Petya, I am quite astonished at the similarity of our practices. Not only do I have the exact same quote at the beginning of my commonplace journal but I also wait until I am finished reading before transcribing my quotes. And of course the Leuchtturm is my favorite notebook. I love seeing how much you are getting out of this practice. I don't index my commonplace book although I do index my journal.
I think you need to kind of be in e contemplative mood to do this which is why I think doing this daily didn't work for me. Most days are just a wild rush to the finish... but SOME days I have the time to sit down and do this and it is such a feel-good experience.
Ok, I LOVE this. I have the same problem in that I can start so many things, but sticking to them is the issue. One of the reasons I’ve wanted to do this—or any journal really—but don’t have the consistency in place yet. I love how simple and brilliant your approach is! I’ll be trying it. Oh and of course we are fellow February babes 🥰
I have high hopes that this will work because it's related to my reading and Substack writing so it doesn't feel like a made-up activity. It's something that I have been trying to do and was just not finding the right way to do it.
Well... now you will go on this rabbit hole and you will be shocked that there is a whole world of commonplace journaling nerds out there and you will lose years of your life looking through people's beautiful notebook spreads. 😂😂😂
In the opening paragraph I linked some of my favorite things I read about this, let me know if you end up having any specific questions because I may be able to point you to a specific resource.
What a scrumptious read, Petya 🤓 My commonplace (love this language btw) journal is how I approach my daily journalling practice. I oscillate between the same Leuchtturm size or the comparable Moleskine size in the cherry/scarlet red. Right now, it's a Moleskine for 2025 and I'm using my Leuchtturm for my novel-writing journal.
With my practice, the only rule I have for myself is that I write at least one thing daily. It can be notes from what I'm reading, original writing, or quotes drawn from the peripatetic stumbling of life online and conversations. If I'm feeling the downward funk, I journal gratitude/bliss/affirmation lists to recentre in the present moment. More recently, I'm trying to make these lists on significant days so I can document the memories at the end of day or sometimes even during the day. I'll frequently journal into my Paper or Notes apps then transcribe into my journal.
I have found that if I don't commonplace journal every day, I fall off really quick and it can go hand-in-hand with feeling off-kilter in general. Hence, the only commitment to myself with it is that it's a daily practice for my brain/spirit. Alongside it, I do have a few other journals/writing complements. I have my Morning Pages notebooks, I have my digital note-journal of daily perfume-wearing, and I have my scent journal for travelling.
My husband recently told me that at the end of every month/after critical journalling, he digitises everything. He said he scans all his journals -- writing, creative ideas, creative processes -- just in case. This blew my mind! I'm not there yet but I'm considering doing this.
My TLDR of all of this is: indexing is like the power move of power moves. What a level up! I'm obsessed and wondering to myself if it's too late to do this for 2025... Lastly, your observation made my heart ache with its beauty: "I am still figuring out how my brain works in this scenario". Can we please make this a PSA???
Aaaah! I hope we meet up in person one day, I want to talk about any one of the things you mention for hours!
I love those cherry covers!!!
Figuring out consistency, I think, is 80% of most battles. Whatever helps you with consistency is the thing to do.
The biggest reason why I love this practice is how effective it is (for me) in fighting "the downward funk" as you so aptly put it. I have been doing Morning Pages since 2019 but in the last few months I realized how frequently I am just so negative... SO NEGATIVE. I started to wonder if the practice was actually drawing that out of me. I know in principle it's supposed to release you of your negative thoughts.... but in my case I feel like writing it all down helped me write some fleeing negative thoughts into well structured sentences which then I would re-read and just get really riled up...
Quotes about old horses being good friends is so much better. I copied the poem and then texted my best friend. It was so perfect.
When I wrote about my annotation practice, I remembered Matt Long said to me that the most important thing is to make this your own --- so I hope everyone who is interested in this just takes some time to figure things out and do whatever makes sense with/for their brain.
Love love love this, Petya 💕 as someone who has dabbled with various journals, morning pages, and notebooks over the years (getting frustrated and giving up every single time) I am warming to your simple yet effective approach here, combining your notes with your reading practice.
I am finding this very helpful in summarizing my overall impression of a book. By the time I've copied my favorite quotes and categorized them in the index, I can very easily say - in this case, THIS is what stood out for me; THIS is what I will remember from this work.
