Simple tips to help you organize your work with the book

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

In her guest post, coach and psychologist Daria Yakusheva shares her observations with the readers of Lifehacker on how to truly make friends with the book and work with it as productively as possible.

From childhood we were taught to handle books carefully: not to waste the pages, not to drip on the sheets, to underline only with a simple pencil, not to throw anywhere … It was logical: firstly, most of the publications were available only in libraries. Secondly, they were quite expensive and each replenishment of the home archive became a small event. Thirdly, in Soviet times, some of the books were generally banned and distributed clandestinely, which means that they existed in a limited number of copies. And if you recall the difficult post-war time, when there were not enough books, and combine this with the principles of the formation of beliefs, then it becomes clear that these rules are slightly outdated.

Now I will talk mainly about printed publications of the non-fiction genre. Many people find it easier to read and purchase e-books. With gadgets, everything is clearer: I selected it, put a bookmark, copied it to a file - it's done! The work is built according to an understandable algorithm. The main thing is not to be lazy.

So far, scientists have not come to a consensus as to which version of information is absorbed better: electronic or printed. We enjoy the rustle of pages and the smell of a new book. She is still a friend of man, and also a mentor, sage, advisor. Today there is an opportunity to purchase the most unusual and useful publications and work with them as productively as possible. This makes a small revolution in the way we handle books.

First of all, you need to understand that in every, absolutely every book we read, there are at least one or two wise thoughts. We rarely re-read books that have been shelved. This means that the most valuable information gleaned from them must be highlighted in some way, making it easier to access them. We never know if we need to go back to what we have read, but if it does, it would be useful to ensure that we quickly find what seemed most valuable.

Several strategies for organizing your work with a book

First, you can create a separate file on your computer or a notebook and enter or retype the most interesting offers … In this case, it would be ideal to get into the habit of formatting quotes, indicating the author, source title and page number, in order to use it later as a quote in a presentation or just quickly find it in a book. In this case, you will always have a personal quote book at hand. If this is your favorite way of compiling knowledge, then you can go further and create a mini-catalog with subheadings and topics.

Secondly (and this is my favorite way!), You can always dare and start scratching in the book itself. I learned this from one of my favorite contemporary authors - designer Jana Frank.

When you feel like the true owner of a book, you understand that you can do almost anything with it, this power intoxicates: you can create an understandable symbolic system for you alone, write thoughts in the margins, draw pictures and highlight the author's most valuable statements with a marker.

In this case, the reading process becomes not in the consumption of information, but in co-creation! And this is already a pleasure. But all of us, to be honest, understand that any additional motivation (creation for us, people striving for self-realization is an excellent "bun" in favor of reading) in the Internet era acquires special value when it comes to to turn off your laptop, put your gadgets aside, and grab a book you should be reading for a long time.

A few words about personal experience. When I sit down to read a book, I put three things next to it: a set of highlighters, a pencil, and self-adhesive bookmarks.

I love books precisely because reading them turns into my personal creative feast.

I can argue with the author or admire his wisdom (which I note in the margins), I can distract myself a little and draw a symbol so that, if I return to the book, I can instantly remember what feelings the quote highlighted next to it caused. I write my gratitude to the author at the end and highlight in different colors those thoughts that relate to benefits, or interestingness, or emotions, or the future, or experience.

There is one more option for work - book synopsis … Many were taught this in college or college. And it was, rather, a forced process. In fact, writing a synopsis develops memory, generates magical personal conclusions and encourages reading more and more, and even writing someone! A Ph. D. book or your own book - it doesn't matter. The synopsis can be cited at work, share thoughts with family members, and re-read later yourself.

And the most final option is to write essay on the read … Oh yes, this is for completely risky and internally free guys! For those who are ready to set aside from half an hour to an hour in order to reflect and put on paper everything that came up and was born while reading the book. And this is already the development of not only memory, but also speech, thinking, logic and even self-confidence.

The first time we read a good book, we feel the same feeling as when we make a new friend. To read a book you have already read again means to see an old friend again.

Voltaire

I want to wish you to meet as many of these friends as possible and return to them as often as possible.