I like to listen to theory a few times as an audiobook while I do chores, cook, exercise, or play less cerebral videogames. It builds a familiarity with the simple ideas and the flow of the text, how the parts relate to each other in general. It lets my brain work on the ideas without my conscious mind getting in the way because it is busy doing other things. Then after listening to it 2 or 3 times read along with it and really get down to attaching all the parts together in the order they are presented and turning them into one solid thing.