Since high school, I had been memorizing by rote repetition. It turns out that that’s the least effective way to memorize. Our mind is setup to memorize differently. This books showed me how.

Some parts are written in the first person because I’m using this as a workbook and taking my notes as I experiment with the methods.

If I believed my limitations, then my life will be bounded by them. So step zero is to assume that my memory is limitless. Use Useful Not True notes for help on this12.

Another important observation is the tendency of negative self talk to creep in: “oh, this one is going to be hard.”, “really? You made THIS mistake again?”, etc… You must train yourself to flip this on its head so it’s positive self talk instead: “wow! you’ve remembered so much already! Keep going!”, “great this mistake will be added to the improvement list so next time we dominate it!”

We have 4 types of memory:

  1. Working memory
  2. Short term memory (STM)
  3. Mid term memory (MTM)
  4. Long term memory (LTM)

Memory comes down to the four Cs.

The first C: Concentrate: Setting Up the Mental Space

You need to have a very specific purpose for why you’re memorizing the material at hand. Is it to impress someone? To learn a language? To learn the basics of some field then create or excel in it? With a clear purpose, you’ll eat the material up. Without one, boredom will take over. Use the PIC principle3.

More dangerous than boredom is worry. Worry is the opposite of peace and you need peace of mind to concentrate. Eliminate worry then come back to memorize 4. Learn to practice peace, because if you have no attention you have no retention.

In both the act of memorization and the act of remembering, be sure to be in a mindful state: anchor to your breath then concentrate.

The Second C: Creativity

Sound is the least effective way to remember because it’s sequential and our mind is not wired to attach sounds to other memories. So repeating a sound and hoping it sticks is not how to memorize.

Remember that your imagination is like the pen and the systems (peg, car, journey, etc… below) are the paper. We use the SEE principle to create bits of info then we organize them using different systems.

Organizing info into compartments, allows future information to be associated with what you have in memory enabling to compare and contrast more effectively. Even slot new information into the relevant compartments.

SEE Principle

Mind images and mind movies are the most effective because they involve all five senses. So I’m going to use the SEE principle to memorize. Senses (S): I will use all my senses when creating images or movies of what I want to remember. Exageration (E): I will exagerate what I’m imagning. It wont’ be a life sized banana. It will be a banana so big it touches the moon. Energize (E): I’ll make the images move, act in illogical ways: weave, crash, stick, or wrap things together to help me remember them. Make things talk, sing, and dance. The moon squashes the banana.

Most abstract words can also be made into mental pictures. Just use a meaningful thought or word to represent an abstract word. Find a word or phrase that sounds the same as or similar to the abstract word, or break up the word into its individual sounds create images for each.

Examples of how I can remember Spanish words:

  • Cat is gato. Imagine saying to your friend, “You’ve got to hold my cat.”
  • Chicken is pollo. You can imagine playing polo with a chicken instead of a ball.
  • Tiger is tigre. It sounds like “tea gray.” To perfect the pronunciation, imagine a tiger drinking tea that has turned gray.
  • Sun is sol. Imagine that the sun is burning the sole of your foot.
  • Gancho is hook. Imagine a cartoon cowbow with a huge hooked nose loading his gun with chorizo.

Imagination first: at first I was verbally matching words, but noticed better success by alternating between imagining and verbal matching. For example, for Gancho, I was first trying to think what sounds like gancho (gan cho, g ancho, etc…), but then switched to picturing a hook in my mind and suddently I started to see a fishing hook, then a big hooked nose, etc… from there I built the example. Every word in any language is only a picture drawn with letters.

The picture or movie are what I’m after, not words and voice: I noticed that after I came up with the images above, I started to memorize them by hearing as usual. This defeats the purpose of what I’m learning here. Instead, picture the images and movies in your head using all senses. Exagerrate the keywords. SEE principle5.

You can expand on this method by using mindmaps, using google images, google maps in 3d mode to go into museums and castles and famous houses in order to create memory journeys. You can act out the images or link them up as a story board like they do in the movies. Even create a whole story line in your head to act out whenever you want to remember the info. Another effective way is doodling or drawing the information yourself in order to remember it better. Storylines and images that have you as the protagonist work best.

