Wouldn’t it be awesome if you could create a Memory Palace on the go?
This goal is quite different from traditional Memory Palace development – the kind where you build Memory Palaces for learning languages, passing exams or beefing up on your historical knowledge.
When it comes to spontaneously developing this ancient mnemonic tool…
I’m talking about rapidly developing a responsive mnemonic tool that lets you hear a word or phrase and instantly learn, remember and then recall it forever just by thinking of that place.
Here’s the good news:
Making a Memory Palace “on the go” is fun and easy to do.
You just need to know the principles of the Magnetic Memory Method.
If that sounds good to you, let me take you on the road with me. On this page, I’ll show you exactly how I create impromptu Memory Palaces on the go in a variety of locations and situations.
You can build a Memory Palace in a restaurant, just as I discussed in this video shot in Berlin:
https://youtu.be/LVdurlibnhs
When creating a Memory Palace on the fly, you can’t afford to make the kind of Memory Palace drawing I normally advise. These Memory Palace examples show you what I mean in detail, in case you’ve never used the Memory Palace drawing approach before.
Instead of making a quick sketch, or trying to find a Memory Palace by drawing on both your autobiographical memory and semantic memory, sometimes you need to develop Memory Palaces wherever you happen to be.
To do this, I suggest you simple glance quickly around the location. Then, formulate a plan for how you’re going to use the space based on linear logic.
In locations like restaurants, I suggest you pay close attention to the walls and corners only. Establish these as you loci and design a linear journey that you will follow strictly.
When I was in this particular restaurant, as my wife threw out new words at me to memorize, I simply placed associations in the simplest and clearest possible stations in the spontaneously created Memory Palace.
There’s no time to be creative. You also can’t spend time on making complicated decisions in an impromptu Memory Palace.
For example, I used to frequently give memory demonstrations in office meeting rooms like this:
Having never seen the room until I stepped into it to demonstrate how easy it is to remember names, the stations I assigned simply follow where the people at the meeting were sitting.
For example:
In this case, where the people were sitting aligned perfectly with the walls. So it was easy to assign mnemonic images to each person based on their location in the room.
For Haley, the associative image was Halley’s comet. For Allen, I thought of an Allen Key, and so on.
In this particular case, I also used the linking method at the same time as the Memory Palace technique. It’s not just that Halley’s comet helps me remember the name of the person at the first station of the Memory Palace. I have this idea interact with the Allen Key.
To a certain extent, the story method is involved here as well. The difference between using stories and linking is kind of splitting hairs in my view, but here’s the important point:
Whether you call it linking or the story method, you’re using the techniques inside of a Memory Palace. And any location can serve as a Memory Palace within seconds. Just follow the linear nature of the location for best results.
Sometimes you need to create a spontaneous Memory Palace when there are no buildings in sight.
Using forests or parks as Memory Palaces is definitely more challenging than using a restaurant or meeting room. This is because the space is not as clearly defined.
However, I’ve used outdoor options often enough to learn a few tricks, so here are some basic tactics for your consideration.
I use 秋天 qiūtiān (Mandarin Chinese for “autumn”) in the following video tutorial as an example.
https://youtu.be/XpZHPG3KrhM
Although I struggled with the pronunciation at the beginning of this video (and even experienced a few rare seconds of frustration), the core memory technique set the stage for success. I still remember all of the seasons in Mandarin to this day.
As you’ve seen, walking through a Berlin park with April, 秋天 came up. My eyes instantly searched for a place to create and secure a mnemonic image.
But not just any place. The most solid places possible within the park.
If you’re familiar with the method of loci, then you know just how essential this principle is for the serious memorizer.
That means you also know that not all Memory Palace stations are created equal. For example, stations in obscure and hard to measure places really don’t serve as well as stations with fixed features.
For this reason, if you’re in a park, look for corners and edges that create boundaries on a location. They often serve as bulletproof stations even in less distinct locations because they’re fixed. You can instantly zoom to them in your mind.
For this reason, avoid “loosey-goosey” stations. Don’t eyeball locations like, “halfway between those clumps of trees.” That will increase your cognitive load when you’re trying to find your way back to the target information.
In the video example above, I initially had no idea what image I would create for 秋天. But I let a sense of relaxation overcome me and trusted the process to do its work. It’s all part of knowing how to memorize vocabulary.
And, of course, the Magnetic Memory Method delivered (as it always does).
The cool thing about a small impromptu Memory Palace like the one I created for 秋天 qiūtiān is that there are 3 more terms needed to complete my knowledge of the words for the seasons in Chinese.
冬天 dōngtiān for Winter
春天 chūntiān for Spring
夏天 xiàtiān for Summer
To memorize these addition words, I used four trees in the park. To each tree, I attached an association by using the standard Memory Palace technique after the fact. I thought back to the trees in the park and transformed them into standard stations, one of each season of the year.
In each case, the goal is to use the mnemonic imagery to bring back the sound and meaning of the words in the same stroke.
So although you can definitely accomplish a lot “on the go,” it’s best to combine spontaneous Memory Palace creation with follow up later.
When it comes to the names I memorize at events, I often follow up with spaced repetition after the demonstration. That way, when I run into the attendees on the street (which often happened while living in Brisbane), their names were in long-term memory.
Believe me: It feels great to be able to remember the names of people you have only met once and not seen for months on end. I tell the story of how this happened with my speaking coach Thomas Krafft on the Magnetic Memory Method Podcast.
At the end of the day, you need to pick your battles. Impromptu Memory Palaces serve small sets of information like the seasons or days of the week well. But for anything larger than ten pieces of information, you might struggle.
Why?
Because the problem with Impromptu Memory Palaces is that you have to recreate them in your mind at the same time you’re recreating the images. That’s a lot of unnecessary pressure on your brain!
But if you use Memory Palaces based on real locations, you reduce the mental load. If you’re really good with Memory Palaces, you eliminate the load altogether.
If you don’t already know how to create the perfect Memory Palace, please consider completing this free Memory Kit. It will help you get the most out of the process.
But here’s the most important aspect to consider:
Success cannot take place for you without taking action. Please be sure to give this technique a try so you can feel for yourself just how well it works.
Post any questions you have below, and understand that the best questions come from experience and struggling a little bit with the process.
But this point is important:
Please do not overthink mnemonics. The answers come from taking action and using the techniques.
Overall, most of us need standard Memory Palaces, especially when it comes to learning tough subject where exactly how to practice memory techniques is of the utmost importance.
But anytime you need to memorize something on the fly, you now know exactly how to do it.
