Putting Stuff into your Commonplace Book
And nows the most exciting time, we're going to put stuff into your commonplace book. If you're like me, you'll be a little nervous messing up your perfectly pristine book, but if you don't do it you'll never begin this journey.
My first page features a dedication in the form of a quote from Vincent Van Gogh. It's quite poetic really considering that Vincent Van Gogh is featured in one of my favorite Doctor Who episodes.
Then comes the Index pages. I'm using my Starry Night Washi tape for helping create the headers.
And last of all is the first entry in my Commonplace book, my favorite Steven Hawking quote.
After that it's just a matter of filling in your commonplace book. Whatever interests you, write it down. Over the years you can look back and see what was on your mind, what subjects peaked your imagination. So go out and set up one for yourself, I haven't regretted doing it myself.
Setting up a Commonplace Book
If you're setting up a Commonplace book, the first thing to consider is how to go about it. Analog or Digital? Do you want to write it all down in a book, or use something like Evernote?
Now you know I'm a stationery addict and a huge geek, so I'm going to set mine up in my new Doctor Who Tardis notebook. If you want to know more about what notebooks and other tools you could use to make a Commonplace Book, go check out my Bullet Journal series here.
Once you've chosen a notebook you want to make a pretty cover :) I'm going to base mine on the famous Tardis quote "Bigger on the inside", which is quite appropriate really because the book will contain a universe of knowledge.
The next thing to do on the first inside page is to date the Commonplace Book, so you know the period each book covers. After that comes the index. Once you go through a couple of books it'll be next to impossible to know what information is where, so by numbering the book pages, and then setting up an index it'll be much easier to find information you need to refer to. I've set aside six pages in Tardis Commonplace book for indexing.
Some people have also included a keyword section so you can note down keywords for each entry, and then have an index for that so you can find things in another way. I haven't set mine up for that system, it could get tricky, especially if the keywords will be out of alphabetical order if you keyword as you go.
So what's next? Start filling in your commonplace book, but of course that's a whole other blog post :)
Ear worm of the week: Bad Girl's World by Halestorm
TV show of the week: Nailed It.
Movie of the week: Bright
Book of the Week: Spin Off Winter 2017/2018 - Spinning Magazine
Commonplace Books - What are they?
Have you heard of Commonplace Books? Neither did I, until about a month ago.
Commonplace books are a way to compile knowledge, by writing knowledge into books, or by putting them into your computer. They are essentially knowledge scrapbooks filled with entries of every kind including:
- Recipes
- Quotes
- Letters
- Poems
- Scientific knowledge
- Proverbs
- General knowledge
- The list goes on and on...
Basically, they're everything you want noted down somewhere, so you can go back and find it later. They're also a great aid for remembering useful facts and information. Each commonplace book is unique to its creators particular interests. If you think about it, commonplace books are very similar to Pinterest, but in a written form and without any ads.
Commonplace books can be just hard facts, knowledge that you write down and keep. But they can also be journals as well, where you can note down how each of the entries affects you, or you can add extra information that is pertinent to your life.
Commonplace books have been around for centuries, and include people like Oscar Wilde, Marcus Aurelius, Mark Twain, Bill Gates, Lewis Carroll, and Leonardo Da Vinci.
And being the seeker of knowledge that I am, the type of person who loves learning new things, how could I not start a commonplace book of my own? And that's what I'm doing, over the next few weeks I'll show you how it's developing :)
Ear worm of the week: Shatter Me by Lindsey Stirling featuring Lzzy Hale
TV show of the week: Altered Carbon
Movie of the week: The Blues Brothers
Book of the Week: New Zealand Gardener April 2018
Movie Review: Arrival
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