Stay next to the sentence

A margin note borrows the paragraph beside it. Move it to a fresh page and you must explain the context again.

Stay with the paragraph until one sentence feels heavier than the rest. That is the one worth keeping. The others can wait until you know why you marked this page.

Write enough that tomorrow’s you can find the spot without rereading the whole chapter. A name, a page, and the question you had not answered yet are usually enough.

What to write

Write the question, not the answer. The answer can wait until the chapter is finished.

Stay with the paragraph until one sentence feels heavier than the rest. That is the one worth keeping. The others can wait until you know why you marked this page.

Write enough that tomorrow’s you can find the spot without rereading the whole chapter. A name, a page, and the question you had not answered yet are usually enough.

Keep it short

One line is a note. A paragraph is another essay, and it will crowd the book.

Stay with the paragraph until one sentence feels heavier than the rest. That is the one worth keeping. The others can wait until you know why you marked this page.

Write enough that tomorrow’s you can find the spot without rereading the whole chapter. A name, a page, and the question you had not answered yet are usually enough.

A limit

If it does not fit, it belongs in the notebook, with the page number copied across.

Stay with the paragraph until one sentence feels heavier than the rest. That is the one worth keeping. The others can wait until you know why you marked this page.

Write enough that tomorrow’s you can find the spot without rereading the whole chapter. A name, a page, and the question you had not answered yet are usually enough.

Read them later

The notes are a second table of contents written by hand. They show where you actually stopped.

Stay with the paragraph until one sentence feels heavier than the rest. That is the one worth keeping. The others can wait until you know why you marked this page.

Write enough that tomorrow’s you can find the spot without rereading the whole chapter. A name, a page, and the question you had not answered yet are usually enough.