Rememborizing is Easy as PIE!

1 Position It
2 Imagine It
3 Exaggerate It

What if you could remember a ton of information on the fly, without the use of notes? That would come in handy when it comes to mid-terms and finals, right? It's way easier than you think!

When I was in college, I found myself cramming for a big test in my Art Appreciation class. Procrastination's a... well, you know, it's rough. Plus, I didn't much care for art, and couldn't remember the artists' names to save my life. My roommate taught me an association technique that enabled me to recall EVERY SINGLE artist just by looking at each painting. Association is the key to memorizing lists!

This is the most fundamental memorization technique. Begin practicing now, in several simple scenarios (i.e. shopping list, people to call today, errands to run, major points in your professor's lecture), and in no time it'll become second nature!

Let's step through it:

1 Position It

I choose a room in my home that I'm very familiar with. I spend a lot of time in my office, so I imagine myself in my comfy leather chair at my desk. I begin looking around the room and identify 10 positions of note in order as I see them. The positions in my office are as follows:

1. light switch
2. whiteboard
3. filing cabinet
4. printer
5. trash can
6. shredder
7. scanner
8. phone
9. monitor
10. laptop

Practice

Now, choose a room you are familiar with, and identify your positions - you can pick out up to 20 or 30, but start with just 10 for now.

Can you see them? Can you close your eyes and see them in order? Now can you accurately imagine them in reverse order?

Once you've got your 10 (or more) positions, you've already completed the hard part of this technique!

2 Imagine It

Let's say your roommate or spouse calls you while you're driving home and asks you to grab a few things from the store on your way. Here is the list:

1. eggs
2. butter
3. bread
4. cheese
5. milk
6. apples
7. cereal
8. bananas
9. juice
10. oranges 

You're a responsible driver, so you don't write or enter the list into your phone—but that's ok because you don't need to. All you need to do is imagine your room of 10 positions, then place each list item on one of those 10 positions.

3 Exaggerate It

You want to really SEE the item on your room's object. The funnier and more outlandish you combine the two, the more it'll stick in your mind with very little effort! We'll use the list with my office's objects as an example:

1. EXAGGERATE eggs smeared all over my light switch, running down the wall—YUCK!
   
2. EXAGGERATE writing on my whiteboard with butter, smell it and see how it looks.
   
3. EXAGGERATE my filing cabinet is made out of bread, and the files inside are slices!
   
4. EXAGGERATE trying to print onto a piece of American Cheese!
   
5. EXAGGERATE a trash can filled to the very brim with milk! So full that milk is bulging above the rim, jiggling and threatening to spill!
   
6. EXAGGERATE shredding apples to make applesauce! (Hmmm, I wonder if that would work?!)
   
7. EXAGGERATE putting your favorite cereal in the scanner and smashing the lid down!
   
8. EXAGGERATE that your phone is a banana! "Thank you for calling Monkey Business! Eee-eee, ooo-ooo..."
   
9. EXAGGERATE pouring juice all over your monitor. SEE it sparking and smoking!
   
10. EXAGGERATE squeezing oranges inside your laptop. SEE the juice running out! 

Review

Imagine the room. You see the light switch first, and what's on it? Right—the eggs running down the wall. Then remember what's on the white board, filing cabinet, printer, etc.

Practice

Now, repeat these simple steps and see for yourself how much you can memorize! Experience how easily you could memorize every muscle in the body or all of the countries in South America! Try your daily to-do list and anything else that comes up during your day.

Bonus Tip

When I'm shopping, I "blow up" the image once I've gotten that item so I know without looking in my basket which items I still need.

Summary

1. Position It
   Have a clear image of a familiar room's positions in order.
2. Imagine It
   Attach an item from your list to each position.
3. Exaggerate It
   Make it outlandish and silly!
4. Review
   Take a mental tour of your room and recall your list in an instant! 
5. Bonus
   Blow up the item when you don't need to remember it anymore.

Now you're thinking easier!