Why You're Struggling with Commonplace Books | April Notebook & Planner Update 

Commonplace Books only recently popped up on my radar and now I'm seeing them all over the place. The best I can tell is that they are like a vast Vision Board... a scrapbook of the imagination. Honestly, they remind me of how I originally used Pinterest when it first came on the scene. Regardless, yours is lovely and I think as long as you're eager to both look back on previous pages AND add more to future pages, then YOU'RE DOING IT RIGHT.

I think it's great you're doing the research on what people are describing as a commonplace notebook. I feel that perhaps you're constraining your own creativity by trying to fit it into someone else's idea of how these notebooks should be. I think it would be more beneficial for you and for anybody else who does this type of journaling to format it in whatever way serves you, and you don't even have to be limited by one format. It can change from month to month. And as for the blank page, look at it as a blank canvas each week, meaning don't also feel constrained to give that page a purpose. One week you might experience something amazing that you want to highlight, or maybe there's a quote or an intention that's taking you through the week, It could be a place to post an image or doodle. I think that by lifting the constraints you'll be spending much less time about wondering what the correct thing to do is and you will actually find yourself enjoying the process more! Would love to know what you end up doing ❤

For the blank pages, you could track what media you've consumed, to get an idea of how much TV you watch or what movies you saw this year. Meal planning? Goal / project tracker? Word of the day? Or you could cover the entire page with scrapbook paper, or a good quote in large font, or the cover of whatever book you're currently reading, or news articles to capture a year in headlines... or, as someone else suggested, either ignore it or rip it out altogether.

I love watching this - it feels so calming. Back when I used the EC planners, I would scrapbook/collage on the blank sheets or write affirmations

I watched a video on here a couple weeks ago and I can’t remember the persons name but she said that information is taken in differently by each of us and also different by each of us at different times in our lives. So a commonplace book is supposed to be your brain. Your second brain. Categories are good but the point is to write your thoughts and ideas and somehow inspiration will come from your second brain. Many very intelligent people have had them. The thought did clarify something for me. I wish I could credit her.

I also commonplace, been doing it since 2018, and now I have 2 different types, one in which I include everything and one specialty for history.

Your commonplace book and system should be whatever you want it to be. 😊

I used to keep a notebook like this full of bedroom decorating ideas I would find in magazines. There were so many good ideas in that book, wish I still had it lol. Thanks so much for sharing this!

I had the exact same struggle but this helped me clear things out. I really think it’s a mix of the two. You study and note down but you also reflect and write down your thoughts theories and philosophies on it

the thumbnails in the planner look great! what a great reminder! when it comes to the colors I think they look amazing! but I guess the easiest way to explain it is through the game among us haha in the game people need to memorize all the colors and keep track of where they are but having more players is more fun. so people try and max the number of players but once people get past 5 or 6 it's hard to remember and if they try 15 almost no one can remember or tell the difference. it might be that the colors only work at the beginning or in a very focused situation. I think a lot of contradictions come from the fact that the term covers so much and is ancient. Its lasted for at least as long as the romans but what exactly was Rome? A city state? A kingdom? A Republic? An Empire? Multiple Empires? Etc. Also part of the problem might be someone taking notes and then another person gaining access to the materials and promoting their new asset. Sometimes a master and their apprentice but also a rich person and some random old journal they bought. your book looks great btw! in regards to the thing a bit before 10 min there is at least one person posting almost exclusively on that haha but I know that person's (yes I am keeping this vague on purpose haha) videos normally have a very small reach and don't fall under the standard title or definition umbrella, although one of the people listed in your book has started using similar terms so maybe they'll start popping up for you but another potential reason is that only some commonplacing includes sections and categories with others being more of a brain dump or treated as a temporary place for incomplete or not yet started projects or formed ideas - we can't all be faraday with triplicates - but depending on the definition he can't be counted haha also for some reason this video was REALLY difficult for RU-vid to load but that might be on my end

I use the extra page for personal reflection on the week, or sermon notew

I like the gratitude idea for the week on 1 page … TFS 🤗

I use that extra page at the end of the week as a way to sum up the week, give my thoughts about the week ahead or a place to insert some photos from the week.

I mostly have my own thoughts and plans in my common place. I don't think there is anything wrong with making your commonplace you own. i use it for crochet and knitting plans, ideas and patterns, I use it for book titles, and shop ideas, and on and on. Maybe it goes way outside commonplacing but I don't read stuff to collect other peoples thoughts, I want and need to collect my own...lol

Not sure why you keep saying other examples were a "contradiction" -I just see a commonplace books as a combination of others' thoughts, words, creativity and then add how/why things added how/why their work inspired, helped, supported me. Two ideas/purposes can exist in one space....

Blank pages also don’t always have to be filled (referring to your question on the notes pages in your planner). If it’s not helpful soace, you don’t have to write something down for the sake of writing. Having said that, some ideas: - the gratitude journal was a great idea - possibly a quick summary on how the week went, or notes on how you want to use/improve your planner/planning next week I’m out of ideas. But great video!

The way i understand commonplacing is that it's a collection of wisdom and other people's ideas, quotes, poems. But that if you include your own ideas, they are based on how you interpret, agree or disagree with those other people's ideas. Almost like "To be or not to be..." ~Shakespeare (this excerpt has always struck me as defeatist and desolate. Where Hamlet is not really on team 'To be' at all/jlh)

For the blank pages in the daily: what about a weekly review on the front and an overview for the upcoming week (or goals)on the reverse?

Thanks for the algorithm to show your video in my explore page!! I like how you layout your notebook it looks like a blog or timeline of some sort✨ for the weekly page you can make a weekly collage of the highlights of the week and print it out? You can easily make it to the previous weeks as well if you don’t like having empty pages✔️

Blank pages each week in planner are great spaces for weekly pre_planning and weekly reviews.

This video was AWESOME and you've totally inspired me to start a new, more logical commonplace book. What a weird synchronicity -- I think my first commonplace book was Elvish phrases from LOTRs. FYI I hope my poetry book makes it into your commonplace book one day (if you are/wish to be a mother): it's called The Cosmic Whispered Verses of Awakened Motherhood.

The commonplace book advice was very helpful thank you!

I didn't know you play Stardew- it's all I play right now. :) Commonplacing would be very chaotic for my brain and make it difficult to find anything- that's what I use Notion for, but I really love yours

Thanks for the commonplace information. I t was inspiring. 😻

Your earlier commonplace books remind me of my own as a kid. I had a notebook I made for Pokemon Gen 1 back when they didn’t have guides. My memory was bad and I would forget which villager was where and Pokémon’s. I was also mildly obsessed with Hilary Duff. I had another journal filled with magazine clippings of her and other fashions icons (Lindsey Lohan).

I would stop agonizing over it and just rip the blank page out. 👀 week overview, daily highlights/doodles.

I love this video and the thoughts you presented! Thank you! What journals are you using? And where do you get your dots?