§ how i take notes of papers

For over 2 years now, I have been using exclusively an iPad to read papers. I could never read from a computer screen, but an iPad and its pencil became perfect replacements.

I keep all the references on Zotero (even many I've collected over the years and probably will never read). I synchronize my computer with my iPad (and my phone) via my Nextloud instance on a Raspberry Pi at home.

However, the note taking approach is the same either for paper or for its digital counterpart.

• On the paper itself, I take a variety of notes:
  • Underlining allows me to quickly skim through the text to find the bits that were more interesting to remember. I may use different colors to draw different levels of attention.
  • Notes on the margins are normally pointers to things that are not written. For example, if something does not make sense I would mark it with a ?, if something is a conclusion, I would mark it with a !.
  • I also try to draw on figures to make the link between the explanation and the data. Or if there's anything interesting not mentioned in the text, etc.
  • I have to force myself to remember that what I write in the margins is meant to be forgotten rather quickly. If I grab the same article a month later, most likely I will not remember why I underlined what I underlined, etc.

• The real work starts after reading the paper, when I create notes in my digital garden. I have been struggling with the flow, trying to follow different advices. In the end, what works best for me is to create Literature Notes:

  • Literature notes are created from a single reference. In order to lower the friction, the title starts with an autogenerated string (based on date and time), and sometimes a concept-based title if it's fitting.
    • I try to keep notes concept-oriented, which means that each conclusion gets its own note. But not always. Sometimes conclusions are too soft, or too abstract for me to fully grasp how to make them into their own note.
    • I normally struggle with the idea of making connections with different literature notes. Most likely the connection will happen through a more general note in which I use the literature note.
  • Note: I am still experimenting, and I'm not sure what is that works best for me in the long term.

• For digital notes, I use Obsidian and Zettlr (see: essays/choosing between zettlr and obsidian).