Never Forget to Use Memory Techniques Again

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For over fifteen years, students have been asking me a “chicken or the egg” question:

“How am I supposed to remember all these memory techniques? It feels like you have to already have a good memory just to get started.”

Think about this paradox for a second.

You’re learning memory techniques because you want to remember more.

And you feel excited after hearing about so many success stories.

But then you read a book or start a course and suddenly feel like you have to remember a ton of terms, including:

• Memory Palace
• The Major System
• Linking
• Bestiary
• Pegwords
• PAO System

And that’s just for starters when it comes to the jargon found in the memory improvement world. And soon you discover there are also the steps involved to learn as well.

Plus, there are dozens of ancient books that use even more terms and describe more processes.

So I don’t blame you if it feels like you need good memory just to remember everything involved in the use of memory techniques.

But here’s the thing:

Having learned to use a variety of mnemonic methods several years before I started fully researching the broader field to help people like you through the Magnetic Memory Method, I can share some very good news.

You don’t have to know the names of the techniques. Nor do you have to memorize all of the steps involved to get started using them.

Let’s discuss today why this is true so you can finally get started enjoying results without having to know all of the names and procedures.

Why You Don’t Need to Memorize Every Memory Technique

As mentioned, there’s a lot of terminology involved when it comes to mnemonic devices.

But in many cases, a lot of terms are pointing toward substantially the same underlying process.

For example, there’s little, if any, difference between a Memory Palace, Mind Palace, the method of loci or the journey method.

But even if there were multiple differences, we can substantially reduce the problem by realizing one thing:

The name is not the skill.

Sure, knowing terminology can certainly help when you’re studying memory techniques in depth.

But you don’t need perfect command of mnemonic vocabulary before you can start using these tools successfully.

Think about riding a bicycle.

Once you know how to ride, you don’t need to mentally describe any instructions before hitting the streets.

You learned to ride a bike by doing it.

Knowing about mnemonic techniques will become skills in much the same way.

Here are some suggestions that will help you move from knowing about these techniques to mastering them in use, even if you’re worried that you won’t be able to manage a plethora of details.

1. Keep a Memory Journal

When students first started asking me how to remember all the different techniques, my advice was simple:

Get a dedicated memory journal and record the techniques you’re currently learning by name.

Keep the descriptions short.

There’s no need to turn the journal into another elaborate list like the mnemonics dictionary I’ve created for this site.

Instead, use your journal to jot them down in the context of the same place you

• Sketch your Memory Palaces.
• Write down what you’re memorizing.
• Record the associations you create.
• Keep track of what happens when you try to retrieve the information.

Tracking your results is worth discussing in a bit more depth.

Here’s why:

When you develop a journal that contains evidence of yourself using the techniques, you go beyond just collecting information about mnemonics.

You gather clues that will help you improve your practice as a person who uses memory techniques.

And here’s a powerful resource for you:

Years ago, memory athlete Johannes Mallow discussed his own record-keeping practices when he appeared on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.

A powerful lesson from that episode is that journaling helps you move away from the vague impression that your memory is either improving or not to looking at actual data.

When you have that data, you can ask:

• What did I try to remember?
• What did I recall successfully?
• What didn’t?
• What about my use of the techniques still needs work?

Thanks to journaling, you provide yourself with concrete details that reward your winds and show you exactly what to improve.

2. Learn to Recognize Memory Situations

Imagine somebody introduces themselves.

Do you notice that you’ve entered a “memory situation?”

I’m talking about a time when using memory techniques like the ones used to remember names should be automatically deployed.

Or what about while you’re reading and you come across an idea that could improve your work for the rest of your life.

Do you simply highlight it?

Or do you recognize that you want the idea available in memory?

Noticing situations like these do not require you to think, “Which officially named mnemonic procedure shall I now deploy?”

That’s backwards and not anything I ever do.

No, you need to notice that you’ve encountered something worth remembering and then respond.

This is a skill that you can develop.

Keeping a Memory Journal will help, as will the rest of the steps we’re about to explore.

3. Choose a Meaningful Memory Project

As many people who have learned and applied mnemonics, memory training can and often does produce exciting quick wins.

