Focus, or Onion?

Some of the work I've been doing lately has involved quite steep learning curves.

Enjoyable, frustrating, enriching, demanding ... lots of adjectives. But along the way, two schools of thought have alternated.

One is that you should focus - get one step right, comfortable, unconsciously competent, and then move to the next step

The other is that if you scan through at a high level, quickly getting the lay of the land, then scan back through a number of times, each time you'll pick up a deeper understanding and competence at the task. Like peeling away the layers of an onion.

The techniques are diametrically opposed. And yet both are effective.

One comes easier, the other requires more discipline. Or does it?

I'm afraid I alternate between the two, which is probably a deadly mix.

How about you? Which works best for you?