There are different methods in making memorization efficient. Mnemonics and flash cards are undoubtedly very effective.  I will talk about mnemonics in the future and will talk about using flash cards.  Sebastian Leitner suggested a method in making flash cards very efficient when memorizing facts.  Of course, his method is called Leitner method.  You can probably google his name and find a site that explains his methods brilliantly.  What I do with flash cards is similar to his method.

I will have a deck of 3 X 5 index cards with the definition on one side and the meaning on the other side of the index cards.  I go through all of the cards once.  If I come across a card that I can not come up with the definition instantaneously, then I put that card aside.  After going through the whole deck like that, I am left with two groups of cards.  One group (group A) has the cards that I know really well, and the other (group B)has the cards that I do not know at all or know vaguely.  I go through the cards in Group B and again separate the cards.  The ones that I know really well are put into Group A.  The ones that I do not know really well remain in Group B.  Again I go through Group B and repeat as above.  I repeat this step until there are no cards in Group B.  Then I go through Group A or the entire deck of cards.  By this time, the ones I thought I knew may stumble me.  All of these are placed into Group B again.  Repeat as I have done before until all cards from Group B can be placed in Group A.  I repeat all of this again and again until I can come up with the definition on the side of the card from just the glimpse of the word on the card.  The key to this whole process is that you must be able to come up with the definition in a few words of your own.

As I repeat this process, my mind is working hard and fast.  After a 30 minute session, I sometimes get dizzy.  Some people told me that they got headaches.  So, use this method at your own risk.  But this method is very efficient.  You can memorize so much in so little time.  Making flash cards takes time, but making them also helps you learn and memorize.  To save time, I print the words and definition onto a table in a word processing software, such as MS Word.  The table has two columns.  One has the words and the other definitions (or whatever).  I print out the table.  Cut them into rows so that small strips of paper have words and definitions.  Then I fold them.  Then, I mix them up so that I never memorize them in order.

There is an easy way to do something like this.  You can try pre-made SAT type vocab testing at Free Rice dot com  or you can make your own quizzes on your computer or Palm (Check out Quizz-buddy under educational softwares on the right side).