I NEVER made a single notecard.
I highlighted key facts and wrote small, IMPORTANT facts in the margin. This helped me to stay "active" while I was reading... it's easy to have your eyes gloss over and start daydreaming!
I would always do the quiz right after I finished the chapter. If there were any questions that I wasn't 100% sure on, I'd go back and re-read that section within the chapter. That would help to address any problems I had immediately.