From the Study

I posted this article in April two years ago. I am reposting it today because the question of how to efficiently keep notes for later use was recently brought up during one of my classes. I thought it would be beneficial to some of you to posit this method of note keeping since I have found its ease of use, overall simplicity, and subsequent accessibility to be unparalleled. I have been using it regularly for two years now, and do not foresee myself exchanging it for any other kind of method in the near future, if at all.

“Wise men store up knowledge…”

Proverbs 10:14a (NASB)

Recently, I was listening to an excellent interview with Iain Murry, hosted by Mark Dever at his IX Marks website. The interview focused mainly on Murray’s biography of Jonathan Edwards and the details therein. During the interview, however, Murry said something, almost in passing, that has haunted me to this day.

He said that if we, as pastors, in our reading, are not taking care to keep good notes on what we read—notes that we can access 5-10 years later—we are, “wasting [our] time.” In other words, if we are not able to record and preserve for later use the knowledge we have gleaned from a book and the insights we have made into the book, we are simply wasting our time and energy reading.

And I’ll admit it: I know this is certainly true in my life. As I look at my book shelf, I see certain books that I have read and from which I have received personal benefit; but unfortunately, I have no quick access to several of the books’ quotes or my personal thoughts about the book. “I think that Edwards says in his one book…um…something about…” seems to be a common statement.

Now, some may say that notes are best kept in the books themselves—in the margins. And that’s true to an extent, but how can we have ready access to those notes and insights? Plus, as Jay Adams, in his book, Shepherding God’s Flock, inquirers, “How can [we] keep track of the many sources of information that get tucked into manilla folders, that are written on scraps of paper, that may appear on counseling records, that are on pages 50 and 98 of hundred different volumes, etc?” (306).

Many people have attempted to answer this question (myself included) only to become enslaved to a complex, expensive, cumbersome way of keeping notes (myself included). Jay Adams, however, proposes an “unfailing” note-keeping system that has everything we need built into it. It is inexpensive, universal, quick, flexible and portable. Ah, freedom! Here’s how it works:

1) Everything (absolutely no exceptions) is filed on 3×5 note cards. Say for example you are reading a book and the author makes an excellent point regarding something that is not germane to the books overall thesis. What to do? Simply scribble out a note card, with the quote, or where to find the quote, and label it appropriately. Or, perhaps you have an insight into a theological problem before you leave for work. Sit down, take out a note card and jot down your thought. Have a stack of note cards by your bed to write down your thoughts; take several to conferences in order to take notes, then file them when you get home (see picture #1).

2) Each card should have an appropriate title at the top left hand corner (see picture #2). Choosing an appropriate title for the note you just made is very important. Notes on books of the Bible and particular verses are filed alphabetically as well. For example, notes on ‘Amos 2:2′ will be filed before “Anxiety, Biblical cures for,” and after “Aaron, priestly roles of,” etc. Then, when you want to retrieve all your notes on, say, ‘Preaching,’ simply go to that section and pull out all the note cards labeled ‘Preaching, prerequisites for,” “Preaching, Spirit’s role in,” etc.

3) Every card will also need a reference in the top right hand corner (see picture #3). This indicates where the note, insight, or quote is located. This can be a book, a section in your file cabinet, a portion of your journals, etc. It simply needs to tell where the note can be retrieved. This also makes this filing system a “double threat” because notes can be retrieved alphabetically, or by the sources used. For example, if I wanted all my notes on “The Forgotten Spurgeon” by Iain Murray in order to do a book review, I would simply go through my notes and look at the right side of the cards instead of the left.

4) Then the cards are filed accordingly in a small 3×5 card storage box (see picture #4). These boxes usually can hold up to 1000 3×5 cards. Access to your notes will be quick and easy! Not to mention cheap. Where I live, a pack of 100 3×5 cards goes for $0.59, and a box like this with dividers is about $13.00. If you write 30 note cards a week, the cost of your filing system is approximately $35.20 a year; or $0.68 a week.

There you have it. A simple, easy, quick, cheap, universal, portable note keeping system. Our time reading, studying and thinking will no longer be wasted! Not only that, but we might find a new passion for study because we will be freed from the strangling effects of a burdensome note keeping system.

If you do not have a note keeping system already, or if you have become discouraged with your current system, then I encourage you to give it a try for six-months. I think you will be pleasantly surprised at the ease of both the filing and the retrieving of your notes. You can also read about this system in Jay Adams book on the pastoral ministry, Shepherding God’s Flock (Zondervan, 1980), pages 306-310.