A Recovering Control Freak
I am a recovering control freak. For years, I have posed as an organizer, especially in academic settings, but control remains the dark underbelly of my organizing. As I learn new rhythms of reading, writing, and thinking, I face the disorienting challenge of loosening my grip on control. Questions swirl: How can I ensure I’m not missing something critical if I don’t read every word? Will I prove inadequate or unlearned if I skim? What will I unearth if I probe my thought patterns? And where in my realm of tidy control am I supposed to store all these index cards?
Adler and Van Doren’s How to Read a Book and Ahrens’ How to Take Smart Notes suggest that maintaining control in reading and writing doesn’t require rigidity but deliberate strategies for engaging with content effectively. They advocate for an intentional, structured approach of reading only what needs to be read, jotting down notes and themes, setting focus to relevant material, and connecting ideas at the end of each day. Combined with Paul and Elder’s standards of clarity and specificity, their ideas aim to produce efficiency in reading large amounts of material and making relevant writing.
How to Read a Book proposes that Inspectional Reading will allow readers to absorb essential content without reading every word. At first glance, the strategy of skimming and answering surface questions[1] felt wrong – like a betrayal to my literature professors. In fact, when I shared it with a dear author friend, she cringed. She didn’t like the idea of anyone “glossing over” words she had carefully chosen. I, too, thought back on articles I had written. It saddens me to think readers would skim over my work like breadcrumbs rather than savor them like a gourmet meal. After all, I was teaching about the way of Jesus, and what could be more important? What is more right than carefully consuming Christian teaching? Is it cheating? Am I getting away with something or cutting a corner by engaging with books in this way?
Because I have equated reading every line of a book as “perfect” reading (complete reading earned A+ grades in high school and undergrad), this strategy of searching for keywords and reading parts instead of the whole challenges my perfectionism. However, I’m beginning to understand that it offers a more thorough approach through intentionality. Control shifts from micromanaging every line to focusing on the big picture and integrating concepts into my existing schema. Likewise, in How to Take Smart Notes, Ahrens strikes a balance between control and openness to new ideas. He asserts, “The best way to maintain the feeling of control is to stay in control.”[2] This resonates deeply, yet his method requires flexibility and real-time engagement with the material. By taking notes throughout the reading process and organizing them into a slip-box, I’m learning to translate ideas in real-time rather than waiting until I finish an entire book or article. Previously, I would passively underline passages and only write notes after completing a text. I’m learning to engage actively by writing notes throughout and producing index cards daily. This overhaul of my habits emphasizes clarity, critical thinking, and focus. The deliberate act of selecting what to capture ensures meaningful connections between new and existing ideas.
Another part of my control tendency is regarding productivity. I’ve taken great pride in multitasking and getting loads done. Yet, multitasking does not lend well to focus. Focus and precision also emerge as key themes. Ahrens dismantles the myth of multitasking, advocating instead for selective and deliberate engagement. This focused approach allows me to become like a hunter, scanning for significant insights and connecting them to my slip-box. Hunters set their sights on one prey at a time – it is the precision that allows success. I’ve often erred on the side of excessive quoting to avoid plagiarism. However, How to Take Smart Notes encourages precision by translating ideas into one’s language and context. This deliberate focus on relevance and clarity is a significant shift for me.
Adler and Van Doren remind me, “No book deserves a perfect outline because no book is perfect.”[3]. This semester, I’m expectant as I transform old habits into more effective practices. I have identified some problem areas to target[4]. Relinquishing control doesn’t mean chaos—it means intentionality, focus, and a new kind of mastery. And yes, I’ve already ordered an organizer for my growing collection of index cards. I think it is safe to hold on to that control for now.
[1] Mortimer Jerome Adler and Charles Van Doren, How to Read a Book (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972), 18.
[2] Ahrens, Sönke, How to Take Smart Notes (Hamburg, Germany: Sönke Ahrens, 2022), 15.
[3] Mortimer Jerome Adler and Charles Van Doren, 85.
[4] Richard Paul and Linda Elder, The Miniature Guide to Critical Thinking Concepts and Tools, 8th edition, Thinker’s Guide Library (Lanham, Md: Rowman and Littlefield, 2020), 7.
About the Author
Mika Harry
3 responses to “A Recovering Control Freak”
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Mika, are you taking your notes on actual index cards? That’s really neat! A follow-up: Are you doing it for the class or the program, and what are you doing for the project portfolio? Are you labeling them like the Zettle Kasten method?
Mika, Sounds as though we may have much in common, except for the index card part. I don’t think I could get close to pulling that off on my best day!
Control, multi-tasking, and production remind me of monsters that never seem satisfied.
Have you noticed any unforeseen benefits to relaxing the control? Peace, joy of the spontaneous moment, or maybe something else?
Mike,
I hope you are indeed using paper index cards, if purely because I’m using digital and I’m very curious to see how the methods work out between two different applications!
I’m a fan of staying “analog” in key areas, including my general note-taking. My wife and I agreed to use textbooks and paper workbooks for our children in their homeschooling, believing that digital platforms are actually inferior solutions for the kind of work they are doing. Long-form writing (essays) and programming lessons are fine on the computer, but otherwise all work happens on paper. We have no regrets so far.
I’m really curious to see your system!