Car Method

The SEE principle is the basic building block to remember bits of information. But in order to remember this information long term, we need to organize it in our mind. We do so by using something that’s already in our long term memory (LTM) and organize the short term memory (STM) items on it.

Superior organization leads to superior learning and memorization.

When visualizing something to memorize it, always use as few pictures as possible to remember as much as possible. The simpler and clearer the picture is, the less overwhelmed you will feel.

The theory is LTM + STM = Medium Term Memory (MTM). If you review MTM items (in 2 days, 5 days, 1 week, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, 6 weeks) they’ll start converting to LTM and then you can use those new LTMs to store new MTMs on them!

I’m going to test this out on my bike since I don’t have a car, but usually, you’d use your car and past cars to do so. What I want to memorize is the Adopt What Works For You Now section of Useful Not True. This method respects order so it can be used for ordered items like I’m doing below.

Adopt What Works For You Now - Useful Not True
  1. How to Decide and Make the Best Choice: No choice is the best in itself. It becomes the best when you choose it. We start on the rack, with an image of a signpost with a hand pushing the button to make the choice final, therefore the best.
  2. From Explorer to Self Leader: After choosing, you need to switch from explorer to leader leading yourself. All you know now is: Here’s where I’m going. Here’s why. Here’s how. Let’s go! I chose an image of an explorer that we don’t need anymore so he’s not on the bike, but he’s switched to Pres Lincoln the Leader sitting on the seatpost leading himself on the bike.
  3. No New Instructions For The Computer: As a leader, stop taking in instructions or you’ll never finish the job. Instead, you’ll start over or switch. On the bike’s frame an image of data with stop sign to remind the Pres to stop taking in new info and start acting.
  4. Private Journal to Internalize it: journal to strengthen the choice we made by stacking up reasons (here’s how this will help me or others), clarify it so we can explain it to others in 10 seconds, plan it with specific actions so we can execute, picture yourself how you’ll be after the road is taken, prepare for future self that will try to revert you to your old self. On the steering pouch we have a journal showing inside it an arm (strengthen), a clear glass (clarify), a todo list (plan), a camera (picture) and a scoutmaster (prepare).
  5. Talk with Friends To Solidify it: We know ourselves through others. They might see an angle or consequence you hadn’t considered. In the front bag an image of me talking to my friends that I keep in my bag.
  6. Why Your Choice is Wrong: Some of your friends or aquaintances will tell you you’re wrong. It’s not what they need. It’s not what people around them do. But this is only for you and only for now. No need to argue that it’s true. You’ll probably do something else in a few months or years. On front wheel, an image Dwight from the office says you’re wrong, but he’s overlayed with a here-now buddha to remind us that this is for us and only for now.
  7. Take The First Step Immediately: Taking action tests your thought in reality. Do it now! Unless it’s something that could hurt you or others long term then sleep on it for a while before rolling. On the pedal (momentum), I have a clapperboard with a camera film to show action and it’s on the pedal to show that we need to take the first step to start momentum.
  8. Keep Tuning and Adjusting: Return to the journal regularly, revise previous thoughts, talk with friends again, make adjustments. Sometimes you’ll need to adjust the plan, other times you only need to adjust your thoughts. Use your wisdom to decide. The image of the piano that needs regular tuning is resting on the chain.
  9. You are What You Pretend to Be: You are your actions. Your actions are you. Your self-image doesn’t matter as much. When you realize what you need to do, it doesn’t mean that’s who you need to be. You can just pretend, but do it and with required regularity. I chose an image of a sheep turning into a wolf6 standing on the gearbox (movement, momentum, change of pace). He’s axed so many actions over and over until he started to convert into one.

After creating this image, I have these items in memory already! This actually works!

Body Method

This method is similar to how the vehicle method works, but uses your body. Great for info that you need at your fingertips, remembering shower ideas and such. This is also great to keep track of ideas or main points in a book I’m reading in order to discuss it with friends later or understand the author’s structure or handle the first part of an inspectional or analytical reading.

