My Commonplace Book – what is that?

I'm too sloppy for planners and not patient (or creative) enough for bullet journals. Recently, I have found the joy of Commonplace Books. A commonplace book is a collection of ideas, quotes, recipes, stories, observations, anything you want to save and use later in your writing, in a presentation, for anything you do. People like DaVinci, Sherlock Holmes, Napoleon, even soldiers in the Civil War kept commonplace books! Pinterest is a modern version of a commonplace book. Keeping a commonplace book helps me take my very active, creative, and sometimes easily distracted mind and organize it.

 I always find myself taking notes in my books and almost immediately forgetting everything I wrote down or underlined as soon as I finish the book. Going back through my margins and copying my notes into my commonplace book helps me remember. I take notes when I watch movies, listen to music or radio shows or speeches, literally anything that inspires me. It has been proven time and time again that putting forth the effort to write things down helps you remember. I even add pictures I love from magazines, things I want to add to my vision board, articles from the paper that I want to save. EVERYTHING! 

Keep your commonplace book safe and you will be blessed with wisdom for years to come. Organize it any way you want, be as colorful or as neat as you want to be. If you write papers, emails, give advice or have meaningful conversations over coffee tables, you might consider keeping a commonplace book .

Thanks to Adam for contributing to our continuing series on writing and all its benefits.  If you have a story to share, please let us know with your comments, or by writing us at info@epica.com.  We love to share guest blogs!