Mushtaq Bilal, PhD Profile picture
Oct 27, 2022 β€’ 15 tweets β€’ 5 min read β€’ Read on X
In Zotero, you can mark items "Read," "Not Read," etc. to better organize your library.

But most people don't know about it.

Here's how to do it πŸ‘‡

A step-by-step guide with visuals 🧡
Open any collection, and select any item.

On top of the right-hand pane, you'll see four buttons: Info, Notes, Tags, Related.

Click on Tags. A screenshot of Mushtaq's Zotero library. A small red square
You will see an "Add" button.

Click on it, and type "Not Read."

Press Enter/Return. Mushtaq adding a "Not Read" tag in Zotero.
Zotero will create a "Not Read" tag, which will be displayed in the Tags box in the bottom-left corner of your screen. A "Not Read" tag created in Zotero.
Right click on the tag once it's created.

Select "Assign Color" from the dropdown menu. A dropdown menu in Zotero. A yellow arrow points toward the
Zotero will open a Tag Color and Position menu.

You can color-code a tag and assign it a numeric key. Tag Color and Position menu in Zotero.
For the "Not Read" tag, I am going with red color and numeral 1.

After you're done, click "Set Color." Color options in Zotero's Tag and Color Position menu.
You will see a small red square before the name of the selected item.

You will also see the tag "Not Read" in the Tags box in the bottom-left corner change its color. An item marked "Not Read" using Zotero's Tags opti
Suppose you want to mark multiple items "Not Read."

Select all items you want to mark "Not Read." Four items selected in Mushtaq's Zotero library.
Press 1, and the selected items will be marked "Not Read."

You will also see a small red square before the selected items' names. Four items marked "Not Read" using Zotero's Tags o
Now suppose you have read an item and you want to unmark it.

Select that item and simple press 1, and it will be unmarked. A highlighted item marked "Not Read" in Mushtaq's
Repeat the above steps and create tags like "Read" and "Read+Annotated."

Color-code them and assign them a numeric key.

I have assigned the "Read" tag blue color and number 2, and the "Read+Annotated" tag green color and number 3. Multiple items in Mushtaq's library marked "Not Read,&q
Suppose you want to mark a "Not Read" item as "Read."

First unmark the item by pressing 1. Then press 2.

If you don't unmark it first, your item will get marked both "Read" and "Not Read," which can cause confusion. An item marked "Not Read," "Read," and &
Now if you want to see all the items you have read, simply click on the "Read" tag in the bottom-left corner and Zotero will show you all items marked "Read." All items marked "Read" in Mushtaq's Zotero librar
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More from @MushtaqBilalPhD

Jan 5
How to build an academic writing habit (to write a lot and publish a lot):
In his book "Atomic Habits," James Clear writes about habits that are so small we don’t even notice them, but the power they have over us is immense.

He calls them atomic habits.

Although they are small, building atomic habits is VERY DIFFICULT.

Why? A photo of James Clear's book "Atomic Habits."
Clear calls the time between the point we start a habit to the point we start seeing its first results "the plateau of latent potential."

Most people remain stuck within this plateau.

To see the results of any habit, we must cross the plateau of latent potential. A photo of "The Plateau of Latent Potential" from James Clear's book "Atomic Habits."
Read 21 tweets
Dec 25, 2025
Don't use Sci-Hub β€” it's a "controversial" website with 84M+ research papers freely available.

We should all try to make billion-dollar academic publishers richer.

Anyway, here's a thread on how to integrate Sci-Hub with Zotero to get free papers.

🚨DO NOT DO IT!
1. Don't go to this link:
github(dot)com/syt2/zotero-scipdf

But if you do, replace the word "dot" with an actual [.]

Don't scroll down and click on "latest release xpi file."

This will download an "xpi" file to your computer.
2. Don't open your Zotero. But if you do, click on "Tools."

In "Tools," click on "Plugins." This will open Zotero's Plugin Manager.

In the Plugin Manager, click on the gear-like icon and select "Install Plugin From File."

Navigate to the XPI file you downloaded and add it.
Read 6 tweets
Dec 24, 2025
10 books to help you become a better academic writer so you can write a lot and publish a lot:

1. Academic Writing as if the Reader Matters by Leonard Cassuto

Practical tips on how to make your academic writing more engaging and readable. Examples from the arts and sciences. Academic Writing as if the Reader Matters by Leonard Cassuto
2. The Clockwork Muse by Eviatar Zerubavel

Helpful advice on how to organize your writing process in terms of time.

A-Time: for writing new material (deep work)
B-Time: for shallow work like compiling bibliography, etc.
C-Time: for house chores The Clockwork Muse by Eviatar Zerubavel
3. Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker

Excellent tips on how and why you should write zero drafts.

Teaches you how to understand different stages of the writing process from ideation to drafting to revision. Write Your Dissertation in Fifteen Minutes a Day by Joan Bolker
Read 11 tweets
Dec 15, 2025
Dr Ally Louks's viral PhD thesis (130M views) on the politics of smell redefined the way people talk about smell.

Everyone wants to read her thesis, but it's unavailable until 2028

Here are 10 books on the politics of smell that you can read right now:

1. The Smell of Slavery A photo of Dr Ally Louks with her PhD thesis titled, "Olfactory Ethics: The Politics of Smell in Modern and Contemporary Literature."
The Smell of Slavery: Olfactory Racism and the Atlantic World by Andrew Kettler
1. The Smell of Slavery by Andrew Kettler

Shows how white slave owners defined Black, African bodies as noxious and deserving of enslavement.

Smell was used to dehumanize Black folks who were equated with animals by white slave owners. The Smell of Slavery: Olfactory Racism and the Atlantic World by Andew Kettler
2. The Foul and the Fragrant by Alain Corbin

Considered a foundational text in smell studies.

Shows how the bourgeois nose associated bad smells with the poor and how deodorization became a tool for state control in 18th and 19th century France. The Foul and the Fragrant by Alain Corbin
Read 11 tweets
Dec 2, 2025
Getting past peer review is a challenge every researcher faces.

Stanford researchers recently launched a free AI-powered Agentic Review that can help you with it.

It gives you a human-level mock peer review so you can polish your paper before submitting it.

Check it out πŸ‘‡
1. Go to paperreview[.]ai and upload your manuscript.

Enter your email and specify your target venue (conference or journal).

You may also want to copy the "Review Token" in case you don't receive an email.
2. A few minutes later you will receive an email with a link to the review report.

Go through the review report and revise your paper according to the suggestions you think are most relevant.
Read 4 tweets
Oct 6, 2025
Libgen, Sci-Hub, and Z-library had millions of pirated academic books and papers.

So, they were shut down. We shouldn't use them anyway.

We should help billion-dollar academic publishers get richer.

Anyway, here's how to access these libraries:

Don't do this!
1. Don't go to open-slum[.]org.

Because there you will see links to LibGen, Anna's Archive, Z-Library, and Sci-Hub.
2. Don't click any link because that will open your desired library.

Don't type the title of a book you want to read because it might show up.

Look at this, someone has pirated my own book. I'm livid!
Read 5 tweets

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