Hi Buster,
You will need to find those little tricks people use to remember the key facts. Ask most in yr flight school or those on here, the list is endless. Often there are crazy Mneumonics (sp?) to help remember the order or sequences.
A few other tips that spring to mind:
CTM Graphs to see relationship between CAS TAS Mach No. with increasing alt.
There are more but my head has gone blank now. Hope it helps