Interestingly enough, this was the same approach that worked for me in school.
In college, I always felt that I couldn't start my math homework until I'd read the chapter thoroughly. It wasn't til my last year/year and a half that I realized, the best way to learn upper division math was to dive right into solving the hard problems, referencing back as needed.
This is what I have done since high school, but only because I never gave myself enough time to review the chapter before having to rush through the homework.
Sometimes I wondered if I would have done better having given myself more time to study the materials.
In college, I always felt that I couldn't start my math homework until I'd read the chapter thoroughly. It wasn't til my last year/year and a half that I realized, the best way to learn upper division math was to dive right into solving the hard problems, referencing back as needed.