Balance and Mastery

A problem I often run into when studying is how to balance my time. Do I spend a lot of time on one thing, or a little bit of time on many things?

The problem: 

If I A) spend a lot of time on one thing: Maybe I can move towards a greater mastery of that one thing. A musician learns mastery through hours of practice. So a student can be a master if they focus on one specific thing?

If I B) spend a little bit of time on many different things: Mastery of individual things will take longer. The phrase goes, "Jack of all trades, but master of none." So then, a student might not master anything if they focus on too many little things?

Both approaches have difficulties. 

Approach A depends on the method of study. One person could learn a lot from three hours of study, whereas another could learn little and end up frustrated from having wasted so much time.

Approach B, too, depends on the method of study. While one person may not be able to master learning when they only spend a little bit of time on each subject, another person could develop strategies to work on relevant tasks that, when done in a short amount of time repeatedly over the course of a week or a month or a year, will lead to mastery.

This all goes to say that mastery of learning depends largely upon the learner and if they have acquired sufficient strategies to accomplish their goals regardless of time constraints.

*Edit: 6.29.2017 @ 11:00 am: After a little more experience and reading advice from others, something to help with both mastery and balance seems to be to start with the biggest, most valuable task, start early, make a written (pen and paper) plan that has doable increments every day, and then stick to it! Easier than trying to get everything done in a 3 hour chunk on one day, and you have more time between working to complete other necessary tasks. But this will necessitate that you learn to prioritize assignments as well as plan far in advance how you will complete everything together.

-R.L.Williams