u/LawOutrageous8888

If you are actively recalling what you studied 25 minutes ago and you are still forgetting it, it's not a failure. Our brain is forming new connections from the information we studied and that's the whole basis of active recall.

Reading lecture notes by itself without any reinforcement will cause the information to fade fast. Based on studies, the information that we log every time we study only stays for about 48 hours in our brain.

To turn it into a long-term memory, you need spaced repetition and self-teaching methods. In this way, you create practice quizzes/flashcards and follow 1-3-5-7 day intervals so you don't forget the information you stored in your brain. Other than that, it also helps to improve brain retention and builds mental resilience.

It's crazy that I just woke up at 4 AM and thought of putting on my running shoes. Went for a quick jog right after. The sun wasn't even up yet, and the streets were dead silent except for dogs barking in the distance. Ran enough to get my heart rate up and clear out all the mental fog from last night's stress.

When I got back, I took a quick cold shower, and sat down after preparing my desk. I didn't have that heavy, sluggish morning brain fog holding me back so I didn't have trouble absorbing data from the text. So I think one thing that can motivate you to study is to just get up and be spontaneous. Just do it. That'll save you through the day.