Am I learning the right things?

I’ve recently started reading again, in earnest, for the first time since college. To be honest, I don’t even know if I read in earnest during college, but that’s besides the point. Up until now, I’ve been the type of person who enjoyed buying books and more than taking the time to read them. Ashamedly, I’ve also been the type of person to see a problem in my life and buy a book to solve it; as if once I read it, the problem would magically go away. There is undoubtedly value in this idea, but it’s no silver bullet - since you actually have to act on what you learn. So now I’m actually trying to do that too. 
  
As I work through my backlog of books, I’ve been left wondering - how are we supposed to know we are learning the right things? Furthermore, how are we to even qualify “right”? After all, you can’t know what you don’t know. 
  
Here are a few of my initial thoughts. This list is by no means exhaustive, nor should it be used independent from ones own ideas.
1. Why am I reading, watching, listening to this?
2. What am I expecting to get out of this experience?
3. What aligns well with the goal I am trying to achieve?
4. How is the creator best suited to present these materials?
5. What aligns well with my needs, such as how I best learn?
6. How will I know that I have actually learned the thing and achieved my goal?

I’m sorry for leaving this so open-ended. My goal in writing this (and likely many other notes) is to better understand how I can squeeze every ounce of value out of our most precious resource, time. I'm of the growing belief that we should use this resource with present intent - to whatever end that may be.