Hints:

  • Picture the actual items in the list rather than substituting one item for another.
  • Only link an item with the one thing that follows it.
  • Use unrelated mental images when linking to and from a particular item.

Helpful Hints

After reading the last few pages you will be able to memorize just about any list. The next few suggestions should help you to recall what you have memorized after a long period of time.

Picture the Actual Objects

If you had to link screwdriver to hammer it may be tempting to imagine using a screwdriver in the place of a hammer, by making a mental image where the screwdriver is pounding in a nail. At first this may help in remembering the list, but as time goes by only the images that you made will stay in your mind, not what the images represented.

When recalling this list you might think that screwdriver is linked to nail instead of hammer; since nail is not linked to anything else, the rest of the list will be forgotten. To prevent this problem, always use pictures that link the actual items in the list rather than substituting one item for another.

Only Link Two Things at a Time

In the example list at the beginning of this section, chocolate syrup was linked to a garden hose, and the hose was linked to a lamp. Reading the list fast, it’s hard to avoid making a picture with all three items: “the hose squirts out chocolate syrup all over the lamp.”

This may cause trouble in two ways. First, in this image it seems like chocolate syrup comes after hose and before lamp. Also, as time goes by you might only remember “the hose squirts all over the lamp,” and forget about chocolate syrup.

To avoid these problems, only link an item with the one thing that follows it. In this example, link chocolate syrup to hose and then, without thinking about the syrup, link hose to lamp.

Use Unrelated Mental Images

Suppose light bulb, hammer, and window are next to each other in a list. It’s hard to resist using the hammer to smash both the light bulb and the window. However, if the same or similar picture is used to link the hammer to both things, recalling the list will become a little confusing. If possible, form very different mental images when linking to and from a particular item. In this example, link light bulb to hammer by using a hammer to pry out a light bulb from its socket and getting electrocuted in the process. Then use the hammer to smash the window.