Best effective mehtods!

There are no hard and fast rules for the "best" study methods. Different people may have different ways to go about the same problem, so in the end it all depends on what works for you. I will list down some of the methods I have tried adopting and are some sure shots methods bound to work for everybody.
1. Write. Write everything down.
Do not rely on your memory. No matter how great your photographic memory is, it is bound to get erased or over written after some time, Time which depends on your retaining power.
The best way to retain something forever is to write it. Then and there. It may be with a pen and paper or in the electronic form, whatever works for you. While carrying a pen/paper may not always convenient, everybody carries a mobile phone, the perfect repository for your thoughts/learnings.
2. Revise.
One of my very learned teachers once said, everybody can understand things, its about recalling them in exam. This line has stuck with me since. Revise, go over things again and again. This creates a permanent picture in your mind with the sequence of events which you can reproduce any time, anywhere.
Our teachers in school used to ask us to recall,at bedtime, everything we did the day. Now I realize the multiple benefits of inculcating this habit. As easy as it may sound, it helps you look at your achievements/mistakes and learn from them, acting as a memory boost for lifetime.
3. Associate.
Another good way to create a permanent image in mind is to associate things. This is said to work best for building vocabulary wherein you associate the words with things in life, create a picture in mind, draw it, relate it to something.
If it works for vocabulary building it can work for many other things as well.
Build a memory map with interconnected images that hops from one image to another making it a story for you.
4.Discuss.
While learning a new fact, discuss it with somebody. Explain. They say you've not understood your concepts well if you can't explain them to a child. This helps you to clear your doubts and in the process refines your understanding.
5. Summarise
To check your understanding and give a clear, crisp and precise form to it, reorganize it in your own words. Give an alternate meaning and it gets etched in your memory in the words you produced it in.