I'm a second year PhD student. I've known from the start that I want to work in an applied role - I do enjoy some aspects of research, but academia isn't for me. I've mostly enjoyed my courses and readings, but there have been several times recently where we've been assigned a reading for class that's very theory-heavy, and it becomes a struggle for me to get through. I've generally never been good with information "in a vacuum", i.e. theory with little/no idea of how it applies practically (it also doesn't help that some of these papers have a lot of jargon). On top of that, these readings can feel aimless, because the directions are usually nothing more than "Read this and we'll discuss it in class"

One strategy I've tried lately is just skimming through and trying to find the most relevant points, but even this can feel like a chore. Just wanted to see how others handled these kinds of assignments

Edit: people, I'm not saying theory is unimportant or won't apply to my career. I'm asking how to get through difficult readings