When I read Claire Louise Bennett's book - POND - I kept saying it was so weird and so funny. But then I couldn't really give an example of what was funny about it. And now I have some of my favorite funny quotes from the book in my journal and keep rereading them and making myself laugh. I need that in my life.
Can’t even tell you how much joy I feel when I read your newsletters. So much is relatable and I think I will finally start my commonplace journal :)) I’ve been only using Readwise so far to collect and review quotes from books, articles, or newsletters. But I have always missed something in this approach 🤔
Oh Anja, this makes me so so happy!!! I try to just write about what I am preoccupied with and trust that there will be at least one other person in the world who cares. 😂😂😂
Not everybody has the time for this... and I know that some of us just have that "notebook gene" .... where we just lose our minds in a stationary store and have to have all the things.... but I think the handmade nature of this practice is definitely part of the secret sauce. I told myself I would do this for a month and just see how I liked it. I think a month is enough time to give you space for some experimentation and play. I would say, give it a try and make it yours for a month and you will know by the end if you would want to continue.
Omg I love this idea! I read a lot and I love quotes that move me or speak to the person I am in that exact moment - ones that spark joy or make me think. I’ve always wanted a way to collect them but was worried I would start and not finish like I tend to do with notebooks and planners. I like how you’ve combined this with your reading - I’m going to try this out this year. Btw love the quote at the beginning of your journal!
Try it , try it!!! I think part of the reason it's worked for me this month is that I wasn't trying to make it about all areas of my life... I told myself, it would just be the quotes from the books I am reading. It made it straight-forward and manageable. The best thing about it, honestly, wasn't the writing down part but the re-reading part.
I know I said that I loved the notebook I have but there is no reason to be precious about this. I am sure you already have an empty notebook in house, just use what you have and number the pages so you can do your index. Give it a go for a month and see if it works. If it works, great. If it doesn't.... no harm done.
Feels especially nice to read how someone starts and cobbles together a personal practice, so thank you for sharing so many details!
And, what a coincidence, because this weekend I'm going to post about a similar notebook I keep which is slightly different and which I call my treasure notebook. I can share the link with you once I publish?
You've convinced me to try indexing, though. Matthew mentioned it in his comment and someone else I subscribe to does something similar with their journal—third time's the charm, and now I am fully ready to get onboard the index train.
I can't wait to read about your treasure notebook! Definitely tag me and / or give us a link here. I know people would love to see.
I am glad that you appreciated the in-progress nature of this. I am such a perfectionist and will typically yearn to try something but end up getting paralyzed in research mode. So, it's important for me to push myself and just begin. A lot of the refinement comes from the doing of the thing, not from research.
The index is a game changer, for real. Read Soren's article about it. It's the best!
I’m hooked! The index makes all the difference for me!!!!! (as it seems to for you and so many commenters!) why have I never considered indexing before !? I always have a loose, organic “table of contents” that grows as I fill out my big hardcover moleskine for master planning, to do lists, random bits and pieces —but the difference an index would make for something thematic like quotes (even book notes/thoughts) is astounding to me, major game-changer, I’m going to be unstoppable —thanks for this Petya !!
That's exactly how I felt about it when I came across it. I had seen people put Table of Contents at the beginning .... but that never made sense to me... because in my case, I would have to organize by book... but over time, you don't remember which book you read that THING in.... so you can't find it.
If you do end up trying this, please do a progress report with us after a while. So curious if you find this as useful as it appears to be.
I can tell this idea is going to grow roots in my brain until I can’t let it go and have to buy a journal. I had one in my teen years which sadly (or not) got lost among the moves.
Hey Angel! I know you love the Paper Republic system ... and that allows you to use different notebooks for different topics/themes... but give this a try. The index allows you to collect quotes in the same notebook on different topics. I can't wait to see your post on your commonplace journal!!!
I love my commonplace notebook, which i also touch on in my newest post! 😊the idea of indexing is definitely one i need to get behind — i can’t keep holding loose ideas in my head of topics and themes i gravitate towards in my reading. I also sit down with my commonplace when i finish reading a book in order to kind of bookend my journey with that book. love learning about your practice!
