How would you like to be able to memorize virtually anything fast and with very little effort?
I covered a great way a few years back in my post The No-Fail Flashcard technique. Basically, the trick to this method is to put only one question and one answer on each card and to review the cards several times a day.
I have taught this method to both of my kids. But tonight my son asked me a great question. He wanted to know how you can know when to make a card. In other words, what topics are important for making a flashcard and which ones aren’t?
I ask myself 1 simple question as I am studying:
Did I know this particular factoid before reading, hearing or seeing it right now?
Now I have to be honest with my answer. But if the answer is “no”. Then I make a flash card. Honesty can become difficult on a detailed and complex subject; when you have a stack of 50 index cards already.
But stick with honesty, that’s how you’ll get detailed facts and subjects under your belt. 
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Another technique I find useful is making the flashcards in a way that they can be studied in both directions. For example, One side of the card might say “Tom Cruise” and the other might say “the lead male actor in Jerry McGuire”. By flipping the deck over and studying in both directions I am usually better prepared for test questions that may be asked in either direction.