How to Use Peg Word System to Memorize Numbers?

If you are looking for a simple yet extremely powerful way to memorize numbers, Peg Word System is the way to go. 

It is a very simple method that will give you an almost magical boost in your memory power.

You can use the Peg Word System to quickly memorize numbers, and then recall them back later whenever you want. There is no limit to the numbers you can memorize, and you can use this method to memorize any kind of number.

What is The Peg Word System?

The Peg Word System is a memory aid that can be used to help you remember phone numbers, account balances, coupon amounts, and any other facts that are important to you.

The Peg Word System is based on the idea that you can remember better if you can associate the items you want to remember with the words in a familiar sentence. 

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Types of Peg Word System

There are different types of Peg Word Systems, such as the following:

• Number-Rhyme Pegs
• Number-Shape Pegs
• Alphabet Pegs
• Major system
• PAO system

Not all types are used to remember numbers, we have picked the two more suitable and easy methods below.

Number-Rhyme Pegs

Each number has a unique rhyme and a unique “peg” that goes with it. The peg is the sound or word that rhymes with the number.

Here are some sample words and their rhymes for this system:

• 1 = One – Sun
• 2 = Two – Shoe
• 3 = Three – Tree
• 4 = Four – Door
• 5 = Five – Hive
• 6 = Six – Sticks
• 7 = Seven – Heaven
• 8 = Eight – Gate
• 9 = Nine – Wine
• 10 = Ten – Hen

Number-Shape Pegs

The Number-Shape peg system is similar to the Number-Rhyme system, but instead of using words that rhyme with the numbers, you use the shape of the number as the peg.

For example:

• 0 = Hula Hoop
• 1 = Candle
• 2 = Swan
• 3 = Ear
• 4 = Sailboat
• 5 = Hook
• 6 = Spoon
• 7 = Cliff
• 8 = Snowman
• 9 = Whistle
• 10 = Baseball Bat and Ball

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For Easier Recall, Chunk Your Number 

The mnemonic device chunking is used to aid memory. In this process, Number is grouped into different, but smaller, pieces.

As an example, you can remember a 10-digit phone number by breaking it down into three pieces: 800-612-9107 (instead of 8006129107).

It is recommended that chunks should not exceed seven units in length, and each chunk should be able to stand alone as a single bit of information.

Use Number-Shape Pegs To Memorize A Phone Number

You can use number-shape pegs to build one story, then the story will help you to remember better.

For example, a 10-digit phone number 800-612-9107, you can list different digits as below:

• 8 = Snowman
• 00 = 2 Hula Hoops
• 6 = Spoon
• 1 = Candle
• 2 = Swan 
• 9 = Whistle
• 10 = Baseball Bat and Ball
• 7 = Cliff

We can now use some of the information above to build a story.

For example, there is a snowman(8) next to the baseball field with two hula hoops(00) on his body, while holding a spoon(6) in his right hand and a candle(1) in his left hand. At this time, the swan(2) blows its whistle(9) to announce the start of the game. Soon, the player with the bat hits the center of the ball(10) and the ball flies high and far until it falls off the cliff(7).

Does this story sound a bit strange? Well, the stranger the story, the better it will stick in your mind.

When you can recall the story successfully, you can easily remember the phone number.

Use Number-Rhyme Pegs To Memorize The Birthday of A New Friend

For example, the birthday of a new friend you just met is January 3, you can list the date as below:

• 1 = One – Sun
• 3 = Three – Tree

Now picture the sun high in the sky making a large shade over a big tree, and imagining your new friend relaxing in the shade.

With this imaginary picture, you will be able to remember your friend’s birthday with ease.

How to Remember Numbers with a Memory Palace?

At this point, you can now use the above techniques to remember smaller numbers. However, if you want to remember longer numbers, it is necessary to combine them with other techniques, such as memory palaces.

What is Memory Palace Technique?

The memory palace technique is an ancient memory improvement technique used by people in ancient Greece and Rome. Basically, the technique involves using a familiar place to help you remember things.

For example, if you are trying to learn a list of words, you might create a mental picture of a house (the “palace”) in your mind and associate each word with a room in that house.

In this way, the house itself will act as a tiny memory aid.

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How to Use Memory Palace Technique to Memorize a Phone Number?

Let’s say you want to remember the phone number 800-612-9107, same as the previous example.

Step 1: Create a Memory Palace

First, decide on a location to use as your memory palace. Maybe it’s your house or your office or some other place you are very familiar with.

Next, make a list of all the places in the location that could possibly hold a phone number. For example, your house could have a kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, a study, a bathroom, a garage, and so on.

Finally, plan a path through the house.

Taking the living room as the starting point, you can then proceed to the kitchen, the study, the bedroom, the bathroom, and finally, the garage.

Step 2: Utilize the Number-Shape Pegs once more 

• 8 = Snowman
• 00 = 2 Hula Hoops
• 6 = Spoon
• 1 = Candle
• 2 = Swan 
• 9 = Whistle
• 10 = Baseball Bat and Ball
• 7 = Cliff

Step 3: Place Images in Different Places

• Living room: A Snowman(8) with two Hula Hoops(00)
• Kitchen: A Spoon(6) on the table
• Study: A Candle(1) on the desk
• Bedroom: A Swan(2) blowing a Whistle(9)
• Bathroom: Baseball Bat and Ball(10) in the bathtub
• Garage: When the garage door opens, there’s a Cliff(7)

Step 4: Repeating the path of the memory palace in your mind

By repeatedly walking this path in your mind, you can evoke the corresponding numbers.

Go to the living room and think of the Snowman(8) with two Hula Hoops(00) on his body. Next, walk to the kitchen and think of the Spoon(6) on the table. And so on.

It won’t take you more than a few attempts to remember the phone number.

For better understanding, I have used the same phone number example in the section. Expanding your memory palace, or even placing more images in each room, will allow you to retain a much larger number of numbers. 

Remember, the more you use this technique, the easier it will be to retrieve.

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FAQ

Why is it hard to memorize numbers?

The most difficult aspect of remembering numbers is that they are abstract and intangible.

They do not have an image that you can attach to. This makes it extremely difficult to “own” the number and to evoke it from long-term memory.

What is a memory palace and how can it be used to enhance your memory?

A memory palace is a way of organizing information in a mental space.

You’ll be taking a concept or item and placing it in a location within a familiar space (your house) and then mentally walking through that space to find the concept or item.

How do you use a memory palace?

The first step is to create a memory palace – a familiar place like your house or office, where you can imagine placing objects and images in different locations. You then learn the order in which you’ve placed these items and use this to trigger your memories.

What are mnemonic methods?

These are methods that help you remember things. And they are a lot more effective than just trying to brute force the memory.

They are techniques or mnemonic strategies that enable you to commit things to memory more easily and more efficiently. You are effectively trying to make the information easier to remember. 

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Conclusion

I hope this article helped you improve your memory. You should now be able to recall any number you want to remember with ease.

If you use these techniques and apply them properly, you will find it hard to forget any number.

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