This entire essay speaks to me! I've kept a regular morning (sometimes night) journal for years and that one is always a Leuchtturm 1917. When I fill up one I pick a different color for the next one depending on my color mood at the time:) Last year I started a very basic commonplace journal using a Filofax journal- I like the very smooth paper, the dividers, and the fact that I can easily take out a page and move it to a different spot if need be. I have the journal separated by two dividers- one section is quotes I've heard/read and want to remember from "real" people and the other is quotes from books. I never thought to add an index to the back, that's such a great idea and one I'm going to add.
My fav pens are Papermate Ink Joy Gel in purple and various colors of LePen. I've also got a birthday this month- the 18th- us Aquarians love our notebooks:)
The Filofax system sounds amazing! I don't love my handwriting and there are pages that I don't like... I love the idea of being able to just pull out a page without messing up the whole system. I will definitely investigate.
My birthday is February 20th - Pisces. So many feelings, deep need to write everything down.
I started copying into a book my underlined passages because I found myself underscoring notable items, shutting the book and forgetting most of what I had read. On rereading the passages in my commonplace book, I immediately recognise the flavour of the work. I try to read a page a day from the book and also treat it like a “Gideon’s Bible”, opening and reading a page at random.
I love that you read through yours every day. I don't read mine every day but I have read it many times over the last month and that's the most meaningful part. I think a lot of the instructions online fetishize the archiving aspect of it -- the materials, the process, etc.-- and not enough people talk about how they use their commonplace journals, how keeping one enriches their lives.
Petya, I am quite astonished at the similarity of our practices. Not only do I have the exact same quote at the beginning of my commonplace journal but I also wait until I am finished reading before transcribing my quotes. And of course the Leuchtturm is my favorite notebook. I love seeing how much you are getting out of this practice. I don't index my commonplace book although I do index my journal.
I think you need to kind of be in e contemplative mood to do this which is why I think doing this daily didn't work for me. Most days are just a wild rush to the finish... but SOME days I have the time to sit down and do this and it is such a feel-good experience.
The Index made this work for me!
Ok, I LOVE this. I have the same problem in that I can start so many things, but sticking to them is the issue. One of the reasons I’ve wanted to do this—or any journal really—but don’t have the consistency in place yet. I love how simple and brilliant your approach is! I’ll be trying it. Oh and of course we are fellow February babes 🥰
I have high hopes that this will work because it's related to my reading and Substack writing so it doesn't feel like a made-up activity. It's something that I have been trying to do and was just not finding the right way to do it.
RE: February babes ==> SO. MANY. FEELINGS.
There is something special about February babes. They’re some of my best friends.
I'd never heard of a commonplace journal but I LOVE this idea.
Well... now you will go on this rabbit hole and you will be shocked that there is a whole world of commonplace journaling nerds out there and you will lose years of your life looking through people's beautiful notebook spreads. 😂😂😂
In the opening paragraph I linked some of my favorite things I read about this, let me know if you end up having any specific questions because I may be able to point you to a specific resource.
What a scrumptious read, Petya 🤓 My commonplace (love this language btw) journal is how I approach my daily journalling practice. I oscillate between the same Leuchtturm size or the comparable Moleskine size in the cherry/scarlet red. Right now, it's a Moleskine for 2025 and I'm using my Leuchtturm for my novel-writing journal.
With my practice, the only rule I have for myself is that I write at least one thing daily. It can be notes from what I'm reading, original writing, or quotes drawn from the peripatetic stumbling of life online and conversations. If I'm feeling the downward funk, I journal gratitude/bliss/affirmation lists to recentre in the present moment. More recently, I'm trying to make these lists on significant days so I can document the memories at the end of day or sometimes even during the day. I'll frequently journal into my Paper or Notes apps then transcribe into my journal.
I have found that if I don't commonplace journal every day, I fall off really quick and it can go hand-in-hand with feeling off-kilter in general. Hence, the only commitment to myself with it is that it's a daily practice for my brain/spirit. Alongside it, I do have a few other journals/writing complements. I have my Morning Pages notebooks, I have my digital note-journal of daily perfume-wearing, and I have my scent journal for travelling.
My husband recently told me that at the end of every month/after critical journalling, he digitises everything. He said he scans all his journals -- writing, creative ideas, creative processes -- just in case. This blew my mind! I'm not there yet but I'm considering doing this.
