The Peg Memory System

Remember items in order forwards and backwards

Introduction to the Peg System

This powerful memory technique allows you to:

"With spaced repetition, you can remember items for more than several years. I've used this system to remember information for well over five years."

The Number Shape System

This method turns numbers into familiar shapes that serve as "pegs" to hang memories on:

0 - Round Objects

Ball, egg, moon, or any circular shape that reminds you of zero.

Your image:

1 - Straight Objects

Pencil, candle, stick, or any straight vertical shape.

Your image:

2 - Swan-like Curves

Swan, duck, or any object with a similar curve to the number 2.

Your image:

3 - Double Curves

Heart, lips, butterfly, or any shape resembling the number 3.

Your image:

4 - Angular Shapes

Chair, sailboat, flag, or any object with a similar angular shape.

Your image:

5 - Hook Shapes

Hook, seahorse, or any object with a similar curved shape.

Your image:

6 - Curved Top

Golf club, pipe, or any object with a similar shape to 6.

Your image:

7 - Angular Top

Club, boomerang, cliff, or any angular shape.

Your image:

8 - Double Circles

Snowman, hourglass, or any double-circle shape.

Your image:

9 - Circle with Tail

Balloon on string, lollipop, or similar shape.

Your image:

Practical Exercise: Shopping List

Now we'll use your pegs to remember this shopping list:

Remember: The Memory Elements Still Apply

Imagination
Association
Exaggeration
Order
Sequence
Number
Substitution
Touch
Smell
Sight
Hearing
Movement
Color
Rhythm
Absurdity
Humor

Creating the Peg Associations

0. Banana

If your peg image was moon: Picture large bananas hanging from the moon. They're rotten - smell the strong odor. See them dangling in 3D space.

1. Honey

If your peg was pen: Imagine a tiny pen stirring a giant jar of honey. See the golden colors and hear buzzing bees nearby.

2. Liquid Soap

If your peg was swan: Picture aggressively washing a swan with soap. The swan struggles and honks loudly. See soap bubbles everywhere.

3. Strawberries

If your peg was lips: Imagine lips kissing giant strawberries. Hear smacking sounds and see saliva on the shiny red berries.

4. Flour

If your peg was sailboat: Picture a giant flour bag pouring onto a sailboat. You're covered in flour - see white plumes everywhere.

5. Toothpaste

If your peg was hook: A pirate hook claws at a giant toothpaste tube. Toothpaste smears everywhere - smell the minty freshness.

6. Butter

If your peg was pipe: A spoonful of butter melts in the pipe bowl. See bright yellow butter dripping on the rusty pipe.

7. Tomatoes

If your peg was hockey stick: Playing hockey with tomatoes as pucks. They're rotten - smell them and see the juices splatter.

8. Tea Bags

If your peg was hourglass: Wet tea bags fill the bottom. Sand pours down, then everything explodes in glass and tea leaves.

9. Bread

If your peg was balloon: Balloons carry a giant loaf of banana bread. Smell the fresh bread and see steam rising.

Recall and Review

  1. Test yourself by recalling items from number 0 to 9
  2. Try recalling backwards from 9 to 0
  3. Ask yourself random numbers (What was number 5? What was number 2?)
  4. If you missed any, strengthen those associations with more sensory details
"This initial review is crucial - it can help you remember these items for up to 24 hours or more. Add more color, smell, exaggeration, humor, texture, motion, and 3D elements to strengthen weak associations."

Congratulations!

You've now expanded your memory capacity by 10 pegs! With this system you can:

In the next lesson, we'll expand this to 20 items using the number-rhyme system!