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What’s a commonplace book?
A commonplace book is nothing too fancy or have that much of a difference from a journal. But think of it as a personal notebook compiling any information you think is interesting or useful, no need to be strict on formats or follow a certain structure for aesthetics. There’s no other goal but to write about stuff that caught your attention no matter the category! o(*￣▽￣*)ブ
What can you put on it?
Diary entries ✧ To-do lists ✧ Proverbs ✧ Recipes ✧ Even receipts actually ✧ Quotes ✧ Letters ✧ Phone numbers ✧ Poems ✧ Lyrics ✧ Doodles/Drawings ✧ Tables of weights and measures ✧ Prayers ✧ Legal formulas ✧ References ✧ Schedules ✧ Debts (if any) ✧ Reminders ✧ Dreams ✧ Inspirations ✧ Literally anything!
So, how to start with one? And why bother?
Writing things down in a commonplace book is a wonderful way to deal with all the information we get bombarded with daily. I personally enjoy the habit of transcribing quotes and revisiting them later, leafing through the pages to see what caught my eye over the past weeks or months. I honestly reccommend using one with many pages if you have any just lying around.
Oh, and just in case you don’t like the traditional way of writing, then you might like Obsidian. It’s both a Markdown editor and a knowledge base app, good for note-taking but it goes above and beyond (I might be exaggerating). Completely free for personal and commercial use as well.
And of course, writing things down have their benefits too!
The Benefits of Writing (M Cecil Smith, Ph.D)
Linguist Walter Ong (1982) observed that writing is necessary to help the human mind achieve its full potential. Writing, for example, allows the writer to concretize abstract ideas and to “connect the dots in their knowledge,” according to the National Commission on Writing in America’s Schools and Colleges (2003, p. 3). Particular kinds of writing tasks may, indeed, be beneficial to intellectual vitality, creativity, and thinking abilities. A study by Klein and Boals (2001) found, for example, that when adults write about significant life events their memory for such events is improved.
Somewhat more research has investigated the benefits of writing to emotional well being. James Pennebaker, a cognitive psychologist at the University of Texas-Austin has undertaken a series of investigations into the benefits of writing (Pennebaker, 2004), including its ability to heal emotional wounds. Short-term, focused writing can, according to Pennebaker, benefit anyone— from persons who are dealing with terminal illness, victims of violent crime, or new college students struggling with the transition from high school. His approach is to give individuals a simple 20-minute writing assignment over four consecutive days: To write about their deepest emotions and thoughts about the upheaval that is most affecting their lives.
The word “commonplace” is derived from the Latin term locus communis (from Greek tópos koinós), meaning “a general or common place”, like a piece of widely accepted advice.
If you already have this notebook, please do tell me about it if you’re willing. If not, then do you think you might try now?
Comments
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gore
I have several
WOAAH that's gonna make an awesome collection to look back to.
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BajaBlast
someone remind me this exists, i may need this for later.
Here's a reminder for you!! :3
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amber ⚞•⚟
I might start one
Go for it! It'll be worth it, I promise.
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⛧Max iz Dead⛧
this perfectly describes the journal i've been using for the past 3 years !! i draw in it mainly, i write song ideas, to-do lists, guitar tabs, collages, stories, and the occasional sticker or flower i didn't know where else to put :P
I think that almost sounds like the picture books I wish I can afford from the National Bookstore. Genuinely a cool compilation you got there and I may you never lose inspiration to feel filling up your pages!! <33
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sn0wflake_s0up
i have a book like this!! i draw sometimes, write poems, glue stuff in it like its a junk journal, i put stickers on the cover and write down lyrics of songs i hear that i dont know and lists of stuff!! its amazing i bring it everywhere it makes me so happy
Owning a commonplace book or a junk journal is like treasure keeping but in the form of writing and crafts. It's a beautiful hobby to have and I'm glad you've been into it!! I have some stickers given by a friend but I plan to use it on my next notebook, the one I currently have is still too small.
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LOTUS_START
omg hai! i've been using a commonplace journal for a while now and completed it some months back, and i liked it a lot. it was nice just having a space to put down my thoughts that didn't have to be organized or whatnot. how many commonplace books have u had ^-^?
