I did a lot of Push learning in college and shortly afterward. I'd buy a bunch of books, read them cover to cover, and look up stuff on the web. I found that it

I did a lot of Push learning in college and shortly afterward. I'd buy a bunch of books, read them cover to cover, and look up stuff on the web. I found that it was a good way to get familiar with certain topics, so I knew which tools to use for certain types of problems. The problem I found is that I'd spend lots of time reading about something that was less applicable, and the minute I got into a non-trivial application, I'd have to spend hours looking up details that I hadn't covered. I spent a bunch of time doing Push, but then had to also do an equal amount of Pull when I tried to use it. I've since changed my approach. I limit my Push to little bits in order to familiarize myself with tools, but don't go too far in detail. This way I can cover a wider range of topics without wasting time on details I'll never use. Then when I actually start a project, I'll dive into the details as I'm using them. I find digging into details after you have context for what you're doing also helps with memory. I think the OP probably learned more than they think they did, they just need some context to string it all together and help jog their memory. I wish I'd figured this out in college or shortly afterward, because most of what I learned was "in one ear, out the other".