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 π
A step-by-step guide with visuals π§΅
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.
You will see an "Add" button.
Click on it, and type "Not Read."
Press Enter/Return.
Zotero will create a "Not Read" tag, which will be displayed in the Tags box in the bottom-left corner of your screen.
Right click on the tag once it's created.
Select "Assign Color" from the dropdown menu.
Zotero will open a Tag Color and Position menu.
You can color-code a tag and assign it a numeric key.
For the "Not Read" tag, I am going with red color and numeral 1.
After you're done, click "Set Color."
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.
Suppose you want to mark multiple items "Not Read."
Select all items you want to mark "Not Read."
Press 1, and the selected items will be marked "Not Read."
You will also see a small red square before the selected items' names.
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.
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.
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.
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."
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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 donβt 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?
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.
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
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.
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.