Just make sure you connect the body part and the information in a humorous way (remember the SEE principles), and that you remember the order. I like to use this system so that I can consistently have the information at my fingertips—literally!

You may store up to 50 bits of info using this method.

I’m using this to memorize the four principles of good writing from On Writing Well (by William Zinser). Imagining:

  1. A crystal bowl on my feet: Clarity (crystal clear).
  2. A closure script on my knees: Simplicity (clojure was built with simplicity as one of its core values).
  3. A short penis on my pelvis: Brevity (useful, not true :D)
  4. A big pounding red cartoon heart in my chest: Humanity. (heart, love, soul, humanity)

Peg Method

You can use any list that is already in your long-term memory to create all kinds of new peg lists. You can make up words and images for each letter of the alphabet (e.g., apple, bucket, cat, dolphin), the months of the year, subway stops on your way to work—any list that you can remember in order and that is already tattoed to your brain. Enjoy this and find new ways to improve it.

Rhyming Pegs

  • One ➜ bun
  • Two ➜ shoe
  • Three ➜ tree
  • Four ➜ door
  • Five ➜ hive
  • Six ➜ sticks
  • Seven ➜ heaven
  • Eight ➜ gate
  • Nine ➜ vine
  • Ten ➜ hen

Really see each link picture in your mind and make it clear. You should now know these attributes forward, backward, and in random order.

The rhyming peg method can be extended by finding additional words that rhyme with the number, e.g.: one—bun, gun, sun. With this method, you can easily create a peg system to store up to 30 bits of new information.

Going to try these on “Traits of Useful Perspectives” chapter in Useful No True

  1. Direct: find a more efficient path to the real end result, no need for the middle steps. Why am I starting a business, for freedom? Can I get the freedom that I’m picturing in my mind without starting a business? Picturing myself buying a BUN of bread directly from the baker, not through the supermarket.
  2. Energizing: many smart & boring perspectives come to mind, but which one tickles you enough to get you bolting through the streets? Even makes you afraid, but excited. Imaging myself excitedly looking for my lost running SHOE so I can bolt through the street.
  3. Self-reliant: process not outcome. Does not depend on anything out of my control. I’m looking at a TREE doing its thing. It doesn’t need me or any person to take care of it. It’s not reliant on any one. Just needs nature and it can thrive.
  4. Balancing: prioritize what’s been neglected. Me time vs. social time. Exploring vs self leading. I’m imaging a locked DOOR keeping me inside and I really need to get out to balance my recent reclusion.
  5. Selfless: my issues are insignificant compared to other people’s when I look at them from the outside. How can I help and be useful to others? I’m picturing a bee selflessly and happily (with a bee smile) serving the HIVE.
  6. Selfish: I care for myself and I respect myself. It comes out of my self worth. It would take many pages to list all that I’ve done for others and for myself. I’m proud of that. In order to protect that, I’ll smack anyone with multiple STICKS that threatens the goose.
  7. Lucid and lasting: am I acting from an emotion? Like envy, jealousy, anger, hurt. Does it still make sense in a couple of weeks after all emotions have subsided, even ecstatic ones? I’m imagining the moon, our trusty HEAVENly body stoicly turning around our planet not missing a beat during our storms neither during our good weather.
  8. Test first: before quitting, take a break. Before buying something test it, multiple times if necessary. I’m picturing myself creating a test GATE in the ci/cd of my project to prevent releases that don’t pass tests.
  9. Healthy: Do what’s wise and good even if I don’t feel good. Ask the better me, what would I do? I’m picturing a grape **VINE giving me healthy and nourishing grapes for my afternoon snack.**
  10. Long term: Serve the future. I’m just in a phase now. I’ll be 80 soon. Some discomfort now for a better future is worth it. I’m picturing a HEN forcing herself to sit on the eggs so they may hatch and then forcing her habints into being a good mother HEN in order to spread her genes into the future.
  11. Compensating for bias and predjudice: If I tend to walk away, choose to stay. When prejudince against something, learn more and deeply about it until you understanding it. Your defaults might be inccorrect. 11 rhymes with 7 so we have a conflict. In numerology they call 11 the first master number, so let’s use that as a hook. I’m imagining a _master sitting with a whip watching over the 10 previous attributes and making sure there is no bias and prejudice taking place._

Shape Pegs

The second peg method, the shape system, converts numbers into concrete shapes. It works in the same way as the rhyming peg method, only this time the pegs are shaped like the number. I’m skipping this because memorizing numbers seems to conflict with it.

