Close the book and try to remember it
The study method that feels least productive is the one that works.
Do this
After reading, close the material and write down everything you can recall. Then check. Do this instead of re-reading or highlighting, not in addition to it. Getting it wrong and correcting is part of the mechanism, not a sign you should go back to reading.
Why it works
Retrieval strengthens the memory trace far more than re-exposure does. In the classic study, students who studied then tested recalled substantially more a week later than students who studied the same material four times over. Re-reading produces fluency, which feels like knowledge and is not.
Where it fails
Retrieval before you have understood anything is just frustration - you need a first pass. It also helps less for pure procedural skills than for factual and conceptual material. And it is genuinely unpleasant, which is why most people abandon it.
How you’ll know
Your confidence during study should drop while your test performance rises. If study feels easy, you are probably doing the ineffective version.