From what I recollect of my college days studying about business and marketing, there are three distinct stages of learning. The first stage is acknowledgement, the second is comprehension, and the third is retention. This can relate to learning music as well. I've always practiced specific concepts, techniques, and complete books by sight-reading through them first. I wasn't concerned with getting it all perfect, or even remembering what I had played. It was primarily to test my skills against the difficulty of the music. It also was a good way to get a full, clear picture of the piece, and to see how familiar I was with it.
 
   Then I would break the piece down and figure out the basis of each rhythm and really study the way it feels. This method gave me a solid understanding of why the piece was played...the way the piece is played.  It certainly took a little longer to work through the "comprehension stage", but in time, it made it so I could move beyond the "acknowledgement" stage much faster. The comprehension stage also became shorter over time too with the familiarity of more   rhythms.

   Finally, the retention phase took over when I could recreate the rhythms in many different ways without needing to look at any music. Keeping rhythms locked away in memory is a key to playing with a relaxed and fluent manner. It also increased the odds of playing something hip at the right spot in the music.

   Look at the big picture first. Do this for beats, exercises, complete charts, or even a complete book. Acknowledge what you are looking at as a certain kind, or style of music. Try to play it through without concern for perfectness. Then analyze the piece like a private eye and work it back up with total concern for precision. Keep practicing until you can play it by memory...and can improvise around it.

   It's a system that has worked for me, I help my students improve by using it, and I recommend that you give it a try.