My TLDR of all of this is: indexing is like the power move of power moves. What a level up! I'm obsessed and wondering to myself if it's too late to do this for 2025... Lastly, your observation made my heart ache with its beauty: "I am still figuring out how my brain works in this scenario". Can we please make this a PSA???
Aaaah! I hope we meet up in person one day, I want to talk about any one of the things you mention for hours!
I love those cherry covers!!!
Figuring out consistency, I think, is 80% of most battles. Whatever helps you with consistency is the thing to do.
The biggest reason why I love this practice is how effective it is (for me) in fighting "the downward funk" as you so aptly put it. I have been doing Morning Pages since 2019 but in the last few months I realized how frequently I am just so negative... SO NEGATIVE. I started to wonder if the practice was actually drawing that out of me. I know in principle it's supposed to release you of your negative thoughts.... but in my case I feel like writing it all down helped me write some fleeing negative thoughts into well structured sentences which then I would re-read and just get really riled up...
Quotes about old horses being good friends is so much better. I copied the poem and then texted my best friend. It was so perfect.
When I wrote about my annotation practice, I remembered Matt Long said to me that the most important thing is to make this your own --- so I hope everyone who is interested in this just takes some time to figure things out and do whatever makes sense with/for their brain.
But definitely do an index. 😂
I love the simplicity of paper and pen. So I use a simple (and inexpensive) good old fashioned Composition book and a Bic (blue ink) pen. Love it…
My favorite pens, honestly, are cheap hotel pens. 😂
I love composition books, too. Just iconic.
Love love love this, Petya 💕 as someone who has dabbled with various journals, morning pages, and notebooks over the years (getting frustrated and giving up every single time) I am warming to your simple yet effective approach here, combining your notes with your reading practice.
I am finding this very helpful in summarizing my overall impression of a book. By the time I've copied my favorite quotes and categorized them in the index, I can very easily say - in this case, THIS is what stood out for me; THIS is what I will remember from this work.
When I read Claire Louise Bennett's book - POND - I kept saying it was so weird and so funny. But then I couldn't really give an example of what was funny about it. And now I have some of my favorite funny quotes from the book in my journal and keep rereading them and making myself laugh. I need that in my life.
Can’t even tell you how much joy I feel when I read your newsletters. So much is relatable and I think I will finally start my commonplace journal :)) I’ve been only using Readwise so far to collect and review quotes from books, articles, or newsletters. But I have always missed something in this approach 🤔
Oh Anja, this makes me so so happy!!! I try to just write about what I am preoccupied with and trust that there will be at least one other person in the world who cares. 😂😂😂
Not everybody has the time for this... and I know that some of us just have that "notebook gene" .... where we just lose our minds in a stationary store and have to have all the things.... but I think the handmade nature of this practice is definitely part of the secret sauce. I told myself I would do this for a month and just see how I liked it. I think a month is enough time to give you space for some experimentation and play. I would say, give it a try and make it yours for a month and you will know by the end if you would want to continue.
Omg I love this idea! I read a lot and I love quotes that move me or speak to the person I am in that exact moment - ones that spark joy or make me think. I’ve always wanted a way to collect them but was worried I would start and not finish like I tend to do with notebooks and planners. I like how you’ve combined this with your reading - I’m going to try this out this year. Btw love the quote at the beginning of your journal!
Try it , try it!!! I think part of the reason it's worked for me this month is that I wasn't trying to make it about all areas of my life... I told myself, it would just be the quotes from the books I am reading. It made it straight-forward and manageable. The best thing about it, honestly, wasn't the writing down part but the re-reading part.
I know I said that I loved the notebook I have but there is no reason to be precious about this. I am sure you already have an empty notebook in house, just use what you have and number the pages so you can do your index. Give it a go for a month and see if it works. If it works, great. If it doesn't.... no harm done.
You’ve convinced me. 😊
Feels especially nice to read how someone starts and cobbles together a personal practice, so thank you for sharing so many details!
And, what a coincidence, because this weekend I'm going to post about a similar notebook I keep which is slightly different and which I call my treasure notebook. I can share the link with you once I publish?
You've convinced me to try indexing, though. Matthew mentioned it in his comment and someone else I subscribe to does something similar with their journal—third time's the charm, and now I am fully ready to get onboard the index train.
I can't wait to read about your treasure notebook! Definitely tag me and / or give us a link here. I know people would love to see.
