1. Choose a target
Start with a word, phrase, sentence, formula, name, date, historical sequence, or concept. The target is what you want to recall later.
2. Split it into chunks
Add a box for each chunk and type one chunk in each — for example easier becomes e, a, s, i. Make the chunks yourself; you do not copy the whole phrase. Chunks do not need to be perfect syllables — they need to be useful memory handles, and each chunk's first letter is where the wheel points.
3. Rotate to the anchor
The outer wheel acts as the anchor. For a chunk beginning with D, rotate the outer wheel to D. The inner layers provide details that make the scene vivid.
4. Journal your scenes
Treat this like a memory journal. Each chunk becomes a scene you log in your system, and a long target becomes a sequence of journaled scenes — far easier to revisit than one overloaded image.
5. Review the story
Reopen the journaled scenes, reconstruct the images, and check whether the target still comes back naturally. Rebuild each scene from memory first, then read what you wrote — that small effort of recall is what makes the memory stick.
6. Go beyond the wheel
The wheel is one part of a larger studio. In volvel.io you can organize wheels into learning paths, add free-form notes (typed or dictated with your voice), and link wheels and notes together into graph mind maps — named canvases where you drag, colour, and connect your ideas.
The complete user guide walks through all of it in seven simple steps: create a path, build a wheel, journal scenes, take notes, connect a graph, review, and export.