*common books sorry lol XD
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I used to have two during elementary but they eventually disappeared (poor diary entries of mine), they were actually DIY commonplace books I made for the fun of crafting. Right now I do have a small one which I just write stuff on and sometimes I note down conversation details there like a detective. Just in case I gotta tell it to my bestie. T^T Plus, I write down my dreams a lot!!
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ooo that's so fun! what else do you write in yours :0 mine has mostly become a to do list and i wanna spice it up AHAHAH
by LOTUS_START; ; Report
Sometimes I write calculations regarding how much would I need if I want something, money spendings are there too then. And I may or may not stick receipts there sometimes or hide money as well between the pages.
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i actually do the same thing LOL, it really helps when you have things listed out, it keeps ur finances in check
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PlanetSnail
I've never heard the term "commonplace journal" before now, but i much prefer it over "junk journal"! my commonplace journal has been going for a little under a year atp, and i quite enjoy adding to it!
I usually write my dreams on mine especially if they're sooooo weird I don't know what meaning could it even have. Also, junk journal sounds like a silly name for it, might call it that now since commonplace requires more letters and mouth movements.
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i'd be delighted to exchange titles for these journals lol
i've never thought to note down dreams in mine, i might try that ^^
by PlanetSnail; ; Report
We eventually forget our dreams one way or another, so if one day you look back to it, you'll end up questioning yourself and maybe even finding it too silly. Our dreams don't always make sense but they are super duper creative!
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Lumi⭑.ᐟ
I was thinking about making one for some time actually, maybe it's a sign to finally do it
This was no coincidence, you've stumbled upon here for that reason. :3
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Succubatzz
I had no idea this existed!! definetly I'll have one as soon as I can, since lately I haven't been writing as much as I used to write. I think the convenience will help me a lot with my art block and I could finally use some of my empty notebooks lol, this was very informative and useful, thx!!
You're very much welcome. I hope you'll have fun with the experience and you end up with a fine compilation of all the things that piqued your interest. :3
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Zi
I have a junk journal/scrapbook thing, all i do is get cds and cut up the paper inside with the band and lyrics and get all the random beads and stuff i have laying around. It’s pretty fun
That's a really cool idea!! I think that'll turn out awesome once you finish. Now I actually hope I can see the look for myself.
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CallOfTheCrows
I started something recently. I've yet to come up with a name for it, but it's a thought extractor of sorts. I put stuff in there to clear my head, whether it be drawings, writing, lyrics, etc; I've just been using it to brain dumb, and I've had a lot of fun with it.
Something weird I noticed too, since starting: I almost always capitalize my Is when it's at the beginning of a word, for some reason. I haven't written with a legitimate pen since covid hit, so the current state of my handwriting is quite odd. Despite only taking notes every now and then, it's improved drastically, outside a couple weird habits like that, which I have a lot of. It's quite cool
Brain dump*
This is why I should proof read
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I think I'd like to see a sample of your handwriting sometimes, I still believe in that little childhood thing than a person's handwriting can give you a good impression of the writer himself/herself. I like to think that way until now actually. <33
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Sure. I'll try to message some to you later, if that'd work
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MiRAGE_☆
Yes!! I always have a notebook I write anything and everything in, and revisiting those later is always so fun!
Yess twin!! We are built to keep those notes close to heart. I want to have a collection of them actually, then pass them to my future youngsters when I get old. (*/ω＼*)
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YESS I WANT TO DO THE SAMEE
by MiRAGE_☆; ; Report
omg this is so epic to know im not alone in this
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Kai The Foley
I commonplace in my "everything" notebook, and it's been great!!
It's a fun activity I believe people should try once in a while, it doesn't need a fixed schedule after all.
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⭐️ BEA 🐛spchy down in my country r.i.p
i have been considering doing one for ages, so this was very fun to read! definitely going to get a start on it tomorrow :]
It would be soooo fun!! You don't have to feel any pressure over how it looks, it's kind of meant to be messy anyway, all you got to do is just start putting stuff in there. My first entry on mine was literally how I felt that week, then it got followed by calculations on how much game currency I needed for a character.
💫🌟
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