If you plan on using the major system to structure your list (highly recommended), I can offer some advice. (Some of this may be applicable to other systems as well.) Here’s my top 10 (in no particular order)…
1. Don’t worry about limiting yourself to strictly 3-consonant single words.
By this, I mean you can include extra sounds at the end of words or phrases and only “translate” the first three.
Examples:
913 (sounds = P/B - T/D - M), you could read this as “BaT Man,” even though this is two words and there is an additional sound with the N at the end, you’d discard anything after the first three, so it would still represent 913.
153 (sounds T/D - L - M) could be “DaLMations” and you’d disregard those “SH-N-S” sounds at the end. You know that you’re using a 3-digit system so you know that only the first 3 consonant sounds matter.
After a bit of practice, you’ll almost naturally begin shortening your reading / subcalization. For example, I no longer think the word “dalmations”, I really just say it in my mind as “DaLM” and it automatically triggers the image of those puppies.
2. You can use phrases or non-nouns that trigger a distinct visual in addition to literal nouns.
Example:
083 (sounds = S/Z - V/F - M), you could read this as “SaVe Me” and associate it with the image of a person drowning or tied up on train tracks.
827 (sounds = F/V - N - K) could be “FuNK” and the image could be a garishly costumed 70’s funk bass player.
3. Don’t shy away from nonsensical words or phrases if you can make a memorable image from them.
Example:
For 898 (sounds: F/V - P/B - F/V) my brain always wanted to read this as “Foh BeeF” so I embraced that phrase and used it to trigger a mental image of a UFO abducting a cow. (UFO Beef, haha)
033 (S/Z - M - M) is “SuMo Mom” for me. This is a combination of all of these suggestions. Has extra ending sounds that are disregarded, uses multiple words, kind of nonsensical, but gives me a very distinct mental image.
Sometimes your brain really wants to read something in a certain way that may seem at first like nonsense. It can be easier and result in a stronger connection if you work from the phrasing that your brain wants and try to find a unique image to match it, than if you try to force a “good” word or phrasing. (More on that in tip 6.)
4. Avoid exceptions whenever possible and don’t mix systems
Be consistent with your translation method for all of your entries. If you use the major system and “read” the numbers phonetically, read ALL the numbers phonetically.
It can be tempting to try to use multiple approaches like making “logical” associations or visual associations in addition to phonetic translations, but this makes it much more challenging to learn your list and get fluent with it.
Example:
000 might remind you visually of a three ring circus so you decide to make a circus tent represent this entry.
007 might make you think of James Bond, so you use him for that one.
003 is an easy phonetic match to “sesame” in the major system, so you use that and associate it with the image of big bird or a sesame seed bun or something.
The difficulty is when you are rolling along reading sets of numbers you get in a groove of sounding them out phonetically but then 000 comes up and you keep trying to sound out “Suh-Suh-Suh” or “Zuh-Suh-Zuh” and nothing is clicking and then you may realize oh right this was one of the exceptions and its the circus one… It can really break the flow. By not allowing systematic exceptions, you can be confident that every number you encounter will be translated using the same process, so you don’t waste time and mental energy actively considering alternatives and wondering about exceptions for each one.
(Sidenote: This may not be for everyone, since it makes it more difficult during the building phase, but I’ve found that by limiting my options for phonetics, it actually made learning my list and reading the numbers much easier.
In my most recent 2-card / 3-digit system build, which required 2704 unique associations to be built, I decided to limit each number to a single phonetic sound and decided that I would never begin a word with a vowel. 1 was ALWAY “T.” 6 was ALWAYS “J.” 7 was ALWAYS “K.” 8 was ALWAYS “F.” and 9 was ALWAYS “P.” This cut the number of options for each number way down, which made it more difficult to complete every entry, but I did it and the result was a list with no ambiguity in which consonants were used or pronounced.
I’m not necessarily suggesting this approach for everyone, but for me it was really a huge leap forward and I’m not sure I would have been able to learn such a large system nearly as easily without doing it.)
5. Try to avoid abstract imagery.
That doesn’t mean avoid using abstract WORDS OR PHRASES for your number translations, but you should try to have the imagery that those trigger be a tangible thing thats easy to visualize and easy to imagine interacting with other elements.
