The problem with your literature review “To Read” folder

Yes, the “graveyard of PDFs”.

Where’s yours?

Is it on your desktop so it makes you feel guilty every time you sit in front of your computer?

Is it tucked away in a “to read” folder somewhere so you don’t have to feel bad about it too often?

Maybe yours consists of physical copies of the papers too. Being a bit old school myself, I do love a printed PDF – oh, the thought of a brand new highlighter pen poised at the ready. Just me?

Most PhD researchers have a PDF graveyard. They’re the papers you downloaded a while ago, reminders of a day (or week) spent down a citation rabbit hole. Articles scanned through but never revisited. Papers held onto, “just in case”.

Wherever they are and whatever form they’ve come in, their very existence is probably not making you feel great.

Here’s the thing though.

Your PDF graveyard is not a to-do list.

You are not contractually obliged to read every paper you've ever downloaded.

Many of those papers were saved because they looked vaguely relevant at the time, because they were cited by something interesting, or because you were worried that if you didn't save them immediately, you might never find them again.

So, rather than worrying, "When am I finally going to read all of these?", try asking these questions instead:

• Which of these papers genuinely feels central to my study right now?

• Which am I holding onto simply because I feel guilty deleting them?

• What question am I hoping these papers will answer for me?

You may find that your graveyard isn't actually a reading problem. It's a decision-making problem.

Making a few thoughtful decisions now about what deserves your attention can often create more clarity than downloading another ten papers ever will.

Most literature review problems are caused by not yet having a structure for making sense of what you’ve already read, rather than not having read enough. That’s exactly what I help you with in my short literature review guide - get yours by clicking here.

Want my full literature review system? Learn more here.