Shape Pegs

Journey Method

This system makes remembering large amounts of information as easy as remembering a trip to the nearest shop. You are using the LTM + STM = MTM formula again. This is the most popular and effective system and there is truly no limit to how much information you can store using it.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Prepare in your mind an organized location, such as a house layout, a shopping mall, or the route you take from your house to the mall. A location that is detailed in your mind.
  2. Create markers or places in this location or along the route, as we did with the body and car lists. Use an easy-to-follow order.
  3. Using the SEE principles, make a clear image of the information that you want to remember.
  4. Place each item you are trying to remember on one of the marked locations.

You have visited many places in your life; you can use buildings, museums, schools, shopping malls—almost any location that you know. Make sure to choose places you know well, that have significance for you, and that have lots of variety. Think of the number of markers that you can have! All you need is place images (SEE principle) in them.

Tips:

  • Make sure that your markers are in an easy-to-follow order.
  • Review them to make sure you have clear storage compartments. ie. nothing else already stored there.
  • The markers should be near each other, but nicely spaced out so that each item you want to remember is placed in a unique memory file in your mind.
  • Review the list backward when memorizing and you will notice that it will all still be there. Doing this makes the images even clearer for your memory.
  • This method helps you see the big picture as well as zoom in on details. It brings concepts to life and makes them concrete.
  • Once the info is stored, you may attract more information to the journey and place the info in related compartment.

I’m testing this to memorize the questions to ask as you reframe to find better perspectives. I’m going to use an apartement I stayed at on Juncal street in Buenos Aires. Oh boy! The possibilities are endless here.

The Layout

  • Room 1, the attic: carpet, desk, low ceiling, suitecase. (4 bits of information)
  • Room 2: bedroom: bed, tall ceilings, old armoir, mirror, neighbors. (5 bits)
  • Room 3: kitchen: sage plant, refrigerator, dishwasher, cutting board, uncomfortable bar chair, chef friend. (6 bits)
  • Room 4: living Room: TV, Bookshelves, book, broken hardwood plank. (4 bits)

The Questions

Updated list here .

When something goes wrong

  1. What’s great about this?
  2. Does this change the goal, or the path, or nothing?
  3. How can I reduce the downsides?
  4. How can I use this to my advantage?

When changing direction

  1. When I was at my happiest, what was I doing?
  2. What have I strongly wanted for the longest time?
  3. Which of my old beliefs are not serving me?
  4. What’s the opposite of what I usually do? The mirror next to the armoire functions opposite to a conventional mirror!
  5. Forget me. What would be most helpful for others? It shows what the others are doing in their bedroom on the opposite side of the wall.

When stuck

  1. What advice would I love to hear from an all-knowing sage?
  2. What is my one top priority now?
  3. How can I begin without waiting for anything?
  4. Instead of avoiding mistakes, how can I make more to learn faster?
  5. What am I doing that’s actually a distraction?
  6. Who can help?

To make peace with what’s out of your control

  1. What happens if I ignore it and do nothing?
  2. Should I learn a lesson from this, or just move on?
  3. How can I blame no one, and see this as nobody’s fault?
  4. How can I be OK no matter what happens?

The Story

Everything went wrong with my previous apartment in retiro and when things go wrong, I like to move to the attic for some alone time to think. My friend, Fer, is helping me move my large suitecase up. As we reach the top, I see Shamsito’s vomit on the carpet and I go Grrrrreat. Fer and I change the location of the desk to hide the vomit’s stain. Fer hits his head on the low ceiling and a HUGE goose egg grows on his head. I say to him that he must reduce the inflamation immediately. I grab a bandage from the suitecase and put it on his gooseegg.

