I do that too Dianeva. I think I just do it naturally too, and not just with things I'm trying to learn. I'll make random associations with things all the time in day to day life. Sometimes it's annoying as hell lol

But yeah I also remember things really easily so I dunno, my method is good memory mostly lol
But it only stays in my memory for a long time if I am utilising that information over a certain period of time, of course.

Also, with the thing darkmatters mentioned - writing things in a different way - that only really works if you already understand it.
Like if you read an article, and cannot write it in a completely different way to the original, without looking at the original, than you didn't read and understand it properly.
Which means you need to read the article again and try writing your own again.
So you aren't copying the article, you're digesting information, understanding it, and writing about it.

Many teachers do not understand this and that's why so many people just end up rephrasing the original thing.