Given how distracted or tired we are all the time, I think it is unreasonable to expect that you must sit down, commit to a book, and read it from cover to cover. That’s just not feasible anymore.

I think a more feasible approach is to go in small chunks, like you’re watching reels or something, reading two or three paragraphs at a time, then putting the book aside, walking for some time, doing some tomfoolery, and then maybe revisiting the next two paragraphs again.

Or a novel approach can be that you are just reading random chunks at a time because that’s just more appealing or whatever. Basically, sequential or random chunks is the way to go given the mental bandwidth we have.

And another point is the intensity of reading. I think the platonic version of reading would be that you are so focused that you are able to understand everything at once, and each word in its true essence is understood. But no, that would just exhaust before you even complete page one.

So I think skimming can be of help, that you are just darting your eyes over text, getting the 5% picture or 10% picture of what the author is trying to say. Because if you were reading really, really intensely to understand every word, you wouldn’t have read many pages, right? But with skimming, you will go over like 20 pages. I think overall benefit is way higher that way.

So operate in chunks and keep skimming texts.

But the general rule for scheming is that you should not scheme something that is far above your pre-grade. If you are a total noob in mathematics, I don’t think you should be scheming textbooks related to multivariate calculus or stochastic calculus. I think you’d be better off scheming books related to linear algebra and beginner calculus because that way at least something is going inside your dome.

So operate in chunks and keep scheming, and make sure you are near your pay grade and keep upgrading with time.

Remember, boys, done is always better than perfect.