I decide to change direction and not live in retiro, I like Recoleta better where this temporary apartment is. I go to the bedroom to sleep hoping I’ll find my dream apartment in my dream. But I walk to find the Ikea bed disassembled and I have to build it myself! But that’s ok because I’m happiest when building things. I sit on the floor reading the bed manual and occasionally appreciating the tall 6m ceilings. Tall ceilings are what I’ve wanted for the longest time. I’m missing a scredriver so I walk to the old eighteenth century armoir and I see it has a large silver serving tray on it the size of the bed! What’s weirder is the armoir’s mirror functions opposite to how a conventional mirror usually works. It shows what others are doing in their bedroom oppsite side of the wall. What a weird apartement.

I didn’t dream up any epiphanies of how I’m going to change apartments again. I like to cook when stuck so I go to the kitchen. Under the window over the sink, there’s a pot with sage in it, which I decide to use to make a salad. I get some tomatoes from the refrigerator which has a priority list written on its door in huge black marker with one item on the list that says: fix dishwasher; LCD keeps saying waiting…. That’s when I hear someone cutting carrots, it’s Bugs Bunny using the cutting board cutting carrots incorrectly committing MANY mistakes. Bugz is actually distracting me from making my salad. My friend who is a chef comes over to help put order to this mess and teach bugz how to cut carrots.

This whole thing felt out of my control and I need to make peace with it, so I go to the living room. Shamsito is sitting on the couch ignoring the TV as usual as if nothing is on. Instead, he’s looking at the HUGE library deciding if he should learn a lesson today or just move on to sleeping as usual. He winks at me and points at a book he wants, so I go to get it and step into the broken wooden plank as usual, but this time my foot is stuck! I Can’t reach my phone! I’m blaming the careless landlord about this. It’s his fault. After being stuck for hours, I started to meditate and now I’m ok, no matter what happens.

Linking Thoughts

Instead of looking at each image in isolation, linking it with related images allows us to use our imagination to create stories. This allows us to link multiple concepts together into a complete whole. Just like we did with the juncal story above.

Story tips:

  • Once you have the list in your mind, go through it forward and backward a few times to make sure it is all there.
  • You can also link more information to the list, so it becomes like a new peg list.
  • You can link related items, just like we did with the foreign words and capitals.
  • You can also connect your links or stories to some of the other systems that you have learned. You can link more than one concept using the car, body, pegs, or journey methods. For example, in the bike Adopting What Works Now list, one of the items could have a story attached to it: the day I met lincoln, etc…
  • You can remember thousands of words or concepts by connecting linked ideas to a short mental journey. For example, we can imagine the bike is in the living room by the door. The bike already has the list for Adopting What Works Now attached to it. Or we can imaging in the living room library an encyclopedia set numbered 1 to 11 to remember the traits of useful perspectives. We’re liking related data together with multiple system. Sorta the reverse of above.
  • Make sure the storyline is strong as you move from one category or compartment or room to another.
  • You can also use this method to memorize paragraphs of information. First, condense everything into a list of key words, and then convert those lists into meaningful link stories. A whole syllabus or textbook can be condensed into a ridiculous story. When you do this, it is easy to remember the information. See remembering text below.

Remembering Names

When someone tells you their name, it just gets put in your working memory. You need to move it to your STM or MTM, then later to your LTM. To do so, we need to immediately create an image of the name and associate that image with the face. Because associating a sound to an image (face to sound) isn’t effective. But an image to an image is much more likely to move to STM and MTM.

Remember that all learning is creating relationships between the known and the unknown. When you’re introduced to someone, you see (know) their face—an image—so you need to connect their unknown name to their known face. When you see their face again it must act as a trigger or peg to bring the name to your awareness. Make sure you attempt to invoke the image when you see them, not the sound.

