Associate the thing you need to remember by visualizing it. Think of something on top of it, colliding or merging with it, encircling, revolving around or having the same characteristics of it such as color, smell, shape or touch. For example, create a mental image of a house swept up in a tornado. At first, the house stands alone as the funnel cloud approaches then is pulled into the swirl and dashed to pieces. Add vivid details such as the color of the sky, the smell of rain, sound of the wind. Make the image dramatic -- the more strongly it evokes a feeling, the more likely you are to remember it. Then link the mental image with what you need to remember, such as the location of recent tornadoes, or something more abstract, like Torremolinos, Spain -- considering the first three letters of tornado, TOR.
Remember a list of items by taking linked items created by using the method mentioned above and composing a story with them. For example, to remember the states of Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, create an image or link for each state and come up with a story using those links. Queen Elizabeth I was known as the Virgin Queen and the state of Virginia was named after her so think of Queen Elizabeth to remember Virginia. After you create other memorable links for each state, take the links and invent a story, starting with Queen Elizabeth.
Retain lists of items using rhymes, numbers and letters. When you use a numbered list numbers, think of items that rhyme with each number. For example, associate the number one with the sun and then link the sun with the item you need to remember. Another way to remember a list ordered numerically is to think of an image that looks like the number. Associate a pointer or pencil or even the Washington Monument with the number one, then link the image with the thing to remember. Use letters in the same way, imagining colorful, individual letters and link them with the item you need to recall.
Remember a long list by first thinking of the landmarks – real or imaginary – of a journey you are going to take or have taken. A method for remembering long numbers involves converting number sequences into nouns. Associate each number with a consonant sound, create a noun based on a sequence of numbers then use these nouns to tell a story. Still another way to remember large groups of information is to visualize a location and place images or links that represent the memory items in different areas.
Create an acronym from the first letter of several words you want to remember in combination. PEMDAS stands for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction. Another way to remember the same sequence of math operations is to make an acrostic -- a sentence where the first letter of each word represents an idea that you need to remember. “Please Excuse My Dear Aunt Sally” also stands for parenthesis, exponents, multiplication, division, addition, and subtraction.