Body Lists: The Ultimate trick to remember any list

Have you ever gone to the supermarket and forgotten something essential from your shopping list? Or maybe you've drawn a blank trying to recall the key points of a speech? Don't worry anymore; today I'm bringing you the foolproof technique to solve that problem: body lists.

This strategy allows you to remember items in a specific order and is one of the simplest and most effective techniques to use in your daily life. I use it every day to remember my shopping list and daily tasks, and it's also perfect for speeches and key points in a presentation.

What Are Body Lists?

Body lists are a mnemonic technique that helps you organize and remember items in order. It consists of systematically moving through your body, passing through its various parts (the locations), as if it were a route on a map. Ten locations are enough for day-to-day use. Once you define this route, you only need to "pin" the items you want to remember to the locations, like pushpins on a map.

Example of a Body Map

Choose your own route: what matters is that it works for you. To get you started, here’s the one I use, beginning with my feet:

1. Feet
2. Shins
3. Thighs
4. Glutes
5. Stomach
6. Chest
7. Neck
8. Mouth
9. Nose
10. Forehead

This is my body route, but you can adapt it as you like. Once you have your route, practice visualizing it several times until it’s etched into your mind.

The Power of Familiarity

Remember what I explained in the article How Memory Works about connection to previous experiences? We always remember things better when they feel familiar. That’s why, once you define your body map, it’s essential to always follow the same route. This way, you won’t need to strain to find a specific location.

How to Create Your Body List: A Practical Example

Now that you have the route, you're ready to pin lists to your body. See where I’m going? The secret of body lists lies in using the Peg System to associate the items to remember with the locations on your body map in a creative and memorable way. For instance, if you need to buy grapes, imagine a bunch of grapes coming out of your mouth like a slot machine spitting out coins. Believe me, it’s hard to forget.

Imagine you’re heading to the supermarket and need to buy these 12 products, but you have nowhere to write them down:

• Bread
• Milk
• Cereal
• Apples
• Tangerines
• Onions
• Oil
• Tomato sauce
• Pasta
• Olives
• Cheese
• Sugar

Let’s test your raw memory. Read them a couple of times, do something else for a few minutes, then close your eyes and try to recall them.

If you managed to remember all 12... congratulations! But am I right in guessing you left some out? Also, would you be able to recall the item in position 7 of the list? Difficult, isn’t it? Raw memory has its limits...

How about we test your memory now by creating a body list? It would look something like this:

1. Feet: Imagine a loaf of bread wrapped in cling film, like a bandage around your foot.
2. Shins: Visualize a bowl of milk with cereal spilling down your shin; the milk trickles down, and the cereal sticks to your leg.
3. Thighs: Think of an apple pinned to your thigh with an arrow, as if shot by Robin Hood. Clearly picture the arrow piercing the thigh.
4. Glutes: Imagine tangerines squashing as you sit down, with juicy fragments sticking to your glutes.
5. Stomach: Visualize a sliced onion. You’re rubbing the slices on your stomach, releasing its juice and gases that irritate your eyes.
6. Chest: A huge container of oil spills slowly down your chest, the oil sliding viscously, making your pectorals shine as if varnished.
7. Neck: A plate of pasta with tomato sauce crashes against your neck, staining everything. The tomato drips, and the al dente pasta sticks to your neck.
8. Mouth: Imagine biting into a giant olive, so large that you can only bite part of it despite opening your jaw wide like a mailbox.
9. Nose: Visualize a huge piece of cheese stuck in your nostrils, your nose completely swollen from the cheese.
10. Forehead: Picture a package of sugar stuck in the middle of your forehead, half-open, sprinkling sugar like snow as you move. The sugar mixes with blood from the wound caused by the package.

With these absurd, vivid, and experiential associations, you’ll easily remember all the items. I challenge you to visualize the list a couple of times and try to recall it in 30 minutes. You’ll surprise yourself.

Notice how I fit 12 items into a list of 10 locations? As you can see, imagination is wonderful, and with creative combinations, you can link several items to a single position on the list.

Practical Applications

Body lists simplify your life, letting you effortlessly remember things in multiple scenarios. Here are some concrete examples of how to use them:

1. Shopping List: You've seen this example in action. Trust me, use body lists correctly, and you’ll never shop with scraps of paper again.
2. Speeches or Presentations: Organize the key points of your speech in the list. For instance, pin introductory ideas to your feet and thighs, continue with main arguments, and reserve conclusions for your head. This way, you can progress logically and fluidly in your presentation.
3. Daily Tasks: Assign each pending task to a location on your body map. Sending an email, calling a client, buying something online... surely you can think of fun images to represent these concepts. Then, simply follow your route to tick off the tasks.
4. Places or Locations: Traveling? Assign the important points of a tourist itinerary to your body list so you don’t need to check your plan constantly. For example, pin the Eiffel Tower to your feet, the Mona Lisa (Louvre) to your shins, and Notre Dame to your thighs...
5. Studies: How about memorizing historical dates, formulas, or definitions by associating them with your body map? For instance, the year 1492 (Columbus discovering America) could be imagined as a chain-linking with Columbus holding a globe on your hands.

You’ll find plenty of opportunities to practice body lists in your daily life!

Benefits of Using Body Lists

• Structured Organization: Always maintain the correct order of elements.
• Ease of Use: No need for paper or electronic devices.
• Versatility: Use the same body list for different purposes without interference.
• Long-Term Memory: With spaced repetition, important lists can stay in your long-term memory. Learn more in How Memory Works.

Worried about remembering that shopping list forever or recalling last week’s fish while you’ve memorized pizzas this time? Don’t worry—our brain excels at compartmentalizing and switching contexts as needed. If you’re reviewing the list for your speech, memories of the shopping list won’t pop up.

And for the lists you want to forget, don’t fret: If you don’t review them occasionally, they will naturally fade away, freeing up mental space.

How to Master the Technique

1. Don’t be boring: Exaggerate sizes, colors, and create controversy. Make what you want to remember visually impactful. For more inspiration, check out my article on How to Create Memorable Images.
2. Get familiar with your body map: You can reuse the body map for multiple lists without a problem—just don’t change the route! Practice going through it occasionally, always in the same order.
3. The glue is key: Be creative with your associations. The glue connects what’s familiar and easy to recall (your body map) with what’s new and needs remembering (the items on your list). Use plenty of glue—focus on emotions, sensations, experiences, and so on. If you forget something on your list, trust me, it lacked glue.

Conclusion

Body lists are the ultimate hack to remember any list, anytime. Whether it’s a shopping list or key points for a presentation, this technique will help you remember everything in a simple, creative, and effective way.

On your journey to a better memory, you can count on me, the Memory Geek, to unlock Your Memory Power, One Technique at a Time!