Introduction
There's something that wastes a ton of time every day: searching your notes for things you could simply know by heart. And there are far more things than you think that can be memorized easily.
It can be lists, like a grocery list, routes, key points in a talk, but also sequences of numbers: door codes, PINs, birthdays, phone numbers.
In this article, we'll introduce two extremely effective memorization techniques, inspired by the book Une memoire infaillible by Sebastien Martinez, French memory champion in 2015.
Memory is not a gift
A lot of people think they have a bad memory. In reality, it's rarely true. Memory is not an inborn talent reserved for a lucky few. Like any skill, it can be learned and trained.
These techniques should honestly be part of basic school education, given how much impact they have on learning and focus.
Short-term memory and long-term memory
We constantly use two types of memory.
Short-term memory can hold about seven pieces of information for a very short time, on average around twenty seconds. It's what you use when someone gives you a four-digit code on the phone and you repeat it in your head until you type it in.
This memory is very limited. It cannot reliably store lists, numbers, or complex information.
For that, you need long-term memory. That's exactly what the next two techniques enable.
The memory palace
The first technique is ancient, dating back to Antiquity. Back then, speakers had no teleprompter and no written notes. To memorize speeches, they used what we now call a memory palace.
The principle
The principle is simple. You pick a place you know very well, like your apartment, your childhood home, or a familiar route. You mentally walk through that place and "place" images that represent the information you want to remember.
This works because the human brain has excellent spatial memory. For thousands of years, our survival depended on our ability to navigate and remember places.
A concrete example
Let's take a simple grocery list: toothpaste, milk, cereal, paper towels, soap.
Imagine the Statue of Liberty in New York. Picture it precisely.
- Her face is smiling, her teeth are bright white thanks to toothpaste.
- It's very hot, so she put several layers of red paper towels on her crown to protect herself from the sun.
- In her torch, she's burning cereal that falls from the sky.
- In her other hand, she's holding a bar of Marseille soap scented with olive oil.
- At her feet, a large puddle of milk surrounds the base.
The more absurd, sensory, and vivid the images are, the easier they are to remember.
Why it works
This technique activates several levers at the same time:
- spatial memory,
- visualization,
- synesthesia (associating senses),
- emotion and strangeness.
The more surprising an image is, the more it sticks in memory.
A memory palace is ideal for memorizing lists, presentation outlines, or speeches. For temporary information, you can reuse the same palace. For long-term information, it's better to vary places to avoid confusion.
The major system
The second technique is especially useful for memorizing numbers. Codes, dates, phone numbers, credit cards, door codes.
It's called the major system.
The principle
Each digit from 0 to 9 is associated with a consonant sound. Vowels have no value. They only exist to form words.
Here are the basic associations:
- 0 = z, s
- 1 = t, d
- 2 = n
- 3 = m
- 4 = r
- 5 = l
- 6 = j, g, ch
- 7 = k
- 8 = f, v
- 9 = p, b
Once you know these associations, you can turn a sequence of digits into words.
For example:
- 10 can become tasse
- 11 can become toutou
- 22 can become ananas
A word is infinitely easier to remember than an abstract sequence of numbers.
Build stories
To remember a date, a code, or a sequence of digits, the best approach is to create a small mental story with the generated words, and optionally place it inside a memory palace.
With a bit of practice, some people go further and memorize the 100 words corresponding to numbers from 00 to 99. That lets you instantly go from a number to a mental image, and back.
Which method to choose
The memory palace is more intuitive and gives immediate results. The major system requires more training, but it becomes extremely powerful over time.
If you're starting out, begin with the memory palace. You'll quickly see the benefits, especially for preparing a presentation or memorizing lists effortlessly.
These techniques fit perfectly into the logic of working faster, just like automating repetitive tasks or using the keyboard effectively.
Less rereading notes, less searching, more mental flow.
And most importantly, much less useless cognitive load.
One email a day.
No more.
Just enough.