Author: Winston Grover
One of the most common occurrences is forgetting. Whether it be a grocery item you forgot to pick up, a name, or that vocab word you just learned. To those who say they have a poor memory, I encourage you to try the Mind Palace technique, also known as the method of loci.
The loci method has origins that have been traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans. Although the technique is dated, it still proves its relevance today. With many of us relying on devices to "remember” for us, we train our brains to turn to technology for the information that we have to recall otherwise. It is necessary to exercise our brain as we would the rest of our body. Keeping an active mind has been associated with slowing cognitive decline. This blog post is just an introduction to the loci method; mastering this technique will require time, patience, and practice.
Picture yourself in a place you know very well, such as your home, car, or office. This will serve as your Mind Palace. Now take yourself on a tour of the place and have a look around. Really try to immerse yourself in the detail of your palace.
Take the items you wish to memorize. Let's take, for example, a list of office supplies: a pen, highlighter, notepad, calculator, paper clips, stapler, and a desk chair. Start by planning your path around your Mind Palace and begin placing the items. It helps if when you place an item, you put it next to a landmark. A landmark could be any object that already exists in the Mind Palace and can be used as an anchor point for storing items. Also, it helps if you try to exaggerate the objects and tell a story along your journey. For instance, you walk into your home and begin playing darts using an oversized pen. Then, you doodle over your poster with the highlighter. It may even help to group the objects together, such as placing a notepad stapled to a refrigerator door so you "see" the items when you go grab food from the fridge. Once you have put all the items from your list, begin by picturing yourself in your Mind Palace and retrace your route.
The Mind Palace technique can be used to keep your mind active and primed to learn. So, the next time you go to the grocery store you can put your device away. As the only device you will need is your imagination to travel your memory palace.