Bullet Journal Collections - The Commonplace Book

Common Place Book - Bullet Journal

"When you arise in the morning, think of what a precious privilege it is to be alive - to breathe, to think, to enjoy, to love." - Marcus Aurelius

Before I began my work for the day, one of the most famous Roman Emperors - Marcus Aurelius, tapped me on the shoulder and whispered the above wisdom in my ear.  Maybe it was just the hot coffee, but I suddenly felt able to focus about the tasks I'd set myself for the day and more importantly to relax.

I'd like to share with you my Commonplace Book collection that I now keep in my Bullet Journal.  I'd previously had it spread over a number of notebooks, but now have consolidated it.  It's a useful tool that I'd recommend you consider adding to yours too.

A Commonplace Book is a tool to collect quotes, notes, observations and thoughts from your reading and listening. You record useful pieces of information as you come across them, so that in future you can draw from these notes and use them in your life, projects, work, growth.

As you build your collection, you'll start to find that as problems arise, whether they are personal or related to your work, you'll begin to find solutions or hints to find your own solutions in your carefully recorded notes.  As with many things the more you put into it, the more you'll get out.

Just like Bullet Journaling, there is no one way you must set up a Commonplace Book collection.  Find what works for you. Maybe you'll just record quotes and notes, maybe you'll index your records in detail. Maybe you'll refine as you go along. But if you want some more detailed thoughts about setting up your Common Place Book collection, I'd recommend reading Doug Toft's piece "The Commonplace Book, An Essential Tool for Idea Entrepreneurs" and "How and Why to Keep a Commonplace Book" by Ryan Holiday.

Do you use a Commonplace Book or have any great quotes I should add to mine? If so please share.

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