Given that the journal literature is immense, design searches that can narrow your search to the most relevant. Then, read only those sections of a scholarly paper sufficient to tell you whether a deeper reading of the article is worth your time.
Here are some resources about reading articles:
How to (seriously) read a scientific paper Elisabeth Pain ScienceMag.org
This provides lots of perspectives on how to read a scientific paper. One really important point is this one which emphasizes that you should never in the first reading immerse yourself in the details of a paper.
"I start by reading the abstract. Then, I skim the introduction and flip through the article to look at the figures. I try to identify the most prominent one or two figures, and I really make sure I understand what's going on in them. Then, I read the conclusion/summary. Only when I have done that will I go back into the technical details to clarify any questions I might have."
This guide (U. of Texas Libraries) has a tutorial, plus it makes the same type of point:
"One method is to change the reading order of the sections in the research article. Instead of reading the sections in the order the journal puts forth try:
1.) Abstract
2.) Discussion
3.) Introduction
4.) Results
5.) Methods"
This is a more medically focused treatment.
Art of reading a journal article: Methodically and effectively RV Subramanyam, Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Pathology
Some other resources:
How to Read a Scientific Paper American Society of Plant Biologists [Read "Anatomy of a scientific paper" on p. 4; "How to read a scientific paper" on p. 5].