READWISE & NOTION INTEGRATIONS
How to Streamline Your Academic Studies
Using AI as a tool for knowledge acquisition and management
In the world of academia, getting back into research and learning about Linguistics, which is different from my background in Economics, has been really exciting. As a professional translator, I’ve become more organized, paying attention to how I organize and absorb the content I work with because it could be useful later on.
Going through the academic journey feels pretty much the same, since everything I read and learn can help me grow and back up future research.
Finding the perfect digital productivity tools can be a bit of a struggle, with so many apps and pricing options competing for attention. There are many applications that claim to improve productivity, but they often have their own pricing systems and complexities. Fortunately, I discovered a fantastic combination that has completely transformed the way I deal with academic papers and books. What’s even better is that they're affordable too: Readwise Reader and Notion.
Beyond Reading: Expanding the Toolbox
Before diving into the specifics of my workflow, it’s worth mentioning the versatility of these tools. While neither of them are really tailored for academic endeavors, they can serve various purposes. Since I am not only consuming content for academia or organizing my life just for studying, I prefer tools that can do a lot of different things, so I don't have to keep multiple tools in use.
I have focused on using Zotero, integrating it with Notion, and syncing each paper or book with my OneDrive folder. This helps me avoid the need for a paid Zotero plan. For recording and processing lectures and classes, I use Voice Memo, occasionally enhanced with Adobe Podcasts, and then transcribe the recordings using Whisper. All of this is stored in Notion.
These processes deserve their own focus in later articles. However, in this article, I will discuss my approach to studying and handling written texts, like books, papers, and articles, with the help of Readwise Reader and Notion.
Let's say I'm taking a particular class that requirs me to study a paper or a book chapter. Or even, imagine you've found a promising work that you can later reference in the content you're producing. My approach will help with efficiently cataloguing those works as we read them.
In short, Readwise is a tool that allows you to record and manage the content you have highlighted across multiple platforms. It has the capability to integrate with other software, either for automatically importing those highlights or for exporting them to databases, such as Notion.
Readwise provides its own Reader software, which can handle epubs, pdfs, and even YouTube videos (automatically transcribing them). As you highlight or make notes within the Reader’s interface, they sync with Readwise.
When I receive or select a new material to read for a class or research, I upload it to Reader.
If the content is an old .pdf file that consists of scanned images of books, it means that the text cannot be recognized as text but as images. You cannot highlight or convert these images into citations or quotes.
My workaround for this is to use QuickScan, a free Mac tool that applies OCR to the entire document (you can employ alternative software for this task).
After performing this step, we can export the optimized file to Reader and continue with our process.
1. Upload and Annotate: Start by uploading your digital content into Readwise Reader. If you prefer using tools like Apple Books or PDF annotators for annotating, you can later export the highlighted PDF to Readwise and it will extract the highlighted texts from the file.
2. Activate the Integration: Activate the Readwise to Notion integration to easily transfer highlighted text and notes between the two platforms.
3. Find them in Notion: You’ll find a specific database in Notion for content imported from Readwise. Each book, paper, or article has its own page, and the highlights are displayed in chronological order based on when you highlighted them. Keep in mind that if you go back to a previous page and highlight something on it, it will appear in Notion after the previously highlighted content from a further page.
4. Choose where to work with the content: Editing something within the Notion page won’t sync back to Readwise. You can use this to your advantage and work on the same page. Alternatively, you can create a new database linked to the class or research paper that the content pertains to and copy all highlights there.
5. Improve clarity: Use NotionAI’s “Improve writing” or “Fix grammar” presets to refine the language of each highlight. It will handle random line breaks commonly found in .pdf texts. You can also remove the “View Highlight” hyperlinks and merge highlights that fit within an overarching theme or topic.
6. Summarize and Rewrite: Take advantage of AI capabilities to summarize the content or rewrite it in a more condensed form, by running custom tasks within NotionAI. You can mix and match with different prompts. this feature is particularly useful for distilling complex academic concepts into digestible insights. However, always use the content at your discretion, as automated summaries require human judgment.
Limitations and Challenges
While Readwise Reader and Notion provide a powerful platform for academic exploration, it is important to recognize their limitations. NotionAI, for example, does not offer a student discount, making it less affordable for students. However, its ability to support multiple languages distinguishes it from similar desktop tools like Grammarly or Quillbot.
One potential challenge is the occasional glitch that may cause NotionAI to revert back to English, even when working with other languages. Fortunately, this can be easily resolved by creating custom prompts to ensure the task remains in your desired language.
The combination of Readwise Reader and Notion has revolutionized my academic journey. These tools have helped me streamline the studying and organization of academic materials while embracing a minimalist approach to digital tools. As someone who values both practicality and progressive ideals, this efficient approach aligns perfectly with my worldview, making the pursuit of knowledge more accessible and enjoyable.
Thank you for reading my insights. Follow me and stay tuned for whatever else I’ll end up deciding to pen down next!