Perhaps you successfully memorize:

• A list of words
• A shopping list
• A deck of cards

All wonderful.

But here’s the thing:

None of those achievements automatically transfer to more intensive learning goals.

Knowing how to memorize playing cards does not guarantee you can now learn German vocabulary, prepare for a medical exam or remember hundreds of policies and codes for a professional certification.

In order to achieve those outcomes, you need to practice with those kinds of information.

That’s why I recommend choosing a worthwhile memory project earlier, if not straight away.

Your project might involve:

• Learning a language
• Studying a book or difficult subject
• Memorizing scripture
• Preparing a presentation
• Learning names
• Mastering professional terminology, regulations or procedures

On top of helping you develop expertise and skill, selecting a meaningful project creates continuity.

Instead of using a Memory Palace once and forgetting about memory training for three weeks, you keep returning to the practice.

4. Develop An A-Z Memory Palace Network Before You Need It

Another problem appears when people finally recognize something worth remembering.

They think:

“Great. Now where am I supposed to put it?”

That’s why I recommend developing Memory Palaces before you urgently need them, specifically twenty-six.

That works out to one Memory Palace for each letter of the alphabet.

Now, I know what some people think when they hear that.

“Anthony, I can barely remember one Memory Palace and now you want me to develop twenty-six?”

Yes, indeed I do.

And I’m confident that twenty-six really isn’t that many once you get started.

More importantly, developing more than one Memory Palace is part of the training. It will help you get the ball rolling and open the skills involved in using the core technique.

By connecting locations with letters of the alphabet, Magnetic Bridging Figures and other mnemonic tools, you create infrastructure that makes it easier to encode new information quickly.

That’s because preparation reduces the amount of thinking required when you find yourself ina memory situation and want to use the techniques.

And after you’ve developed and used twenty-six Memory Palaces, this part of the practice will no longer seem like a challenge.

If you need help developing this initial foundation, these Memory Palace exercises will show you how I approach the process.

5. Practice Retrieving What You Memorize

Of course, using Memory Palaces and mnemonic associations is not enough.

You have to test by following a basic process:

• Encode the information.
• Retrieve it without cheating or peeking at the answer.
• Write down or speak aloud what you remember.
• Check your accuracy against the source.
• Repair any weak associations or mistakes.

This is one reason active recall matters so much.

If you merely create associations, place them in your Memory Palaces and assume they’re working, you don’t actually know where things stand.

But retrieval practice gives you direct feedback.

And your memory journal helps you record the results.

Stop Collecting Techniques and Start Using Them

There’s a trap I’ve seen again and again in memory training.

Someone learns a technique. But instead of putting it into use, they:

• Look for another technique.
• Another explanation.
• Another video.
• Another book.
• Another shortcut.

There’s nothing wrong with continuing to learn about memory techniques. I’ve spent decades studying this material myself.

But eventually you have to become a self-directed student.

And someone who focuses on the foundational skills.

For more help, Joshua Waitzkin discusses the importance of deeply internalized foundations in The Art of Learning.

A Simple Plan for Making Memory Techniques Automatic

If you keep forgetting to use the techniques you’re learning, don’t solve the problem by studying another dozen techniques.

Do this instead:

• Get a dedicated memory journal and write down the main systems you’re currently learning.
• Start deliberately noticing memory situations in everyday life.
• Choose a meaningful memory project that gives you a reason to practice consistently.
• Develop Memory Palaces so you have mnemonic infrastructure ready when you need it.
• Retrieve what you encode, check your results and repair weak associations.

And if you’ve already bought memory books, including mine, or you have memory courses sitting unfinished, I’m not going to tell you the answer is buying one more training resource.

Go back to the ones you already have.

Make the investment you’ve already made more valuable by reviewing the material and taking action.

And if you’re already gone through my free memory improvement course, by all means take it again by access it here:

Just remember: you do not need to remember every name for every memory technique or process involved.

But you do need to recognize the moment when memory matters and have enough practice behind you to remember to take action.

Train that ability and eventually you won’t be wondering how to remember to use memory techniques.

You’ll already be using them.

And enjoying the results.