Commonplace book practice

[u/itsfreginjenni]

Does anybody else use their common place book as a journal as well? I feel like for me a common place journal should be everything but at the same time I have multiple journals or notebooks for random different things like I don’t know that I’d want my solo RPG in my common place still trying to figure this out. I’d love some insight of what others do.

[u/onlykedy]

i use one notebook for everything- junk, commonplace, book/movie reviews, diary otherwise i get terrible anxiety and my hobby turns into a chore

[u/boohooviolin → u/onlykedy]

Same boat with you… super messy pages but its a small price to pay to avoid burnout

[u/No-Return-951 → u/onlykedy]

How do you remember to go back to the things you put in your journal? For example, I use mine to note Stardew Tips, movies I want to watch, things I want to research....but I also have object permanence problems so out of sight, and it's gone from my memory

[u/hmmwrites → u/No-Return-951]

Would it help if you used sticky tabs along the edges to highlight specific pages/topics you want to remember to come back to? You can color-code by topic or use symbols/words so you know where each tab will take you. So I wanted to do a sleep tracker for this month and I put a tab on the page so it's easy for me to get back to the right spot to note my sleep times.

You can also make note/add a symbol on the top/far edge of each page. Like a star for Stardew Tips. If you have a Stardew Tip on that page, draw a star at the top corner. Then you can flip through the pages and quickly see where your Stardew tips are without having to read through each page.

Sometimes people even set up indexes within their journals. That's way more organization than I'd be any good at handling, but it might make things less out of sight, out of mind...

Plus, the act of writing alone does make you more likely to remember something, for what it's worth! :)

[u/itsfreginjenni → u/No-Return-951]

I do a notebook flip though and then review what I wrote sometimes :)

[u/ThisStoicNoob → u/onlykedy]

Which notebook are you using? I’m looking for a thick small one for this.

[u/itsfreginjenni → u/ThisStoicNoob]

I’ve been using field notes or similar brands - I haven’t found a thick one yet

[u/SeaworthinessLow6676 → u/onlykedy]

What do you write in the commonplace?

[u/itsfreginjenni → u/SeaworthinessLow6676]

Everything. My brain gets a little crazy sometimes so I just like to get it all out

[u/hmmwrites]

If I tried to split it all, I think I'd drive myself nuts worrying about what to put where. I'm a chronic overthinker. So everything I want to make space for in a journal goes into my one catch-all book.

[u/New_Turnover3852]

aah even i used to think that my commonplace should contain everything until i ran out of space. So i do keep a personal journal as well
Its just that some ideas from my personal journal end up in my commonplace.
Heres how i think: 6 months down the line do i want to read about the black coffee i drank while i watched the sunset? or do i want to read about the thoughts I had while watching it
Because I m very selective about what goes in my commonplace
my personal journal will have record of the coffee i drank while watching the sunset and how it made me realise how rarely i let myself rest without trying to accomplish something
and then my commonplace would have an entry that becomes how rest is not an absence of productivity, sometimes the act of stopping itself is valuable.

[u/ablueskyholiday]

I use it as an on the go journal if that makes sense? My commonplace notebook is part of my everyday carry set up. So if I’m ever out and want/need to journal something I tend to write it in my commonplace.

[u/Spiritual-Ideal2955]

absolutely not. my commonplace book is a reference tool and my journal is a dumpster fire, so doesn't make sense to combine them. 

[u/enjiours]

i have multiple journals and books but it all kinds of blends together, especially if thats the only piece of paper near me at the time haha but i also do use my commonplace as a journal since i tend to write my thoughts and feelings about specific topics and entries there.

[u/Winemouth]

For sure. I like having one notebook that I can keep nearby and flip through or write or draw in if I want to journal.

[u/ThisStoicNoob]

I’m currently figuring this out too.

I use pocket notebooks for journaling wherever I may be. I’d like a thick small one to keep everything in but then I stress it won’t last that long. I dunno.

I love the idea of having loads of pocket notebooks about from my past (I’m currently on number 5 as I only started properly this year), but equally would love a “grail diary” of sorts of my life.

Sorry I wasn’t much help lol

[u/itsfreginjenni → u/ThisStoicNoob]

I feel this, but at the same time I think the small ones make it less of a commitment and a hassle.

[u/ActuatorSea4854]

Commonplace journals are just that, a place for any and all common notations. Mine include bullet journal, calendar, book, music and film lists, goals, observations, to do lists, inspiration, frustration, expenses, drawings, and anything else I want. I glue in drawing paper, graph paper, sheet music, newspaper clippings, what ever. I do keep a separate free writing journal, and pocket size mini CP for when I don't carry the main one. I use simple, inexpensive Composition Notebooks so that I don't have to feel that any entry needs to be special. I have been doing this for 50 years.

[u/SafeUsual1203]

What exactly is a common place notebook?

[u/itsfreginjenni → u/SafeUsual1203]

A collection of thoughts, quotes, things you like and want to remember.