thinking I'm going mad, I then go to put my dressing gown on. Something feels sticky and gooey, and you realise for some reason your dressing gown had a box of chocolates inside it, and you've just presssed and squished them all against your body. Remember to eat a toffee as you remove the chocolates from your skin.
You go to the bathroom, but find it a real effort to open the door, you push and shove, and see through the gap in the door that some practical joker has plonked a massive grand piano in the middle of the room, and it sounds like someone is playing it too - got to love a bit of Beethoven!
Carry on building up your own personal journey like this with colourful associations each time. Close your eyes and linger on all aspects of the image - this will help you remember it.
Then turn the page and write down the list - effortless right?
Do it every few days, then few weeks, then even every couple of months - whatever the list you should be able to remember it. If not, then the mental images you made weren't vivid and memorable enough - go back and put more effort in making the images even more outrageous and silly using all the senses, until you really couldn't forget them.
And there you have it - a great technique for learning lists.
Next time you pick up a brain training magazine or do a memory puzzle where you need to learn a list of items (minus an obligatory cuddly toy) you can sit there nice and smug.