Use the Binding System to Remember Ordered Information

What comes to mind when you think of pegging? Okay, stop thinking about it. Instead, start thinking about how to improve your memory, pervert. There is a technique you can use called anchor lists to remember large amounts of information in order, so you should start anchoring before large tests or presentations.

What is the peg mnemonic system?

The anchor system is actually easy to use if you need to remember a list of items, especially if you need to remember them in order. You can use numbers or letters and then create some kind of connection between them and what you need to remember, creating “anchors” in your memory.

Letters and numbers act as concrete objects in your mind that anchor new information in your memory, making it easier to retrieve when you’re faced with a test or other important event.

How to use the anchor mnemonic system?

Let’s use the alphabet as an example. It is actually nothing more than a list of letters in a certain order and it is stuck deep in your brain; you will never, ever forget the alphabet. Go through the letters of the alphabet and assign an animal to each one. A could be an alligator, B could be a bird, C could be a chimpanzee, etc.

When you need to remember a list, you call these animals. Let’s say you want to know the 10 most populous states. California comes first, so imagine an alligator slithering down the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Texas is next, so imagine a bird flying around the Space Center. After that comes Florida, so imagine a chimpanzee taking a break from Disney World. These images are your mnemonics. Creating them will help you remember them in your head, but knowing the alphabetical order of your animals will also help you remember the new list in order .

You can also try this with numbers, but it’s a little more complicated. It’s hard to imagine how number one would represent California if you were making a list of the most populous states, so you might have to think about a rhyme scheme instead. One rhymes with “nun,” two rhymes with “shoe,” three rhymes with “tree,” and so on, so you can imagine a nun in Venice Beach, a shoe in the Alamo, and just a palm tree in Miami.

The trick is to make your peg list ahead of time and always stick to it, whether you use a set list of animals in alphabetical order or a rhyming number scheme. This way, you’ll never forget the order in which the anchors are located and can assign them to whatever you need at the moment, whether it’s triggers for remembering a long list or the next topic you have to mention in a presentation.