Are learning and efficiency opposites? Can you have both at the same time?

I suppose there most definitely is inefficient learning, which by extension then means there is efficient learning.

But my question is asking about efficiency in general, outside of the learning method(s). Can you be efficient in terms of productivity, etc while learning? Or does learning only happen when you are struggling, making mistakes, taking wrong turns, and otherwise being inefficient?

There’s also the longer term approach - does being inefficient and learning in the short term result in greater long term efficiency? I think it does. For example, finishing an assignment with AI may take 5 min (short term efficiency), but then you don’t know how to work effectively in the workforce later on, whereas taking the ~30+ min to do the assignment the hard way would result in deeper understanding of the topic for easier use later on.