Tag: commonplace book

Proof of Life

As 2023 approaches, I am reflecting on the past and planning for the future. It’s my favorite part of winter: How did I grow? What do I hope for in the coming year? What is most important to me?

In addition to my art journal, I primarily use three kinds of journals to guide me: a planner, a commonplace notebook, and a log book.

A salmon pink Clever Fox planner with a fox logo on the cover.

Planner: Clever Fox Weekly Planner
In early 2020, I bought my first Clever Fox planner. It includes space to create a vision board, identify goals and break them down by month and week, track habits, reflect on weekly and monthly wins, and, of course, keep a daily planner.

There are also ample dotted pages at the back for whatever is important; I keep my address list, book list, and other notes and things to reference here. There’s also a pocket in the back (my grandmother’s speech for our wedding reception is tucked inside).

A turquoise Leuchtturm notebook with a Charm City Threads holographic sticker of an umbrella with the words "It'll be alright".

Commonplace Notebook: Leuchtturm1917
I’ve been keeping some kind of journal for decades. Lately, I’ve loved the Leuchtturm notebook: it’s numbered and has a space in the front for an index list and plenty of creamy blank pages to write and doodle. I make it my own with a sticker.

Read more about my commonplace notebook.

A black Moleskine pocket planner with 2023 embossed on the cover.

Log Book: Moleskine Daily Planner
Since reading about Austin Kleon’s practice of keeping a log of things done (rather than a to-do list), I’ve kept my own. This practice has been simple: right before bed, I write down in bullet points what I’ve done, people I’ve talked to or spent time with, and any major world events.

It’s also been a very meaningful habit: I now have more than two years’ worth of daily memories that I very likely otherwise would’ve forgotten. In 2020, I shared some entries from the pandemic.

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Commonplace Books

A teal book on a wooden table. There's a deep blue sticker that says "Take deep breaths often - MHN" and a black pen on top of the book.
My current notebook; sticker by Morgan Harper Nichols.

Somehow I’ve made it this many years before ever hearing about commonplace books. You, too?

Commonplace books seem to be, generally, a written collection of the things that attract your attention and pique your interest — a more right-brained version of an art journal, I suppose. The actual definition is broad.

Commonplace books are accessible

Wikipedia explains commonplace books as “a way to compile knowledge, usually by writing information into books.” Kevin Egan describes them as being “like a ‘thinker’s journal’ that serves as a focused act of self-reflection and way to learn;” Ryan Holiday similarly calls them a “central resource or depository for ideas, quotes, anecdotes, observations and information you come across during your life and didactic pursuits.”

MasterClass, by contract, emphasizes that a commonplace book (they call it a commonplace diary) is not just a place to write all these tidbits down, but also a system for keeping track of the information you gather. Some people use index cards or a table of contents, or color code their entries. This is where my eyes glaze over, but it’s well worth reading about if that’s something you’re interested in.

What surprised me is that commonplace books have been kept for centuries, by both ordinary folks and historical geniuses. Marcus Aurelius kept a commonplace book, as did Virginia Woolf. Austin Kleon is keeping one that’s just quotes. I imagine that many of the diaries shared by Papers of the Past could be considered commonplace books, too.

There are no rules

That commonplace books aren’t a single definitive thing makes me all the more interested in keeping one. The idea of a daily journal intimidates me: I get caught up in the idea of what a journal “should” be — namely that I “have” to write proper entries, dated in order, while recounting my life and my feelings about my life. (My logbook has been the best and most sustainable way for me to record my day-to-day life: I’ve kept it up for over two years now.)

But writing down a sentence here and an idea there as I discover new things, mixed in with occasional personal reflections, seems just right, and is a much more apt representation of how my brain works.

Capture what you’re already paying attention to

Since discovering the idea of commonplace books — it was on September 6, and I know because I wrote an entry about it — I’ve jotted down a bunch of random and interesting things, including thoughts on value and productivity, deep work and flow, procrastination, and writing.

While it might sound lofty, all the excerpts I’ve written have been from tweets, newsletters, Reddit, TV shows, and other sources I was already visiting, reading, or watching. The difference is that now I have a record of things that inspired me. Now, I can go back and find connections, go back to the sources, get reinspired, and actually remember what it is that I’m interested in and what I like thinking about.

I’ll leave you with a song lyric that I pulled today that made me laugh (here’s the song):

Black and white photo of a journal page. At the top is the date — Sep 26, 2022 — and underneath is written: "'You may call me selfish but you can go fuck yourself.' - Different - Glenn Gatsby Remix by Marina & the Kats, Glenn Gatsby"
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