First you need to concentrate by repeating their name to them or asking them to repeat it. Then, in the next 20 seconds create an image that can remind you of their name. The followin methods can help you create and connect them to something already in your mind:

  1. Comparison Connection: Connect the person to a name that you already know. Let’s say we meet a person by the name of George. To make the name stick, we think of someone that we already know with the same name. Do you know another George? You may even think of someone famous with the same name, like George Clooney. Next, compare the two people in your mind. What color hair does the George that we are meeting have? What color is the other George’s hair? By comparing just this one feature you will pay more attention than you would have before, therefore making a stronger connection. You can cement the memory even more by imagining the person with two heads—their own, and that of the person you already know with the same name.
  2. Face Connection: With this method, you make a link between the name and an outstanding feature in the person’s appearance. Every face is unique and every face has an outstanding feature. Imagine you meet a man named Peter and you notice that he has a big nose. Turn the name into a picture; “Peter” sounds like “pea eater.” Next, quickly make the connection that his nose is a big pea eater. By making a silly, memorable association, you will connect the face and the name together. Last resort if nothing is coming up you can imagine writing their name on their forehead. Make sure you use a big fat red mental pen. It is all about creativity.
  3. Meeting Location Connection: After meeting someone for the first time, you tend to remember where you met them. The place makes a clear impression in our memory, but the name is nowhere to be found! With this method, we connect the name to the place where we are meeting, using a journey peg to hold on to the name. Let’s say you meet a woman by the name of Rose. Ask yourself, “What will I remember about this place where I met her?” Let’s say you think you will remember the buffet table. You then connect a big red rose to it. When you think of the place, you will think of her name, too.

Transfer names to Bear notes and review imagery and connection regularly to move them to long term memory.

Remembering Numbers

We change the numbers into letter shapes so we can associate meaning to them.

  • The vowels a, e, i, o, and u have no values. The letters w, h, and y are also valueless.
  • 0: s, z, c (soft)
  • 1: t or d
  • 2: n
  • 3: m
  • 4: r
  • 5: l
  • 6: j, g (soft), sh, ch (soft)
  • 7: k or c (hard)
  • 8: f or v
  • 9: p or b

We’re working with sounds here, not spelling: 23 (nm) could be gnome.

Memorize this list of 100 numbers in order to help you memorize larger numbers. Use images to associate with the numbers (letters). Additionally, it could be used as a giant peg memory system to remember 100 bits of info in order. Since the numbers in the list have images associated with them, you could easily use them with other systems, like you car, body, journey. e.g 5872 is leaf (58) and can (72). You could imagine a maple leaf on your left foot and a can of maple syrup on your right foot.

I’ve spent a few days attempting to memorize the list and I have the following observations:

  1. Breath and be with your breath. I noticed at times, I tense up and get over concentrated. Balance concentration and breath to stay relaxed. This applies to memorization and recitation. More the latter.
  2. Don’t reverse engineer how you recalled something. I let my brain see the number and recall the associated word or image without any effort at first. I just check what it comes up with for validity, but I don’t need to make an effort if the assocition is already imprinted.
  3. Remember, the more you memorize, the more you can memorize. I felt at some point that I’m somehow limited in how much memory I have. Like I’m running out of space and need to watch out for my precious memory. But then I remembered my commitment to believing that memory is unlimited and the more I memorize, the better it gets.
  4. Be encouraging, look through a positive lense. i.e instead of fuck I missed 4, go yeah! I got 23!!! “Start to catch your memory doing things right and you will start to see improvements.”
  5. Associate the number with words with images. I associated an image with each number to help me recall the word. If that doesn’t happen automatically, then
    1. Think if the number has any significance to you. For example, the number 05 reminds me of when I graduated which reminds me of the seal on my diploma. The word for 05 is Seal.
    2. Convert the number to its letters so it reminds you of the image. E.G. 29 = NP = NAP
    3. Be creative with the shapes of numbers. E.g 22 look like two swans, one black one white. Like a NUN’s gown.
    4. Change the numbers a bit, 33, could be 3.3 which reminds you of and old running track at Memorial park in Houston. The word for 33 is Memo.
    5. As a last resort before giving up, iterate over the non value letters to see if you could recall the word quickly.
  6. Work on reversing words to numbers. When you see your associated words, you should be able to see the numbers with each without much effort to reverse it to a number.

A Working Routine that Seems Effective

I tried to spend full days memorizing the list, but that proved ineffective. Spacing seems to be a big part of memorization and doing it full time seems counterproductive. Energy wise for sure, but also maybe how the brain works.

