This piece was so inspiring! You made the idea of a commonplace journal feel so approachable, and I really appreciate that. I’ve always loved the concept, but I found it a little daunting for some reason.
This year, I decided to streamline my journaling by carrying just one catch-all notebook instead of rotating between multiple ones. I love it so far, but I already know that finding specific things later on will be a challenge. So, I’m treating this as a trial—figuring out what I naturally gravitate toward recording, spotting patterns, and establishing themes. I think that will help me create a more intentional system down the line.
I’m saving your article because I know I’ll come back to it—it’s such a great resource! And thank you for sharing the Paper Republic journal; it’s absolutely gorgeous. Now I’m curious—how do you use your other notebooks? I noticed you labelled your Leuchtturm as a Morning/Commonplace Journal—would love to hear more about how you differentiate the other ones!
Aw, I’m so glad! I totally get it. Sometimes before I start a new notebook I feel a sense of panic—like should I really use this for this purpose? Is it going to be overwhelming? I think there is a beauty to having a catch-all! You can see everything that was happening in your brain at a certain period of time in one place. But I think your mindset is PERFECT. Use it as a trial, see how you feel about it when you’re looking back and decide how you want to move forward! I love the intentional thought there.
Ooo, maybe I’ll write a separate post on all the different notebooks I’m keeping right now. It’s a little crazy but it’s a system that works really well for me. Plus being able to keep a bunch of notebooks under one leather cover (the Paper Republic one) makes everything so easy to carry around still. Will work on that post soon!
Love this! Also maybe it’s algorithm but it’s crazy how you appeared just on my YT feed yesterday and today I stumbled upon you here 🥹
I also keep a commonplace book but I decided to drop the indexing. Since I use a much smaller field notes pocket book, it’s not too overwhelming to just find what I’m lookin for, it also feels a bit like an adventure trying to make sense of my messy brain that’s drawn to so different themes across time. But I love your approach and find it so inspirational.
NO WAY! haha I'm sorry I'm flooding your feed. I kind of love that—I personally love flipping through my journals. Not really searching for something specific but just the act of flipping. So I can imagine if I didn't have the index, I would just mindlessly flip and see what jumps out at me.
I'm glad it brought some inspiration! I feel like this is a practice that will grow with me so I'll definitely share any updates I make in the future <3
I actually ended up starting my own commonplace book right after reading your post the other day. I found an old notebook, one that had several different sections in it, recently and was trying to figure out something for it…perfect. I split mine up into three sections (it just made the most sense for me at this moment): (1) general quotes, poetry, etc., (2) films and reviews on those films, and (3) books and reviews on those books. I have been wanting to get into consuming my media more intentionally and it has been working so incredibly well with that. I quite literally paused a YouTube video I had been watching to jot down a quote the woman had said because it was just so beautiful and I wanted to be able to come back to it. I would not have done that otherwise, so thank you.
Also, just wanted to mention, this post/article has its own page in my new commonplace book!!
I am genuinely loving it so much. I made a second one too (which is less strict and more so a journal type thing, but still a commonplace book). Thank you ever so much for inspiring me!!! 💗🥹
I've not heard of a commonplace notebook before, but love the idea! I always have about five notebooks on the go, each one for a different thing! I might have a think about streamlining and indexing, I bet it's really soothing!
This is so similar to what I do with my bullet journal each year. After a late diagnosis of ADHD I picked up the tip of keeping a bullet journal, which has worked really well for me. I'm now on my fourth. After I've set out the diary pages for the year I'm left with so much of the journal that I section it out, things like health, quotes and poetry, books (to buy/read), goals, art ideas... whatever is my current thing(s), you get the idea. The journal I buy is a dot one, too, and it comes with index pages in the front and a handy pocket in the back. Never knew what I was doing had a name, though, I've just been calling it my brain! 😆
I've always wanted to start a commonplace book, because I love learning about things but I forget them so quickly. This really helped me think about how I'll organise mine.
