What is the Method of Loci?

Have you ever gone to CVS and realized you’ve totally forgotten one of the 3 items you needed to buy? Have you ever realized you’ve completely forgotten about a homework assignment that was due today? Don’t worry, we’ve all been there at some point. Most likely, you’ve never even thought of finding a way to remember this information better, just stored it in your brain and hoped for the best. What if I told you there was a method that could help you make all this information easily accessible in your brain, and that this method has existed for thousands of years?

The Method of Loci was developed in Ancient Greece, most likely by a lyrical poet named Simonides of Ceos. Employing the method starts with identifying a route through a place you know very well, such as your house. The number of locations in this place you think of should be the number of items you need to memorize. Next, assign each item a location in your “mind palace”. Instead of simply imagining the item being there, you should exaggerate the item’s presence so you won’t forget it. For example, if you want to remember to buy milk, you could imagine a gigantic gallon of milk at your dining room table.

In order to store this memory for a while, it’s important to do a “walkthrough” of these locations at least once a day, so it sticks in your brain. Hopefully, this method will help you remember the important things in life, stress-free!