I'm a learner myself, and I think it's more efficient to learn kanji in context - i.e. as a part of a word or phrase. For example, it's better to learn 食 as a part of 食べる (to eat) or 飲 as a part of 飲む (to drink) than to memorize them as separate symbols. Once you are familiar with their most frequent usage and pronunciation, it will be much easier to memorize their other meanings / pronunciations when you need them. Also, try to learn radicals - there's a website called WaniKani for that. Some videos on YouTube are also quite helpful (try searching for "Introduction to Japanese Kanji"). Radicals are the basic parts of kanji, and when you learn them, it becomes much easier to understand more complex kanji. Also try actually writing them by hand (there are free practice sheets for that). Muscle memory is a wonderful thing. It also helps get the feel of how kanji are structured. Make sure to learn the stroke order! It's really important. :)