Write a 3-5 sentence executive summary at the top…

When This Fires

• After revisiting a note for the 3rd or 4th time and recognizing its recurring value
• When a note has Layers 2 and 3 applied and keeps surfacing in searches
• When you want to reference a note's core insight quickly without re-reading
• Complements Bold 10-20% of a note's text on first revisit — select… (bold) and Highlight 10-20% of bolded passages on subsequent revisits… (highlight) as the final distillation layer

Common Failure Mode

Summarizing everything upfront: writing executive summaries during initial capture or in batch sessions. This invests maximum effort in notes of unproven value. Most captured notes (80-90%) will never be revisited — spending 5 minutes per note writing summaries for 100 notes wastes 400-450 minutes on notes that never deliver value.

The Protocol

(1) Track revisit count for your notes (most note apps show modification dates; some track view count). (2) When a note reaches 3-4 revisits, add an executive summary at the very top: 3-5 sentences that capture the note's core insight, key claim, or actionable takeaway. (3) Write the summary in your own words — this is synthesis, not extraction. The summary should make sense without reading the rest of the note. (4) The summary is the note's "elevator pitch": if someone asked "What's this note about?" your summary is the answer. (5) Update the summary if your understanding deepens through future revisits. Unlike bold and highlight, the summary evolves with your comprehension.