on keeping a commonplace notebook
I have a penchant for overthinking. And overplanning. My mind is always buzzing, humming, ruminating with grandiose ideas, ones that I believe will change the world, someway, somehow.
I never had an outlet for any of these ideas. They come and go, uncontrolled. Sometimes I try to recall a random idea I had a few days ago and that enraptured me, but by then I have already forget about it, having already moved on to the next grand one.
It is not just Random Ideas That Will Change The World. Sometimes I listen to a song, and I find a lyric I am so imbued by that I want to remember it forever. Other times, I am listening to a self-help podcast and I hear great advice that struck me. Book quotes, an inspiring tweet, an excerpt from a blogpost, a conversation with a friend - you name it. I needed an outlet where I was able to flexibly record all these things.
This is when I came across the concept of a commonplace notebook.
Briefly, a commonplace notebook is a depository of interesting information that you come across during your life. It is a single place to keep ideas, quotes, tips, conversations, lyrics - anything you find inspiring - for later use in your life, such as regular revisiting or implementing. You can think of it as Pinterest, but in notebook form. It is meant to be a place for pondering ideas and storing relevant information.
There are many benefits for maintaining a commonplace. As I mentioned, its biggest use for me is the ability to record my exuberantly flowing ideas in one place. It was cathartic to grab my notebook when I had an observation, instead of letting it disconnectedly ricochet in my head until I forgot about it. My brain was calmer in a way, and I was able to garner more clarity.
I never realized how creative the habit of commonplacing has made me, too. I once read that our best ideas are not sudden epiphanies that randomly pop out of nowhere. Instead, they are the result of multiple existing ideas that happen to coincide at an ideal time, resulting in a creative insight. Having all these random ideas in one place enabled me to connect them better and come up with even greater ideas.
Personally, I have my commonplace and bullet journal in one notebook. This is what works for me. As I carry my bullet journal everywhere with me, it made perfect sense to grab it, as it's always within my reach, and record a random thought or an observation I found interesting. Sometimes I will have my to do list for the day, followed by a random thought. I usually use two pens of different colors - black for the to-do checklists, blue for the commonplace thoughts.
Of course, this approach won't work for everyone. Maybe you will find it more purposeful to have a notebook designated specifically for your spontaneous thoughts. Find what works for you.
Here is an excerpt from my notebook. I was recording potential keywords, phrases, and blogpost ideas when I first discovered bearblog. I wrote this under one of my daily to-do list, two weeks ago:
-kind of a public diary, simple writing style
-focus on productivity/hard work/self-development?
-mental health/snippets of my days
-tab to showcase my art, like a gallery
I find it important to reread my thoughts and observations every once in a while. It is especially interesting to revisit a notebook years later, to find a snippet of conversation you recorded at a random day in your life - almost like a hidden gem in your memory.
I have come very attached with commonplacing, and I am sure this is a habit I will carry with me for the rest of my life.
You should try it too.