In the Link System, positional ordering is achieved by associating the things-to-be-remembered with each other. They are simply chained, starting with the first item, which is associated with the second, the second with the third, etc. The very first item can be associated with the goal or the reason for the list that must be remembered.

A good application of this technique is a short list of things to do. One often thinks of different things to do, at times when it is not possible to write them down on a piece of paper, for example, while jogging, traveling, about to go to sleep, etc. A typical list could be:

• Buying cold medicine
• Writing a letter to a friend who lives in Australia
• Giving the dog a bath
• Mending a flat bicycle tire
• Making sure there is enough dry wood for the hearth

To apply the Link System, we first pick a single word to represent each task, for example iceberg, kangeroo, dog, bicycle, hearth. If you want to start doing them after finishing work, then that would be the starting point of the association, for example, the moment you step into your car. For a possible list of links imagine the following:

• A big iceberg sitting inside your car
• A kangeroo jumping around on the iceberg, throwing snow balls at you
• Your dog, climbing out of the the kangeroo's pouch
• Your dog then proceeding to ride on a little bicycle
• The little bicycle growing until it explodes into flames

In short
The link system is very straightforward and can be applied immediately. It is most effective for short lists, in which each word is link to the next. For ideas on how to associate (i.e., link) words, see the page on association.

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