Use the 'Method of Loci' to Remember Anything

The method of loci (or the loci technique) is a mnemonic memorization trickwith a number of uses, from helping people with mild cognitive impairment learn and remember information to getting someone ready to give a speech. You can use it, too—for whatever you need to remember.

What is the method of loci?

If “loci” sounds like “location,” that’s because it’s what this method is all about: Location, location, location. To employ the technique, you use visualizations of specific spatial environments to help you recall information. It’s been around for centuries and is still in use today, as memory contest participants say it helps them recall everything from faces to digits. (Did you know there are memory contests?)

Think of a location you know well, ideally one with a lot of defining features. Maybe it’s a street with a bunch of different shops, a room with a variety of surfaces and corners, or your childhood home. When you have to remember a bunch of things, like items in a list or topics to hit in a speech, imagine yourself placing them, one by one, in one of those little loci. One topic can go in the corner, another on the desk, and another in the windowsill, for instance. When you want to retrieve or recall the information, imagine yourself walking through the area again, picking up what you need to remember from its proper place.

Why does this work? Generally speaking, your brain remembers images better than it remembers words or numbers, so attaching the words or digits you need to remember to an image makes them easier to retrieve.

You can use the method of loci in real life

One way to tap into the power of this memory trick is “placing” your memory items around the room you’ll be in when you need to recall them. If you know you have to speak in front of a meeting in a certain conference room, or take a test in a particular classroom, use that imagined setting as the spot where you drop your listed items.

This trick does require you to plan ahead and be familiar with the place where you’ll be, of course. And you’ll need to pick spots that will still be there when you need them. If a co-worker typically has a coffee mug in front of them on the conference table, for instance, don’t bank on that mug making a reappearance on meeting day. Choose more permanent landmarks, ideally ones you can remember even when you’re prepping or studying somewhere else.