- Mensletter
- Posts
- Mind Palace: Remember a List with a Story
Mind Palace: Remember a List with a Story
Your brain loves places and plots. Use both and any information or data will stick like glue.
The facts
The “Method-of-Loci”, which is turning a boring list into a quick “walk-through story” in a familiar place (a mind palace) can significantly boost recall, according to multiple laboratory and neuro-imaging studies.
A 2017 study published in Neuron showed that six weeks of Method-of-Loci training more than doubled novices’ recall (from ≈ 30 to 62 of 72 words) and reorganized their functional connectivity to resemble world-class memory athletes.
A 2021 study published in Science Advances showed that in the same cohort, the performance gains persisted 4 months later, and task-related fMRI activation during encoding decreased, indicating more efficient neural coding.
Another 2021 paper publishded in Frontiers in Psychology concluded that in a single-session Method-of-Loci intervention (instructions plus practice, completed within one afternoon), researchers observed a small but significant improvement in word-list recall in 71 healthy adults.
Why does it work?
The technique forces deep encoding: each item is bound to a vivid image, a location and a sequence, several retrieval cues instead of one.
Spatial mapping recruits hippocampal and retrosplenial circuits that evolved for navigation, so you piggy-back new facts onto a system already specialized for ordering routes and places.
How to implement it?
Pick a place you know (your apartment, commute, favorite bar).
Walk it mentally: front door → hallway → kitchen → couch → balcony.
Turn each list item into a weird, visual action in each spot. The stranger, the better.
Keep the order: always “walk” the same route to recall in sequence.
Need it fast? Do a 60-second sketch map first, then place items.
Review several times: run through the palace again after 5 minutes. Done.
Your turn!
Try it on your next shopping list or meeting agenda. Then hit reply and tell me if the story stuck. Bet you know a guy who forgets everything, forward this to him.
That was your tip of the day. You’re welcome! 🤝
Mensletter Team.