Synthesize by creating evergreen notes from literature notes.
Follow a bunch of prompts to inspire/guide writing.
Do I already have a note on this topic? I search my notes for something similar. If I do, I re-read the existing note. Does this new source add something valuable to the argument?
Do I agree with this point? Why (or why not)? What personal experience has led me to think that? Is this just a gut feeling or do I have proof?
What does this remind me of? I try to think about distinct and seemingly unrelated areas of interest. Does this relate to computer science? Personal productivity? Bodybuilding? Cooking? You’ll be surprised how common it is to find unexpected connections if you try hard enough. And if you do this enough, it gets easier and easier.
Can I make this point actionable for me in the near future? I think about current projects (work and personal). Can any of them be a testing ground for experimentation based on what I read?
Why is this not only true, but important?
Is this a special case of a stronger claim? Can this “prove” something more abstract?
Did I hear this claim from another source already? It can take a few times of hearing an argument before I decide to write a note for it. I try to think back if I’ve heard it before and write down some hints for more sources.
Does this apply to something I did in the past? Did I, or do I, unconsciously do it already and just never thought about it analytically?
Initial highlighting: Read journal article via Zotero. Highlight the parts that are relevant to you using the default PDF viewer on your computer. Use Zotfile to extract the highlights (and any notes) in Zotero, then paste them into Obsidian in a new note. I have a template I copy and paste to start each new highlight note with relevant details like the author names, date of publication and so on before the highlights.
Refine highlights: Look through your highlights from the article and use the Obsidian highlighting feature (==like this==) to pinpoint what’s valuable in each highlight. This makes it easier to complete the next step, particularly if it’s a long paper or you have to come back to it. Skip if necessary.
Process highlights into literature notes: Summarize the highlights into your own words. Add any personal insights. Each literature note should relate to one idea. I do this directly above the highlight notes using bullet points and L—foror literature notes and H—foror highlight notes. Try to write the literature note as if it was part of a journal article.
Add a label to each literature note: Above each literature note, I add a label, which should be the briefest possible summary of the literature note. Have this label inside double square brackets. Avoid labels like “Definition of X”. Instead, write “X is y and z”. Try to be specific. I mainly use the bracket links in this way. An example label might be E - X is y and z. I use E - because it will soon be an evergreen note.
Add each label to an index: The index will be a long list of all your literature note labels. Categorize the labels in a logical manner.
Create evergreen notes: Click the label (which is a link to a new note) and copy/paste the literature note text (which will be quite short) into this new evergreen note. Add connections to other notes categorized in the same place in your index plus any other relevant evergreen notes. Add relevant tags. The index may not be overly important in the long run, but it definitely helps at this point with connection making. I also add the reference details at the bottom of each evergreen note. Next it’s time to create your paper.