studying...

For chronological order things, you can try to draw a timeline which can make things clearer; and for the causes of a certain event, you can draw a chart using arrows to indicate the sequence of the causes.
Hope it helps.
Good luck in your test or exam =)

most of history involves dates, if you want to get it in your head, i suggest you to write a specific event and its date on a piece of paper and stick it somewhere you can always see. put separate events on separate pieces of paper.