I'd recommend watching the Learning how to learn videos, and then doing the Anki. It's how the brain learns, and it's literally changed my life.

I've told so many people about it, and only 1 friend did it, and thanked me so much, and now he, too, recommends it to everyone.

As someone else mentioned, do the Pomodoro method for the course.

Unless you want to rely on luck, investing is all about starting early. You simply can’t catch up to someone who began in their early twenties unless you have a spare $500,000 to start with. On top of that, you’d need a wage and lifestyle that allow you to consistently invest several hundred dollars every month for decades. It’s never too late to start - but unfortunately, in your case, it’s too late to “make a bank” unless you’re willing to take a gamble.

Are you ADHD by chance?

Pick something. Spend 20 minutes a day on that thing. If you don't know where to begin spend the 20 minutes researching how to begin.

You only have to commit 20 mins then you can go back to mindless scrolling. If you are having fun you can go over 20 minutes.

If you can't choose something, choose 5 things and spend your 20 minutes narrowing down which you'd like to learn.

Realize learning itself is the activity. The joy itself. There is no goal. No pressure. No ego conception of where you must be in x amount of time.

Make a default plan. Before you learn everything, just say in 20 minutes I'm going to do x unless I know better. Then do all the research you want for 20 minutes, then if you don't know better, do x.

You can obviously modify this for longer time frames, deeper research etc. Just have a default plan that you will do by a time, rather than waiting for perfect information.

This is really good for executive function, and for emergencies, if you don't know better, you do the default.

I don't have any serious answers, but I do know that it's important not to let good be the enemy of 'perfect'. And it's also important to remember that we will always make choices with incomplete information, but our choices (like our lives) are time-constraint, so eventually we have to pick a path regardless. Are you sure you wanna do AI trading? It's basically gambling with more steps, right? Or at the very least a bit 'esoteric', certainly not a clear way into financial stability. Maybe a trade would be better? Idk. Good luck, friend. 🙏

I’m so sorry for the wall of text. I hope I can come back and clean it up and make it clearer:

How to work?

Use the Pomodoro technique: 25 minutes of work - 5 minutes of break

1. Set a 25 minute timer.
2. Remove all distractions, especially social media and notifications.
3. Work until the timer runs out.
4. Set a 5 minute timer. Take a break. Stand. Drink water. Don’t use your phone or social media. Repeat.

Make sure to celebrate (1) when you remember to do a Pomdoro, (2) while doing it, and (3) immediately after you finish it.

What do I mean by celebrating? Imagine you got an email telling you that you got the job you wanted. How would you react? Or imagine your favorite teacher/professor tells you they’re proud of you. How would you react? Try to generate those emotions to celebrate.

Why celebrate? Habits are not created by repetition. They’re created by emotions. Dopamine creates connections and fosters learning.

How to make sure that information sticks in your brain and that you understand deeply? Active recall. After you read something, close the book or your computer and try to explain it from memory. This doesn’t work if it’s not from memory. It doesn’t matter if you struggle. In fact, the more you struggle to remember something, the better you learn it.

I like to structure my active recalls with Visible Thinking Routines. You can search for them online. I particularly like See-Think-Wonder, Think-Puzzle-Explore, and Connect-Extend-Challenge.

Now, I’ll recommend some resources:

The single most useful thing you could do for the least effort is mindfulness. It’ll help you get out of mental ruts. You could use the Healthy Minds program. I donate to them. They’re wonderful.

Second most powerful thing you could do is work on psychological flexibility. You can check out A Liberated Mind by Steven C. Hayes. I cannot stress enough how important psychological flexibility is. It underlies everything we do.

If you want to learn about Visible Thinking Routines, there’s a book on it. I don’t remember the name, but the introduction is spectacular and gives a good sense of why we should focus on deeply understanding rather than rote memorization or mindless repetition. This technique (thinking visibly) is the single most important reason I graduated summa cum laude from my programs. I used to suck at studying. Now I am good at it thanks to visible thinking routines (and Anki).

I also recommend Make it stick the book. Additionally, I recommend Barbara Oakley’s Learn like a Pro, but I only do it if you first read A Liberated Mind, the book on visible thinking routines, Tiny Habits, and The Sleep Book. Why? Oakley’s book teaches a bunch of stuff that I think is straight up wrong and potentially dangerous, such as its recommendations for sleep and for habit formation.

I mentioned it but I should single out Tiny Habits. It’s a game changer. It will help you do anything in life.

You could do relational frame training if you want to increase the speed at which you understand things through relations. Check out Steven Hayes’ A Liberated Mind for more on this.

If Pomodoros are a struggle, you could try TimeTimers or similar products. Getting a good visualization of time helps people to auto regulate. I have used them with people with ADHD and they are better than digital timers or old-school clocks.

If organization is an issue, Getting Things Done (but first read A Liberated Mind, because GTD assumes some things about the mind that aren’t true. I’d also recommend Cynefin, the book, because the natural planning process is not universal and different contexts require different interventions). I’d also recommend Personal Kanban, if you’re organizing your study habits

I don't have any revolutionary advice to give to you my friend. I'm quite a bit younger than you and I already am feeling the creep of losing touch with the speed of new technology. I think to a certain extent that is inevitable. I will say that there is a tremendous amount of survivorship bias in the videos of young people making racks off of day trading. These videos are designed to get people hooked on what is functionally gambling. No offense meant whatsoever, but if you're living paycheck to paycheck it's the exact type of slippery slope that can turn a bad financial situation into a ruinous one. I hope you find something that you like though and wish you the best of luck in whatever you do!

I don't have any ideas for you but I'm interested in the answers, because I'm pretty much in exactly the same boat.

I'm dealing with a different field that is probably even more complex, and often overwhelming.

I think what you probably need to focus on is not learning new information, but making sense of the information you already know (even if only partially). Understanding where you are now will help you figure out where you want to be next.

One of the simplest tools that is effective is lists. Write lists of different types of things. E.g. things you already understand (this one is a bit of a confidence boost), things you want to learn (you could then prioritise these, and write sub lists for each one as you do it), information sources, ideas, whatever.

Preferably use a pen and paper, because it slows you down and makes it more deliberate and considered.

"Sense-making" is the broader set of ideas and techniques that attempt to help with this, but which ones will work for you is dependent on your domain and ways of thinking/working.

Knowledge is naturally paranoiac