It is important to Write permanent notes about what you read to test understanding. However, it is distracting to switch back and forth between reading a book and writing evergreens.
Applying the getting things done approach it is best to separate capturing Loose ends and processing them (see Barbell method of reading). Then, follow this process:
- For physical books, write notes directly on a note in Zotero or draw a dot or line in the margin of interesting passages. You will have to set a reminder to look into these markings when processing the book.
- For web articles, copy+paste interesting excerpts into a note in Zotero.
- For digital books and PDFs, export highlights and annotations in Zotero.
When you are ready to work on a note, create a working note in your writing inbox where you start to play around with these literature notes.
These notes shall remain in the writing inbox until processed iteratively via a spaced repetition writing system. Use the process in how to convert literature notes to permanent notes to create permanent notes.
References
Ahrens, S. (2017). How to Take Smart Notes: One Simple Technique to Boost Writing, Learning and Thinking – for Students, Academics and Nonfiction Book Writers. CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform.
Matuschak, A. (n.d.). How to collect observations while reading. Andyʼs Working Notes. Retrieved September 3, 2021, from https://notes.andymatuschak.org/How_to_collect_observations_while_reading
Tietze, C. (200 C.E., 32:57). Making Proper Marks in Books. Zettelkasten. https://www.zettelkasten.de/posts/making-proper-marks-in-books/