Key points
- Your asset is not what you read — it is what you can retrieve under pressure.
- Capture questions as they occur, answer later in batches, and store the source link with a 3-line summary.
- Revisit notes with spaced intervals (light touch) to convert “interesting” into “usable.”
The weekly 15-minute routine
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Step 1 — Build a question backlog (all week)
Capture questions immediately (one line each). Don’t research in the moment unless urgent. This prevents context switching.
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Step 2 — Batch-research 3 questions (10 minutes)
Pick the 3 highest-leverage questions. Use a stop-rule and save only the best sources.
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Step 3 — Write a “3-line evidence note” (5 minutes)
Line 1: the answer in one sentence. Line 2: the key justification (effect size / logic / mechanism). Line 3: when it applies / when it doesn’t. Attach the source link.
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Step 4 — Spaced revisit (optional, 60 seconds)
Re-read last week’s 3 notes. If you can’t recall them, convert into a couple of flashcards or a single retrieval question.
What you store (and what you refuse to store)
- Store: the best source link, your 3-line note, and one “trap” to avoid.
- Refuse: long highlights, screenshots without context, AI prose without sources.
- Store: decisions and thresholds only if you can trace them to an official/primary source.
SourcePubMed: use as your default primary literature entry point
Open Link SourceDunlosky et al (2013): review of effective learning techniques (retrieval and spacing)
Open Link Save your place and choose what comes next
Work through this guide (7 steps)
Use the actions from this article to track what you have worked through.
Sign in using the reading controls above to save your steps.
Capture questions immediately (one line each). Don’t research in the moment unless urgent. This prevents context switching.
Return to this sectionPick the 3 highest-leverage questions. Use a stop-rule and save only the best sources.
Return to this sectionLine 1: the answer in one sentence. Line 2: the key justification (effect size / logic / mechanism). Line 3: when it applies / when it doesn’t. Attach the source link.
Return to this sectionRe-read last week’s 3 notes. If you can’t recall them, convert into a couple of flashcards or a single retrieval question.
Return to this section- Return to this section
- Return to this section
- Return to this section
Study planning · Article 4 of 32