Skimming is not reading.
And reading is not studying.
If you’re accustomed to reading on the web, most likely you’ve become adept at skimming articles and just getting a general idea of their major points. When you’re studying something with hopes of actually processing and retaining the information, though, skimming is not the way to go. You’ll want to read and understand every word.
There’s no prize for getting through a book quickly. Actually, getting through a book quickly gives a false sense of accomplishment. The goal isn’t to power through the greatest number of pages in the shortest possible time, or to complete the lessons in as little time as possible. The goal with practice is always progress. Before you can run, you’ll have to walk. And before you can walk, you’ll have to crawl.
Studying is much different from reading for pleasure. While studying, you’ll want to read a few sections or a chapter, then shut the book and quiz yourself on what you just read. If the book offers review questions, see whether you can answer them! If it offers exercises for putting the concepts into action, try them out!
And as always, take time out to write in your practice journal: especially write down any ideas you have on ways to actually use the things you’re studying.
A word on highlighting and taking notes: writing down every single thing you hear or read isn’t a useful strategy. Neither is highlighting every line in a textbook. Instead, you want to capture just the important points for later review.
Plan to actively review your notes, your highlights, even entire chapters as necessary. I find that reading something just once is never enough. I have to take notes, make marks in my book, and revisit the material often before the knowledge actually takes root in my life and starts making a real difference. There are certain books that I make a point of rereading at least once a year.
The thing about books is that they can be very dense. A single book can represent the entire life’s work of multiple authors! It’s quite possible for an expert to summarize something in a single paragraph, yet it could take you a long time to unpack all the implications of that paragraph. It’s also possible to read something that only takes five minutes to understand on an intellectual level, yet it could take you hours, sometimes even months to master what it describes.
There will be temptation to hurry ahead, or to just read the book the way you would read something for entertainment value. But when it comes to studying, the student who moves through the book steadily and slowly always ends up learning more than the one who rushes through.