The 10-minute source check

Eight questions to ask before you trust any summary of your notes.

You've got notes, highlights and a few documents. Someone (or something) has turned them into a summary, an outline or a mind map. Before you build a plan on it, spend ten minutes checking it. You only need the summary, your original notes, a pen and a timer. No app required.

This works for a summary from a person, a tool or a chat window. It also works for your own map when you haven't looked at it in a month.

Before you start (1 minute)

Pick one summary and one question you want it to answer. Write the question at the top of a sheet of paper. Then draw three small marks you'll use throughout:

• Y for "this is my own idea or wording"
• S for "this comes from a source, and I can point to where"
• ? for "I can't tell where this came from"

The eight questions

1. Can I find the passage? (2 minutes)

Pick five claims from the summary at random. For each one, find the exact line in your notes that backs it up. Mark it S if you find it. Mark it ? if you don't.

Five out of five is a good sign. Two or more ? marks means the summary has drifted from your material. Don't build on those claims yet.

2. Whose idea is this? (1 minute)

Go through the top level of the summary. Mark each item Y, S or ?. Notice how many ? marks you have.

If you can't tell your thinking from the source's, or from whatever helped you sort it, you'll struggle to defend the plan later.

3. Did my own points survive? (1 minute)

Write down three points you were sure were in your notes. Look for each in the summary. A good summary keeps your own points, in your own words or close to them. If one has been reworded so far that it means something different, mark it and restore the original wording.

4. What got left out? (1 minute)

Skim your original notes and circle the three things that felt most important to you. Are they in the summary? Dropped details are the hardest problem to spot because nothing on the page tells you they're missing.

5. Do any two sources disagree? (2 minutes)

Look for numbers, dates and strong claims about the same topic. If one note says "about 40% of users" and another says "roughly a quarter", that's a conflict. Write both side by side, with where each came from.

A summary that gives you one smooth number has probably picked a side or averaged them. Decide which you trust, or keep both and write why.

6. Who argues against this? (1 minute)

Write the strongest case against your plan in two sentences, as if a skeptical friend were saying it. Then look in your notes for any line that supports that case.

If you find nothing, say so plainly: "I found no opposing passage." Don't invent comfort. An honest "nothing found" is useful, and it tells you what to go and read next.

7. Where did this travel? (30 seconds)

If you pasted your notes into a website or app to get the summary, write down where they went and whether you can delete them. This takes no time and many people never do it. If any of the material is private, such as client details, health notes or unpublished work, check the tool's privacy page before using it again.

8. Could I undo it? (30 seconds)

Ask: if this summary replaced my original notes tomorrow, could I get my originals back exactly? If the answer is no, save a copy of the originals now, with today's date in the file name.

Score yourself

• Seven or eight "yes" answers: The summary is a fair picture of your material. Build on it.
• Four to six: Useful, but fix the gaps from questions 1, 4 and 5 before you make a decision.
• Three or fewer: Treat it as a rough draft. Go back to your notes.

Worked example

Say you're deciding whether to start a weekend market stall. Your notes say a stall costs about $60 a day (source: a vendor's flyer) and another note says $90 a day (source: a friend who sells there). The summary says "stalls are affordable at around $75 a day."

• Question 1: neither source says $75, so that claim is a ?.
• Question 5: your sources conflict. Write "$60 (flyer) vs $90 (friend)" and phone the market to settle it.
• Question 6: your strongest case against is "the busy season might not cover costs." Do your notes include anything on sales per day? If not, write "no data" and go and find some.

Ten minutes, and the plan now rests on a real number.

Doing this every time

A paper check works, but it takes discipline. The habits that matter most are small:

1. Mark where every idea came from.
2. Keep your own wording separate from the rest.
3. Put disagreements next to each other instead of smoothing them out.
4. Keep a record of what changed, so you can go back.

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