Oh man, I haven't seriously studied in a long time lol.
But when I did, usually it involved a lot of reading. There were a lot of instances where I'd read a paragraph, realize I hadn't really retained what it said, so I'd have to re-read it. I found that reading aloud, sometimes in a different accent like British helped me lol. Also, underlining/highlighting important bits, and if I have time, recontextualizing everything I've read into some color-coded notes. It might also help to visualize what you are reading - if it's about a person, imagine what that person looks like, see them doing what you're reading about them doing in your head etc.
Another technique that is super useful for ANY kind of learner is explaining what you have just studied to someone else. They don't even have to be there - you can explain it to a camera or an imaginary person. It's one thing to understand something yourself, and it's another to put in terms that other people can understand. Teaching others is great for your own learning.
I will also add, physically writing down notes rather than typing them out is proven to help you retain information. Quoted from a
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On the subject of multitasking, I find that listening to music or even a TV show can help me focus on more tedious and repetitive tasks. But with things that require me to critically think, I need silence. Or at the very least, non-lyrical music.
Personally I HATE being timed and it makes it really hard for me to focus lol. I need hours to get into the groove and truly commit to learning.