Although I mostly rely on repeated readings, here are a few things that I can suggest.
1. Spaced revision- Not letting anything go unrevised for too long.
Eg-
2. Memory pegs for lists [Duties, Articles, Schedules]- Remembered them from a Roman Saini video 4-5 years ago and haven’t forgotten since.
– 1=sun, 2=shoe, 3=tree…
3. Finding linkages– If I read ‘X’ from a booklet in my notes, then I note down every important thing that I know about X on the side of the page. Doing this repeatedly creates good linkages and the topic gets revised decently every time I come across it in difference places in my notes.
4. Finding Patterns- Constitutional articles jump from center→ state by following
–Rule of 89: for Art (72 to 88)- {80, 82} and Art (99 to 111) – {108}
–Rule of 90: for Art (112 to 124)
5. Mnemonics [It’ll work as long as it makes sense to you]
–MP ON KD: WtE for protected areas of NEI [Manas-Pobitora-Orang…..]
– NtS order– Astana, Bishkek, Tashkent, Dushanbe, Asghabat | AsBiTaDu As
– Buddhist councils-
RVPK- Rajgir Vaishali Patna Kashmir
AKAK– Ajatshatru Kalashok Ashoka Kanishk
6. Using brute force– Repeating the order in my head till it makes sense
– NtS→ nallamalla velconda palconda nagari seshachalam javadi shevaroy panchmalai sirumalai palani
7. Using Maps/ Diagrams- Way easier to remember visuals/ images/ numbers than words
Eg-
8. Explore Method of loci– At the moment, I can recall ~first 100 digits of PI using that method. It’s not UPSC related but it definitely works for small lists of 10-15 items
9. Active Recall
10. Use Google maps to your advantage- Plot stuff and see the locations relative to other places. .
Eg-
Will add more as I recall!
Utkarsh Ujjwal 