Notes
A few ideas to return to.
Short sessions add up
Before starting, choose one small question. It might be a step in a calculation, the meaning of a paragraph, or the reason an argument works.
After studying, close the source and explain the answer in your own words. Any gap in that explanation gives the next session a useful starting point.
Write to make an idea usable
A clear explanation gives the reader a point to follow. Start with the main idea, connect each sentence to it, and use an example when an abstract phrase asks too much of the reader.
Revision is a chance to remove words that do no work and to add the details that make a claim understandable.
Leave a good starting point
At the end of a session, write three lines: what you tried, what you learned, and what you will try next. Keep the next action small enough to begin without another planning session.
Over time, these brief records become a useful map of progress, including the questions that still deserve attention.