Courses aren't movies. Courses require your complete attention. If you don't take notes to learn the compendium of stuff you need to know you'll never make it. I use the flow control method. I was doing this for years but ultra learner Scott Young gave it a name and talks about it in his book on ultra learning. I've attached Scott's system. This is the guy who completed MIT in one year.

This is one of the most competitive careers on earth. The amount of information you'll need to ingest, understand and regurgitate is overwhelming. You're going to need to know how to learn. Here's a video for you. Now, this isn't me making shit up. This is all based on longitudinal research on learning.