If you’re using a digital platform, create a folder within your “Zettelkasten” folder titled “Reference Notes.”

A reference note is a single long-note containing citations related to interesting passages you came across while reading a book (or engaging with another form of media).

Read with a question or problem in mind.

there are a variety of reasons why you may want (or need) to capture facts, definitions, and/or technical data in your zettelkasten. The trick is making this information usable and high-value. 1. Restate facts in your own words.37

To leverage marginalia, you’d only need to create a reference note off of what you captured in the margins.

A reference note is a single long-note containing brief citations or “references” to what caught your attention while reading a book, listening to a podcast, watching a video, or having a conversation.15 These long-notes are stored in your zettelkasten sometimes in a separate section or folder.

“Zettel worthy” fleeting notes must be transformed into main notes if they’re to become useful.

This can be done more or less in the same fashion as above: Copy and paste the idea into a new note. Consider its relation to other notes already stored in your zettelkasten. Link it. Give it an alphanumeric ID. Title it. Store it among your main notes. As a rule of thumb, it’s best to treat your own work the same as you would another writer’s work

I recommend bringing these captures