diff --git a/.zenodo.json b/.zenodo.json
deleted file mode 100644
index 064d911..0000000
--- a/.zenodo.json
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,37 +0,0 @@
-{
-	"title": "REPO_NAME",
-	"version": "0.11.2",
-	"publication_date": "2021-10-13",
-	"keywords": ["amazing software", "research"],
-	"license": {
-		"id": "AGPL-3.0"
-	},
-	"upload_type": "software",
-	"description": "SHORT_DESCRIPTION",
-	"creators": [
-		{
-			"name": "Doe, John",
-			"orcid": "https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8888-9999"
-		}
-	],
-	"access_right": "open",
-	"related_identifiers": [
-		{
-			"identifier": "10.5281/zenodo.123456",
-			"relation": "isVersionOf",
-			"resource_type": "software"
-		},
-		{
-			"identifier": "10.5281/zenodo.123457",
-			"relation": "isIdenticalTo",
-			"resource_type": "software"
-		}
-	],
-	"communities": [
-		{
-			"identifier": "your-community-here"
-		}
-	],
-	"notes": "If you use this software, please cite it using the metadata from this file.",
-	"repository": "https://github.com/USERNAME/REPO_NAME/"
-}
diff --git a/CITATION.cff b/CITATION.cff
deleted file mode 100644
index b076c2d..0000000
--- a/CITATION.cff
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,22 +0,0 @@
-abstract: 'SHORT_DESCRIPTION'
-authors:
-  - family-names: Doe
-    given-names: John
-    orcid: 'https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8888-9999'
-cff-version: 1.2.0
-date-released: '2021-10-13'
-identifiers:
-  - description: 'This is the collection of archived snapshots of all versions of My Research Software'
-    type: doi
-    value: 10.5281/zenodo.123456
-  - description: 'This is the archived snapshot of version 0.11.2 of My Research Software'
-    type: doi
-    value: 10.5281/zenodo.123457
-keywords:
-  - 'amazing software'
-  - research
-license: Apache-2.0
-message: 'If you use this software, please cite it using the metadata from this file.'
-repository-code: 'https://github.com/USERNAME/REPO_NAME/'
-title: 'REPO_NAME'
-version: 0.11.2
diff --git a/README.md b/README.md
index d33b09c..d9ff2d9 100644
--- a/README.md
+++ b/README.md
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ This GitHub template is independent of the (research) data and its format. It fo
 
 ### Open research data
 
-- Citeable via [CITATION.cff](CITATION.cff) and [DOI](https://www.doi.org/)
+- Citeable via [DOI](https://www.doi.org/) (and [CITATION.cff](CITATION.cff))
 - Automatic long-term archiving via [Zenodo](https://zenodo.org/)
 - Licensed under a non-restrictive [CC BY 4.0 license](LICENSE.md) according to [The Turing Way](https://the-turing-way.netlify.app/reproducible-research/rdm/rdm-sharing.html#step-3-choose-a-licence-and-link-to-your-paper-and-code)
 - Templates for reporting data issues using a [custom template](.github/ISSUE_TEMPLATE/data_issue_report.md)
@@ -68,9 +68,7 @@ npm run prepare
 
 - [ ] enable [GitHub security alerts](https://github.blog/2017-11-16-introducing-security-alerts-on-github/)
 - [ ] [protect](https://help.github.com/en/articles/configuring-protected-branches) the main branch to enforce a [fork and pull](https://gist.github.com/Chaser324/ce0505fbed06b947d962) workflow
-- [ ] search and replace `FULLNAME`, `USERNAME`, `REPO_NAME`, `SHORT_DESCRIPTION` `[INSERT CONTACT METHOD]` in [CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md), [package.json](package.json), [README.template.md](README.template.md), [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md), [CITATION.CFF](CITATION.CFF), [.zenodo.json](.zenodo.json)
-- [ ] change `CITATION.CFF` according to [citation-file-format.github.io](https://citation-file-format.github.io/) (or delete it)
-- [ ] change `.zenodo.json` according to [zenodo.org](https://developers.zenodo.org/?python#add-metadata-to-your-github-repository-release) (or delete it)
+- [ ] search and replace `FULLNAME`, `USERNAME`, `REPO_NAME`, `SHORT_DESCRIPTION` `[INSERT CONTACT METHOD]` in [CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md](CODE_OF_CONDUCT.md), [package.json](package.json), [README.template.md](README.template.md), [SECURITY.md](SECURITY.md)
 - [ ] setup the [Zenodo integration](https://docs.github.com/en/repositories/archiving-a-github-repository/referencing-and-citing-content)
 - [ ] add `ZENODO_RECORD` to [README.md](README.md)
 - [ ] add favicons to `./`, e.g. via [favicon.io](https://favicon.io/)
@@ -82,6 +80,11 @@ npm run prepare
 - [ ] run `npm run changelog` and include the output in [CHANGELOG.md](CHANGELOG.md)
 - [ ] enable [gh-pages](https://help.github.com/en/articles/configuring-a-publishing-source-for-github-pages)
 
+3. optional tasks:
+
+- [ ] add a `CITATION.CFF` according to [citation-file-format.github.io](https://citation-file-format.github.io/)
+- [ ] add a `.zenodo.json` according to [zenodo.org](https://developers.zenodo.org/?python#add-metadata-to-your-github-repository-release)
+
 ## Use
 
 Check that all files are properly formatted.