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How to remember calendar dates easily.
Context:
I’m currently taking the Recall Masterclass from Kwik Learning right now, and as part of the homework, I am to teach what I learned each class to other people. The class is taught by Jim Kwik, a renowned brain coach. Since I’m a blogger, I’d like to share my notes with all of you. I hope you can use the knowledge and practice the methods to improve your memory as well.
Class 7: Remember Dates + Review
Image Source: Unsplash
We are halfway through this 12-week course now, so Jim Kiwk is reviewing a lot of the knowledge we learned previously and extending the application of previously learned tools.
Key ideas:
Remembering Historical Dates
Remembering Birthdays
Remembering License Plates
Review: Using the Body List for To-Do Lists
1: Remembering Historical Dates
Maybe you're taking a history class, or maybe you just want to remember important dates from the past. How can we remember dates easier?
Method 1: Use Rhyme
This method is especially good for auditory learners. Here are a few examples:
1492. Columbus sailed the Ocean Blue.
Civil War Began 1861. 61 rhymes with Sticky Gun. Gun gives has an association to war.
Boston Tea Party 1773. 73 rhymes with Heavenly Tea.
Method 2: Use the Alphanumeric Code
Turn the date into a picture. Associate the picture to the event. Here are a few examples:
Columbus 1492. 1492 = TuRBaN. Imagine Columbus wearing a turban.
Beethoven born 1770. 1770 = DoG KiSS (remember double consonants count only once). Imagine Beethoven kissing a dog right after being born.
Beethoven died 1827. 1827 = DiViNG. Imagine Beethoven diving into a coffin.
If you need to review the alphanumeric code, review Class 6.
Now I know why Jim Kwik had us create and memorize an alphanumeric peg list from 1 to 100. It is to help us remember dates. Here is the list I made:
With this list, it is easy for me to break a year into two 2-digit numbers, the month into one 2-digit number, and the day into one 2-digit number.
For example, if I need to remember August 9, 1900, I can think of it as 1900-08-09.
19 = Tub
00 = Zeus
08 = Sofa
09 = Soap
I imagine there's a bath tub, and Zeus is bathing in the tub, and the tub is on a sofa, and the soap is on the sofa arm.
2: Remembering Birthdays
We can link each month to a picture. And then use the Sun List from Class 1 or the alphanumeric code from Class 6 to turn the number into a picture. Here is an example of a list of month images:
January = Jacket
February = Heart
March = Marching Band
April = Showers
May = Flowers
June = Dune (sand)
July = Fireworks
August = A Gust (of wind)
September = School Supplies
October = Jack-o-Lantern (Halloween)
November = Turkey (Thanksgiving)
December = Santa
In class 1, we only did the Sun List up to 20. Here's my list up to 31:
Let's say someone’s birthday is May 9th. May = Flowers. 9 = Cat (from the Sun List). I imagine the person covered with flowers and cats. Done.
3: Remembering License Plates
License plates are made of numbers and letters. To remember them easily, turn the numbers into words using the alphanumeric code. Then link letters to a picture.
For the 24 letters in the alphabet, you can use an animal list. Here is an example I made:
Let's say I want to remember the license plate AXJL 781.
78 = Café. 1 = Tie. I imagine an ape trying to catch some x-ray fish but struggling. Then a jaguar comes along and helps the ape snatch fish. Then a lion comes and invites them to go to a café, and they all put on ties before heading off.
4: Using Body List for To-Do Lists
Jim Kwik encourages us to practice using the body list to remember to-do lists, not because we can't write it down on paper, but rather to build our mental toughness and help us remember the alphanumeric code.
Let's say you’re in the shower and you think of things that you don’t want to forget, but you can’t write it down. You can use PIE with the body list to remember a to-do list. Let’s say you need to call Mary, mail a letter, and do your budget. You can imagine putting Mary on your head, putting a letter up your nose, and biting a calculator. Later, when you leave the shower, it will be easy for you to remember what you needed to do.
Homework
Practice memorizing dates. You can memorize people’s birthdays or historical dates of interest to you.
Practice using your body list to remember to-do list items.