The ultimate goal for the work below is to see a number and to be able to turn it into imagery which you can organize at the speed of thought. E.g, see a 10 digit number (to start) and have it committed to STM (maybe MTM too?) in a few seconds (seconds).

Memorizing a large list:

  1. Pick 10 numbers. For each, look at the number, turn it into its letters, note down the first word that comes to mind when you see the number and/or the letters. Find a picture that reminds you of that word. Paste them on a row together in a document. Being creative with information helps increase your involvement with the content, makes it part of your reality, and improves your memory.
  2. For each number, look at the number, word, image and pronounce them out loud. Create a story around the image to associate them. Use SEE principle.
  3. Attempt to recall the list from memory in order. Repeat previous step and this step until you’re successfull. Then attempt it backwards. Once you have 100% success rate at an OK speed, you should be done for the first round.
  4. An hour later and whenever you have some time during the day, write down or recite the list you’re working on for today.
  5. The following day, do the next 10 numbers.

Revising work in progress for large lists:

  1. At the start of the day or before memorizing new numbers, recite or write everything you’ve gotten memorized so far including the new set from yesterday. For the ones that take too long to remember or you can’t recall, note the numbers down.
  2. Review the numbers that you’ve missed from #1 and improve their number to image association. Maybe create a better story or get a more memorable image or a better word.
  3. After 1 and 2 you may work on memorizing new set of numbers as stated above.
  4. At the end of the day or a few hours later, recite from memory the numbers you missed in #1 and you may include the new numbers in your review that you worked on for the day.
  5. Once the whole list is committed to memory, work on increasing recall speed. Also test yourself on random lookups, etc…
  6. Review at the intervals mentioned here to commit to LTM

As it currently stands, it takes me about 1.5 hours to do the steps above every day, but I feel like it’s getting easier and faster the more I memorize.

Remembering Written Information

  1. Find keywords in the text you are attempting to memorize. They keywords should remind you of the rest of the sentences.
  2. Create images (SEE principle) of each keyword and place it in a system of your choosing: car, body, journey, peg, etc…
  3. Create a story or something to link you to the information so there’s a narrative.

Example:

To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty, to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.

I’ll get you started: Let’s use a tree to remember the key concepts. Why a tree? Because it represents growth for me, and it is in my long-term memory. Imagine that the roots are laughing and intelligent people are sitting at the base of the tree (picture Einstein and Steve Jobs). Imagine children hugging the trunk of the tree (affection of children), and on the branches you can imagine a nest (“honest”) full of critics. Notice that we have connected the first few key words to the system. With a bit of repetition you will have it all in place. You can continue to connect the rest of the information to the tree’s leaves, its fruit, or the park where it’s planted. Once you have placed the key concepts, then you need to read through the material a few times. The key words will make the text “stickier” and your knowledge of English will help you to remember the syntax. Make the material come to life and you will remember more!

Playing Cards

This is a great way to train your memory and keep it in shape. It’s like a gym for your memory, the more you work with it the more your memory will improve.

First, you must create a picture for each card. Each card must have its own identity, so that you can distinguish it from the others. You can associate each card with a person you know or you can make all the diamond cards celebrities, all the heart cards your family, spade cards people you work with, and the club cards your friends. That would be one way to organize it. The system I use is based on the number code from Chapter 11. In this method, however, the name of each card will begin with the first letter of the suit. Here’s an example: The name for the 3 of diamonds will begin with D for diamonds, followed by M for 3. Add a vowel (A) and you have DAM.

So all diamond cards will start with a D, all hearts will start with H, etc. Then add the converted number to the end of the card, plus vowels and fillers to make a word.

Diamonds A—Date (ace is one) 2—Dan 3—Dam 4—Door 5—Deal 6—Dish 7—Duck 8—Dove 9—Deep 10—Dice (10 will be zero, s sound) J—Diamond (jacks are the image of the suite) Q—Dean (queens use a rhyming word) K—Ding (kings we use a word with ‘ing’ in it)

Spades A—Sit 2—Sun 3—Sam 4—Sir 5—Seal 6—Sash 7—Sack 8—Safe 9—Soap 10—Seas J—Spade Q—Steam K—Sing

etc…

Imagine a king bashing down the door and entering your house. He finds some ham and duck to eat in your fridge. With that silly story you remembered five cards—king of clubs, 4 of diamonds, 10 of hearts, 3 of hearts, and 7 of diamonds.

