How to organize reading notes you will consult later

Short answer: take few notes, write in your own words, record where each idea came from and organize by topic or question, not only by book. A useful note is one you can find and understand months later.

What you need first

• One single place to keep your notes: a notebook, a notes app or a computer file.
• A simple template you apply the same way every time.
• Fifteen minutes at the end of each reading session, or at the end of a chapter.

Steps

1. Mark while you read, note afterwards. Use a marker or a light line to flag what catches your eye. The real note comes in the review, when you already have the context.
2. Write in your own words. Instead of copying a whole passage, summarize the idea in one or two sentences. This forces understanding and makes searching easier. If you quote, copy it in quotation marks and note the page.
3. Record the source. On each note, put the title, author and page. Without this, the idea loses context and reliability.
4. Add your reaction. One line on what you think: do you agree? How does this apply to your life or work?
5. Classify by topic. Add one or two keywords, such as "habits", "memory", "history of Brazil". They help bring together different readings on the same subject.
6. Review from time to time. Set aside a moment each month to reread and connect notes.

An example

Mariana used to take notes on whole books in separate notebooks and never consulted them. She started recording, in one file, a card per idea: summary, page, book, comment and keyword. When she needed to write a text about attention, she found five cards from different books in minutes. This is an illustrative example.

Common mistakes

• Taking too many notes: copying the whole book is not note-taking.
• Not recording the source: later you do not know where the idea came from.
• Scattering them in several places: what cannot be found does not exist.
• Never reviewing: unreviewed notes become a dead archive.

Next step

Choose a simple template and use it for one whole book. Adjust afterwards. The best system is the one you actually keep up.