I love this so much and just went to get a new notebook. I’m always writing so much down on paper and can never find what I wrote. I love the indexing and also utilizing the margins for notes too!
This post is great! I loved your annotating system (with the page flags), as I’ve been looking for a new one and you’ve given me inspiration! Thanks!
I just recently started keeping an actual commonplace journal. But I do a version of the 30:70 thing, too — which I learned from “Journal de Sylvie” on YouTube.
This was amazing! I have written notecards for much the same thing (recording what I read/listen to/watch) but I fell out of this habit and now carry a notebook everywhere. I will use this style for my notebook (particularly liked the 30:70 rule!) and probably continue to transfer a few things to notecards if I want them on my walls/I want to visually see them next to each other and be able to rearrange them. This was absolutely perfect, thank you.
I stumbled upon your article, drawn in by the title since it was something I resonated with. It was very insightful and I was finally able to put a name to what I have been searching for “a commonplace notebook”. I’m a big note taker, i have over 500 notes on the note app, I love Notion and I also have Good Notes. When it comes to organizing my random thoughts, important information and advice I just couldn’t figure it out. But not I have and I’ll be totally replicating this. Thank you for sharing!
You just saved my life!!!!! Thank you for this! You literally have no idea how I’ve been postponing writing things down because the obsessive compulsive in me hates the chaos of not having this kind of a system! I love you!
I started doing this recently, mostly because I’ve been trying to use the library more so if I can’t highlight and note up a book I started taking notes and that lead to also doing it with podcast notes, but didn’t realize it had a name! Thanks for writing about this and your process. Feeling inspired to make mine a little more organized and love that I will now call them commonplace notebooks.
This piece was so inspiring! You made the idea of a commonplace journal feel so approachable, and I really appreciate that. I’ve always loved the concept, but I found it a little daunting for some reason.
This year, I decided to streamline my journaling by carrying just one catch-all notebook instead of rotating between multiple ones. I love it so far, but I already know that finding specific things later on will be a challenge. So, I’m treating this as a trial—figuring out what I naturally gravitate toward recording, spotting patterns, and establishing themes. I think that will help me create a more intentional system down the line.
I’m saving your article because I know I’ll come back to it—it’s such a great resource! And thank you for sharing the Paper Republic journal; it’s absolutely gorgeous. Now I’m curious—how do you use your other notebooks? I noticed you labelled your Leuchtturm as a Morning/Commonplace Journal—would love to hear more about how you differentiate the other ones!
Aw, I’m so glad! I totally get it. Sometimes before I start a new notebook I feel a sense of panic—like should I really use this for this purpose? Is it going to be overwhelming? I think there is a beauty to having a catch-all! You can see everything that was happening in your brain at a certain period of time in one place. But I think your mindset is PERFECT. Use it as a trial, see how you feel about it when you’re looking back and decide how you want to move forward! I love the intentional thought there.
Ooo, maybe I’ll write a separate post on all the different notebooks I’m keeping right now. It’s a little crazy but it’s a system that works really well for me. Plus being able to keep a bunch of notebooks under one leather cover (the Paper Republic one) makes everything so easy to carry around still. Will work on that post soon!
I’m looking forward to reading it! I love seeing how others use their notebooks, it’s always so inspiring.
Love this! Also maybe it’s algorithm but it’s crazy how you appeared just on my YT feed yesterday and today I stumbled upon you here 🥹
I also keep a commonplace book but I decided to drop the indexing. Since I use a much smaller field notes pocket book, it’s not too overwhelming to just find what I’m lookin for, it also feels a bit like an adventure trying to make sense of my messy brain that’s drawn to so different themes across time. But I love your approach and find it so inspirational.
NO WAY! haha I'm sorry I'm flooding your feed. I kind of love that—I personally love flipping through my journals. Not really searching for something specific but just the act of flipping. So I can imagine if I didn't have the index, I would just mindlessly flip and see what jumps out at me.