I am glad that you appreciated the in-progress nature of this. I am such a perfectionist and will typically yearn to try something but end up getting paralyzed in research mode. So, it's important for me to push myself and just begin. A lot of the refinement comes from the doing of the thing, not from research.
The index is a game changer, for real. Read Soren's article about it. It's the best!
On it! Was recommended the practice by someone else, too, so now there really is no other option but to get started (exciting!)
Also, I published the essay about the treasure notebook. Here it is: https://esharana.substack.com/p/striking-startling-sentences
I’m hooked! The index makes all the difference for me!!!!! (as it seems to for you and so many commenters!) why have I never considered indexing before !? I always have a loose, organic “table of contents” that grows as I fill out my big hardcover moleskine for master planning, to do lists, random bits and pieces —but the difference an index would make for something thematic like quotes (even book notes/thoughts) is astounding to me, major game-changer, I’m going to be unstoppable —thanks for this Petya !!
That's exactly how I felt about it when I came across it. I had seen people put Table of Contents at the beginning .... but that never made sense to me... because in my case, I would have to organize by book... but over time, you don't remember which book you read that THING in.... so you can't find it.
If you do end up trying this, please do a progress report with us after a while. So curious if you find this as useful as it appears to be.
I can tell this idea is going to grow roots in my brain until I can’t let it go and have to buy a journal. I had one in my teen years which sadly (or not) got lost among the moves.
.... I am.... sorry??? 😂😂😂
What I am wondering right now is what to do with the journals of Morning Pages (which I now call Whiny Pages) I have accumulated.
Yeah, I would probably burn my teenage journals in my wood stove.
I just started a commonplace book this week. I’ll be checking out that post on indexing later today—that’s the part I’m still a bit hung up on.
And my pen choice is a Sakura Gelly Roll!
Amazing! So glad you are seeing this when you need it. Please tell me how it goes for you.
Also, Japanese stationary is just superior, isn't it?!
If anybody knows of a Japanese notebook with numbered pages -- please tell me!!!
Loved this! I actually haven’t thought of indexing in the back but I think I may add this to my own practice!!
Hey Angel! I know you love the Paper Republic system ... and that allows you to use different notebooks for different topics/themes... but give this a try. The index allows you to collect quotes in the same notebook on different topics. I can't wait to see your post on your commonplace journal!!!
I love my commonplace notebook, which i also touch on in my newest post! 😊the idea of indexing is definitely one i need to get behind — i can’t keep holding loose ideas in my head of topics and themes i gravitate towards in my reading. I also sit down with my commonplace when i finish reading a book in order to kind of bookend my journey with that book. love learning about your practice!
Yes!!! You can keep things in your head to a point... but it's shocking how fast you forget!
I loved your post and sharing here too for others who want to take a peek:
https://isabellarosete.substack.com/p/my-january-2025-reads
thank you for reading + sharing!!
This entire essay speaks to me! I've kept a regular morning (sometimes night) journal for years and that one is always a Leuchtturm 1917. When I fill up one I pick a different color for the next one depending on my color mood at the time:) Last year I started a very basic commonplace journal using a Filofax journal- I like the very smooth paper, the dividers, and the fact that I can easily take out a page and move it to a different spot if need be. I have the journal separated by two dividers- one section is quotes I've heard/read and want to remember from "real" people and the other is quotes from books. I never thought to add an index to the back, that's such a great idea and one I'm going to add.
My fav pens are Papermate Ink Joy Gel in purple and various colors of LePen. I've also got a birthday this month- the 18th- us Aquarians love our notebooks:)
The Filofax system sounds amazing! I don't love my handwriting and there are pages that I don't like... I love the idea of being able to just pull out a page without messing up the whole system. I will definitely investigate.
My birthday is February 20th - Pisces. So many feelings, deep need to write everything down.
I started copying into a book my underlined passages because I found myself underscoring notable items, shutting the book and forgetting most of what I had read. On rereading the passages in my commonplace book, I immediately recognise the flavour of the work. I try to read a page a day from the book and also treat it like a “Gideon’s Bible”, opening and reading a page at random.
I love that you read through yours every day. I don't read mine every day but I have read it many times over the last month and that's the most meaningful part. I think a lot of the instructions online fetishize the archiving aspect of it -- the materials, the process, etc.-- and not enough people talk about how they use their commonplace journals, how keeping one enriches their lives.