Exactly. This is how I study. I take notes, prepare slides with the formulas, important concepts along the way. Plus I do the EOCs twice, than I do some Q Bank, which always reveals that I have not captured something correctly so I have to return, etc.
But I would never encourage anyone to copy my study habits since I’m ancient. (I started working when most of you guys were born). I just wonder sometimes until when this fast pace can evolve? In a few years the kids will calculate NPVs in kindergarten and it will be a shame not to have level I passed by the age of 8 .
For me, i like to read something once rather quickly, get the general idea, and then when i read the summary i quiz myself to see if i got the main concepts, then i move onto questions, and the questions will cover the material again and i do spend quite a bit of time studying the answer until i fully understand each question.
Then i go back and do more practice/mock questions later before i forget what i studied.
I have notoriously poor long term memory so I did this:
Cramming used to work when I was in undergrad but it becomes less effective as you age.
wave 1: Read all the books, make 2 page summaries with formulas, key concepts, relationships. This takes a few months. Review previously made 2pg summaries when burnt out.
wave 2: March/April - review 2pg summaries vs CFAI books, add amendments to capture concepts properly, then after reviewing 2pg, do EOCs.
wave 3: Do EOCs based on weightings, review 2pgs only from this point on. Do Mocks.
By layering the information and reviewing several times over 6-7 months, you give your brain time to internalize. You need to let the soup simmer a bit before serving it. Internalizing and integrating ideas are very important come L3.