I'm glad it brought some inspiration! I feel like this is a practice that will grow with me so I'll definitely share any updates I make in the future <3
I actually ended up starting my own commonplace book right after reading your post the other day. I found an old notebook, one that had several different sections in it, recently and was trying to figure out something for it…perfect. I split mine up into three sections (it just made the most sense for me at this moment): (1) general quotes, poetry, etc., (2) films and reviews on those films, and (3) books and reviews on those books. I have been wanting to get into consuming my media more intentionally and it has been working so incredibly well with that. I quite literally paused a YouTube video I had been watching to jot down a quote the woman had said because it was just so beautiful and I wanted to be able to come back to it. I would not have done that otherwise, so thank you.
Also, just wanted to mention, this post/article has its own page in my new commonplace book!!
I am honored to be a part of your commonplace journey 🥹 I hope your new journal brings you as much joy as mine does for me
I am genuinely loving it so much. I made a second one too (which is less strict and more so a journal type thing, but still a commonplace book). Thank you ever so much for inspiring me!!! 💗🥹
I've not heard of a commonplace notebook before, but love the idea! I always have about five notebooks on the go, each one for a different thing! I might have a think about streamlining and indexing, I bet it's really soothing!
It’s so therapeutic!
This is so similar to what I do with my bullet journal each year. After a late diagnosis of ADHD I picked up the tip of keeping a bullet journal, which has worked really well for me. I'm now on my fourth. After I've set out the diary pages for the year I'm left with so much of the journal that I section it out, things like health, quotes and poetry, books (to buy/read), goals, art ideas... whatever is my current thing(s), you get the idea. The journal I buy is a dot one, too, and it comes with index pages in the front and a handy pocket in the back. Never knew what I was doing had a name, though, I've just been calling it my brain! 😆
I have been wanting to start commonplacing and this is such a helpful resource!
I have so many notebooks. I’m going to try this. Thanks for sharing.
I've always wanted to start a commonplace book, because I love learning about things but I forget them so quickly. This really helped me think about how I'll organise mine.
I love this so much and just went to get a new notebook. I’m always writing so much down on paper and can never find what I wrote. I love the indexing and also utilizing the margins for notes too!
I love this idea. Thank you for sharing your process.
This post is great! I loved your annotating system (with the page flags), as I’ve been looking for a new one and you’ve given me inspiration! Thanks!
I just recently started keeping an actual commonplace journal. But I do a version of the 30:70 thing, too — which I learned from “Journal de Sylvie” on YouTube.
This was amazing! I have written notecards for much the same thing (recording what I read/listen to/watch) but I fell out of this habit and now carry a notebook everywhere. I will use this style for my notebook (particularly liked the 30:70 rule!) and probably continue to transfer a few things to notecards if I want them on my walls/I want to visually see them next to each other and be able to rearrange them. This was absolutely perfect, thank you.
oh, I love this process! thank you for sharing!! feeling inspired to start one!
I stumbled upon your article, drawn in by the title since it was something I resonated with. It was very insightful and I was finally able to put a name to what I have been searching for “a commonplace notebook”. I’m a big note taker, i have over 500 notes on the note app, I love Notion and I also have Good Notes. When it comes to organizing my random thoughts, important information and advice I just couldn’t figure it out. But not I have and I’ll be totally replicating this. Thank you for sharing!
You just saved my life!!!!! Thank you for this! You literally have no idea how I’ve been postponing writing things down because the obsessive compulsive in me hates the chaos of not having this kind of a system! I love you!
Eeek that makes me so excited honestly. It’s how I felt when I finally started doing this too 🥰
I started doing this recently, mostly because I’ve been trying to use the library more so if I can’t highlight and note up a book I started taking notes and that lead to also doing it with podcast notes, but didn’t realize it had a name! Thanks for writing about this and your process. Feeling inspired to make mine a little more organized and love that I will now call them commonplace notebooks.