How to be a Productive Scholar: Set Daily Reading and Writing Goals

I love many aspects of being a historian. The hunt for information sits atop my list. Putting the puzzle pieces of information together in my writing ranks next. However, I really dislike the periods in between serious research and writing; when I spend copious amounts of time reading the historiography.

I love reading, but I hate not having anything tangible to show at the end of the day.

At some point, I came to equate productivity with written pages.

Tired of feeling unproductive when it comes to the truly worthwhile task of reading, I decided to make some changes to my daily work routine.

Last week, I concluded that I needed to write every day in order to feel productive.

Several books suggest daily writing as the key to scholarly production; most authors urge readers to set aside time every day, even just an hour, where they turn-off the internet, tune out all distractions, and write. They argue that even just one page a day adds up to a book-length manuscript at the end of a year.

This advice made a lot of sense when I read it and it helped me finish my dissertation. However, I am at the stage where in order to revise my dissertation into a book, I need to read more widely.

When I started to tackle my reading list, I quickly fell back into my early-dissertation habit of spending nearly all my time reading, not writing. I wanted to write, but I did not feel like I had enough information to start editing what I had already written. Then I had an epiphany: I should write a working outline.

Outlining has allowed me to focus on specific areas of my revision without tampering with my actual document—i.e. I am revising in a way that does not prematurely place my developing thoughts with my more mature ideas. My outline looks kind of like a mini précis: it supplies applicable book arguments, useful notes on how to reinterpret my sources, page numbers where I can find evidence, and the ideas and connections I formed while reading the book.

This week, I spent an hour or two each morning working on an outline. I have produced a page or two of writing each day. None of these pages are polished, but they allow me to see the produce that comes from my reading. As a result I feel more productive. Moreover, I know these outlines will prove useful when I get to the stage where I formally make my revisions.

Read Faster: How Amazon Kindle Makes Research More Efficient

Recently, I posted how Evernote has modified the way I work as a historian. The Kindle Touch also has changed the way I work for the better. Amazon Kindle helps me read faster and more efficiently with its my clippings feature. For reading, I find my Kindle better than my iPad because it is lightweight, easy to hold, and easier on my eyes. I am also a big fan of Kindle's "My Clippings" feature, which Amazon does not include in the Kindle app.

As with the Kindle app, the Kindle device allows you to make notes and highlight text.

To highlight text on the Kindle Touch you briefly hold your finger on the word that starts the passage you want to highlight and then trace your finger to the final word of the excerpt.

When you lift your finger off the device the software asks you whether you want to highlight the text or add a note.

If you press the "add note" button the Kindle gives you a blank note bubble where you can write down your thoughts on the passage.

Unlike the Kindle app, the Kindle device adds all of your highlighted text and notes to a file called "My Clippings," which you can access via the home screen or from your PC or Mac. The fact that you can download and modify this file on your computer represents the best part about the Kindle because it is can be a HUGE time saver.

I use a pencil to bracket passages and make margin notes when I read a book.

After I am done reading, I spend a lot of time transcribing these important passages and notes into Zotero or Evernote.

The "My Clippings" feature saves me a lot of time. When I finish reading a book on my Kindle, I load the "My Clippings" file onto my computer and then cut and paste my note and passages into Zotero or Evernote.

Although I love my Kindle, it does not always make my work easier.

Not all of the books I want/need to read have page numbers associated with them.

This presents a problem in that I have to look up the passages I highlighted in the actual book in order to properly cite them. Sometimes this process cancels out the time I saved by downloading the "My Clippings" file. As I have yet to find a way around this problem, I sometimes have to decide whether or not it might be better to purchase the hard copy of the book over its eBook version. My decision usually comes down to the weight and size of the book and the price difference between the two formats.

With that said, the Kindle has increased my productivity.

I read more with Kindle. Whenever I go out I slip my Kindle into my purse, briefcase, or backpack so that I have it when I sit in waiting rooms, travel, or find myself with a free moment. If the eBook has page numbers I also save a lot of time using the "My Clippings" feature to keep track of and transfer my notes into my research files.

3 Ways Evernote Makes Research Easier: A Historian's Notes

Over the last year, I have come across a few technologies that have made historical research easier. The tool that has made the most positive difference is Evernote.

Evernote works like a digital filing cabinet. What attracted me to the software was the idea that I could upload articles and research notes and then access them remotely from my laptop, smartphone, tablet, or any computer with an internet connection.

Within two months of downloading the app I began relieving my physical filing cabinets of their contents; I used a scanner to send all of my photocopied documents, articles, handwritten notes, finding aids, and other research materials into Evernote.

3 Ways Evernote Makes Research Easier

1. Digital Filing Cabinet

Evernote allowed me to organize my files better than I could in my filing cabinets.

Within Evernote I created notebooks, or as I like to think of them, tiny filing cabinets. I assigned each of my notebooks a topic and then I grouped like topics together in a larger Notebook Stack. For example, I have a large Notebook Stack entitled "Archived Articles." Within that stack, I have notebooks for articles about Economic history, the Erie Canal, Albany, Ethnicity, Identity, New York Politics, Migration, Architecture, Education, Federalists, the French and Indian War, the Revolution, Loyalism, Industrialization, Land Disputes, Street Paving, and many other topics. Before I file each article into its large-topic folder, I tag it with a list of the smaller topics it covers.

Although any given article will reside in a large topic folder, I can perform a tag search that will locate it by the secondary content I listed. So any time I want to look up what I have on "English Rough Music Practices," I click the appropriate tag and Evernote finds all the articles, notes, books, and files that I tagged as touching upon it. Evernote also allows me to search my notes by keyword--although the search is limited to the text of the note--it will not include the text of a PDF or JPEG I attached to a note.

2. Research Notebook

Evernote has proven to be more than a place to store academic articles and research notes. I use Evernote to help me write. Each writing project has a notebook in which I place notes about ideas for wording, notes and resources to check, and any feedback I receive.

I used to carry pen and paper everywhere because I always think about my writing, even when I am not thinking about my writing. Now when I get a spur-of-the-moment idea, I pull out my smartphone and file that idea away into the appropriate notebook.

3. Research Trip Planning

Most recently, I used Evernote for archive research. Evernote has a web clipper feature that allows me to take a snapshot of the web content I am looking at and file it away in any of my notebooks.

Over the last month I have used the web clipper to perform archive reconnaissance. Next week I am going to use manuscript collections at the New York Public Library and New-York Historical Society. I created a folder for each of these archives and used the Evernote web clipper to create a list of all the collections I want to use by taking a snapshot of the collection pages my catalog searches turned up. By clipping this information and storing it electronically, I will be able to have all the information I need to pull the collections without a stack of paper that will violate the security concerns of the archives. Next week, I intend to create notebooks for all of the collections I find useful and use them to organize and store any digital photos or photocopies I make.

The above are just some of the ways that I use Evernote. I have found some limitations within the program. I would like to be able to create sub-notebook stacks; a notebook stack within a notebook stack. I would also like to be able to upload PDFs and files larger than 50 MB. Regardless of these limitations, I have found that Evernote has changed the way I work, research, and organize for the better and I wanted to share my story.