Once you created images for each card, you’ll have to get to know them. It’ll take practice to see the card and remember the image. But once you do, you’ll then be able to remember a whole shuffled deck by placing 52 different images in your journey.

I think this will be easier than memorizing numbers because cards are more distinct. Excited to try this out.

Review to Renew

  • Your memory is like a bank account, the more you put in it, the more it grows.
  • Reviewing what you memorized isn’t a lot of work, just do it at regular intervals and make sure that the pictures are strong and that you can see them clearly. Reimagine them and see them in your mind.
  • Your first review should be done forwards and backwards. Reviewing backwards helps create new impressions and make the memories stick longer.
  • Review intervals:
    • Review after an hour.
    • After a day.
    • After 3 days.
    • After 7 days.
    • After 14 days.
    • After 21 days.
    • After 28 days.
    • After 2 months.
    • After 3 months and it should be in your ltm.
  • You may reuse journeys after 72 hours or maybe a little more, but for information that you want to keep forever, create a specific journey for them and don’t use that journey for other information.
  • Reviews apply to all the systems mentioned including names.

Next Steps

  1. Finish memorizing the list of 100 numbers based on chapter 11 to help me memorize numbers and speed recall to an accetable threshold. Then I’m going to memorizing the top 10 most important numbers on my phone and any other important numbers.
  2. Test memorizing prose or poetry using the text method.
  3. Memorize 26 bikram yoga position names in sanskrist and their equivalent in english. See if I can compmartmentalize useful tips for each movement once I have them memorized in the journey. Example, if I have Utkatasana stored in elevator, when teacher gives me tips, add them next to the movement in the elevator, maybe on the button panel, etc…
  4. Establish a system to memorize new Spanish words and grammar rules I tend to break.
  5. Once systems are in place for my current activities, get playing cards in order to keep sharp and memorize cards using the Playing Cards method.

  1. If you need motivation and guidance specific to memory work, reread the first three chapters of Unlimited Memory. ↩

  2. As I started to use the methods in this book, I started to feel pushback against memorizing more as if memory in my brain was limited. You really need to internalize the fact that our memory expands the more we memorize, otherwise, you’ll start giving up. Another thinkg I started feeling is like this whole thing is very childish, but as soon as I saw how powerful it is, I realized that it’s not childish, it’s child-like: children soak up knowledge like a sponge. They play. ↩

  3. PIC principle: Purpose: keep the purpose front of mind the whole time. The more specific the more it will help you concentrate on the data. Interest: Attention deficits are mostly interest deficits. Your mind never wanders; it moves toward more interesting things. So learn how to generate interest by linking what you’re learning and memorizing to how it will affect the physical world, i.e. find a direct link between the material and your goal. Curiosity: ask motivational questions that pique your curiosity so you dig deeper into the data. How much more capable will memorizing this make me? What’s the limit? Will this show me new ways of doing things? ↩

  4. You don’t worry because you care; you worry because that is what you have learned to do. Worry is a creative mental process. By asking yourself “what if” questions, you set your mind up to worry. If you consistently ask, “What if I lose my job?” “What if I crash my car?” “What if criminals attack me?” then you will create “movies” in your mind that constantly loop those scenarios and cultivate a state of worry. Rather, say to yourself, “What would I do if I lost my job?” or “What would I do if I crashed my car?” The movies created by these questions don’t loop you into worry. They give you action steps that direct your mind. Create a procedure for different scenarios and make peace with your thinking. ↩

  5. After doing this exercise, I feel like I haven’t actively used my imagination in a long time. This exercise will have many benefits in all areas of thought related work. Thinking using imagination and actively linking already feels super powerful. ↩

  6. I’m altering the intended meaning here of wolf in sheep’s colthing. ↩