Example:
045 (sounds = S/Z - R - L), could be read as “SwiRL.” Thats a pretty abstract concept and tough to visualize on it’s own. So the key is to choose something definite and solid that you can clearly visualize that works with it. Maybe it is a whirlpool, or a round peppermint swirl candy, but by linking that abstract word to a specific tangible visual, you can use it successfully.
Similarly, “525” (sounds = L-N-L) could be very easily read as “LoNeLy.” How do you visualize that? Choose something distinct, maybe like an elderly woman in a shabby chair,crying. Try to give yourself a concrete visual for each entry in your list and it doesn’t matter very much what word(s) you use to get to them.
6. Trust your brain and the associations it wants to use.
You can work for a long time trying to find those theoretically perfect matches for each number, but then when you go to work actually learning those associations you see a number and your brain just spits out a completely different word or phrase. Instead of trying to force a new connection, take advantage of the fact that you reflexively generated something and see if you can make it work as an image.
Example:
I saw that “FighTeR” could be used for 814, a perfect phonetic match, but when I went to learn it, the first thing I thought of when under pressure to read 814 was “foot rest.” I tried for a few days to force myself to recognize it as “fighter” but I just kept reflexively reading it as “foot rest” so I found an image that worked for that (the magical dog-turned-footrest from Disney’s Beauty And The Beast.) It is one of my strongest images, much better than trying to force myself to recognize “fighter.”
7. It’s ok to update entries and change associations later on.
This may seem like it contradicts point 6, but sometimes you REALLY want to change something and it would mean overwriting and forging a new connection. Its ok, go for it! Your brain can handle adjusting to new associations, so don’t worry about making everything perfect right now. If you come up with a better word or better image even after you’ve been practicing for a while, you CAN overwrite and modify your list. It takes effort, but you can re-train yourself to get fluent with new associations. I’ve done this multiple times with large (1000+ entry) card and number systems.
Just be careful of falling into the “endless perfecting” trap. You can revise and revise and revise forever, but that can delay you actually moving on to learning and using the system. At some point you have to be ok with “good enough” so that you can make progress.
8. Avoid sameness as much as possible.
This can be challenging when you need 1000+ elements. Especially if you have a really great phonetic match but the imagery it uses is very similar to another entry. It may be tempting to try to use 10 different soccer players or singers or politicians if they fit well into your system, but when you put this into practice, especially if you try to go fast, it can cause a lot of confusion.
The options are to change the word, resulting in a different image, or keep the word but associate a dramatically different image to it than one that is too similar to another entry.
Example:
I had “HaKeeM” and “WiLT” and “MaLoNe” as three of my entries early on (three tall old-school basketball players.) I realized that if I was going fast during memorizing it would be tough to differentiate between them on recall. I kept Wilt, and changed Malone to Melon and Hakeem to Hockey Mask.
But with lots of entries, single changes can cause potential change cascades in order to keep avoiding sameness… I already had “Jason” (the horror villain) for an entry, and now I also had Hockey Mask. I made sure that the image I used for hockey mask was much more of a modern decorated hockey helmet, not the plain white bloody one that Jason wears. No confusion.
9. It will take time to build and train to fluency. Likely a LOT of time. Don’t bite off more than you can chew when starting out.
I mentioned this in another thread of yours, but be realistic about how much time you’ll need to commit to this project. Set incremental goals for yourself and don’t rush.
10. Start using it even if it’s incomplete.
The more you actually try to use it to actively memorize and recall numbers the more you’ll learn what works and what doesn’t. If you encounter a number that you haven’t filled in yet, give it your best shot and see if you can come up with something usable as a placeholder. It may turn into a permanent association or you may update it later, but the more you work with translating numbers, the better you’ll get at the whole process. You’ll build fluency reading numbers as sounds, which will help free up attention and effort that can then be used to craft memorable scenes.
BONUS TIP: Try to avoid copying other people’s lists or using word generators.
Associations that your brain comes up with on its own will almost always be stronger and easier to get fluent with than if you use someone else’s list or just plug in words from a major system generator that you didn’t think of yourself.
It can be very tempting to use other people’s lists, especially when faced with the daunting task of building 1000 entries. You can save a lot of build time by plugging in someone’s list and then just editing entries that you might not relate well to. BUT, using an association that you generate yourself always gives you a stronger head start to fluency. After all, in order to make that connection your brain has to draw on some kind of pre-wired association. So try to resist the temptation to outsource your list building until you’re really really stuck.