Decide whether to optimize for review or retrieval practice. 

• For docs you don’t plan to extensively study, review is the obvious choice. 
• For texts you need to master perfectly, the Question Book Method (for big idea) or flashcards (for details) saves time.

Ask yourself why are you reading:

• What am I trying to remember? 
• How am I going to use this information? (e.g. on a test, cited in an essay, etc.)
• What do I plan to do with the notes later? Will you be studying off of the...

• Jot notes in the margin. These aren’t particularly searchable, but they allow you to reiterate the main idea.
• Keep a small notepad on the side, take breaks each section to jot down the main ideas. 
• Create flashcards. In the rarer situations where memoriza...

• Digital: systems like Evernote, make note-taking easier. Although, even the simple note-taking features on Kindle can work quite well.
• Paper:  you can even put little sticky tags on the book to mark passages that refer to that.