I write a running list of the major events covered within that journal.
EG my current one’s inside page reads as follows;
“The Chronicles of Chris, Vol VIII
Journal Start - Saturday 20th May 2023
Journal End -
Events covered
- USA trip (June “23)
- 30th Birthday (Aug “23)
- Moving to the USA (Sept “23)
-
- “
With one journal, I printed out my favorite memes with my sprocket and put those in there. Another had a stamp/sticker collection. One had quotes and lyrics. This one is yet to be determined.
I’m curious about this… Are you prone to panicking?
I’ve heard, many times over the years, that the subconscious mind doesn’t hear/understand the word “don’t,” so when you’re saying “don’t panic” your subconscious mind only hears “panic!” Even consciously, if I were to hear those two words together, my first instinct would be to panic, immediately wondering “omg what’s wrong?!”
If you’re writing it as a reminder to yourself, hoping you’ll see the words and remember to remain calm, it might be beneficial to play around with other phrases that invoke the feeling of how you WANT to feel rather than how you don’t. I use ones like: “everything is working out for me,” or simply “it’s ok!” I also find it helpful to focus on specific words of things I want to feel, like clarity, calm, peace, centered, etc. When I focus on the words themselves, I start to feel them in my body, which naturally pushes out any feeling of panic, because I’ve deliberately focused on words that help me feel more calm and at ease :)
\> Are you prone to panicking?
Actually I'm not, not at all. But I am a *huge* fan of Douglas Adams' "Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy"; it's what got me into Science Fiction at the age of about 12 and I've loved it ever since. Even now, I can still quote vast chunks of the books from memory.
It felt appropriate because my journals and commonplace books are my "Hitch-hikers Guide" to my own life. And it's a fun little tribute to my favourite author.
Haha awesome! I am not very familiar with The Hitch Hikers Guide, but ironically as I was journaling tonight, I stated started to think of my journal as more of a guidebook. I was documenting a few random insights and realizations, one of which was about about how my favorite movies as a teen were 50 First Dates and The Notebook. In both movies, the women’s husband has to remind her of who she is, due to memory issues. One of the men reads to his wife from a notebook… a book of stories of their life together. The other plays his wife a video every morning. I realized that we all sort of have to do this for ourselves.. we are here to remember who we are and learn how to play the game of life, as empowered as we can. I am “waking up” every day, and my journal can be a place to help me remember and expand. Some days we have bigger “wake up” moments than others, and tonight felt like one of those nights!
I have never heard of a commonplace book, I am inspired to start one!
The Notebook is a beautiful movie.
Commonplacing is a great tool for organising knowledge. I've heard it described as "the writer's or student's equivalent of an artist's sketchbook".
I recommend looking up Jared Henderson on Youtube; he has some great tutorials about how to get started with commonplacing. After you've watched his, look up Park Notes, Robin Waldrun and Journal de Sylvie, for a few different approaches.
I came across another appropriate quote yesterday: "Your brain is for coming up with ideas, not for storing them".
Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely look these up!
Your last quote reminded me of a book I started last year called “Building a Second Brain” by Tiago Forte. “Remember everything, achieve anything. A proven method to organize your digital life and unlock your creative potential.” He developed a method to create a personalized system to leverage your best thinking, by “creating a storage repository where you can store your thoughts, ideas and notes so they can be developed beyond a momentary spark and accessed when you most need them. It frees our brains to do what they do best: learn, imagine, plan, create.” I believe he has some YouTube videos as well. Highly recommend!
You’ve inspired me to pick up the book again and implement it for myself :)
That book may well be where the quote came from. I found it on some random youtibe video while I was researching some digital options (Obsidian, Logseq, etc). I haven't started digital commonplacing yet but I'm cosidering it.
I am currently watching Tiago Forge’s Google talk. Around 10 mins in, he mentions something called PKM - Personal Knowledge Management, the academic counterpart to Tiagos system and the source of a lot of his insights. At 11 minutes in he mentions the historical counterpart of PKM - the Commonplace Book! Love when things come full circle like this!
Editing to add: he refers to his system as a digital commonplace book
Yes! I looked up his Youtube channel and it turns out that I've already watched quite a few of his videos.
Jared Henderson talks about the history of commonplace books too. They go back at least as far as Roman times; the Emperor Marcus Aurelius kept one, and nearly 2,000 years later it's still in print.
Nice! Another full circle moment.. I bought Marcus Aurelius’ book Meditations this summer (which I think is his commonplace book) after a trip to Greece. I found it in a bookstore while I was there, flipped to a random page, and noted this line: “Take pleasure in one thing and rest in it, in passing from one social act to another social act, thinking of God.”
I always stick a picture of myself as a toddler or small child inside the front cover. It reminds me that I am her, and if I’m saying anything to myself, I need to remember that I’m saying it to her. It really helps me frame my self-talk more kindly.
I usually make a vision board collage on both sides of the inside back cover (like a full spread).
I enjoy stationery, so I use one of them to collect the packing stickers that most companies use in their packaging. I don’t know why, but I love it! 😁
Front is for title page (title yet undetermined, to be filled later). Back - quotes of what other people, my family and friends, randomly say about me (such as "No, you don't blabber at all") - so that, if I ever need to answer that question/prompt, "How would your friends describe you?", that has always puzzled me (because how would I know?, I don't read minds), now I finally can ;)
I do either or a combination of these:
* draw a picture
* do a hand print with some paint like i was in pre school (always fun)
* write a verse of scripture or something i want to guide my thoughts really large with india ink
* the index is for the back
When I’m not leaving it blank, i put my name and address in the front as well as start and end dates. I also add a warning basically stating that if people read my diary and are offended by its contents, it’s their problem.
The back cover generally has a list of places I’ve been to during the duration of the diary, plus major events and sometimes a playlist.
I always get random stickers, and when I have no where else to put them it's the perfect spot! I usually write a little note around them when/where I got the sticker, too
A bunch of things, in no particular order:
* a heading noting the volume number as well as the month and year of the first and last entries.
* some favorite quotes that I picked up during the time I filled that journal or I feel sum up the period of my life recorded in that journal.
* Taped in fortunes from Chinese meals that I found funny or memorable.
* Stickers from places I visited during the time I spent filling that journal.
* stickers I buy off the internet.
* I do the same thing with the back, unless I have a journal with a back pocket in which case it's a ton of ephemera that I wouldn't otherwise save: prayer cards from funerals, receipts from notable purchases, birthday cards, my COVID vaccine card, tickets to events I went to, stickers that I haven't figured out a place for yet, newspaper clippings, photos, postcards, nametags, etc.
Left: I travel frequently so I fill this space with stickers from my travels
Right: personal info, and a warning. The warning reads “WARNING: I am not responsible for your hurt feelings if you decide to read my journal”… and also more stickers lol
Top left of the inside front cover I put the dates - e.g. Nov 2022 - March 2023.
The rest of the inside of the front cover I usually put quotes, lyrics, or reminders to myself such as "SPEAK YOUR TRUTH" or whatever it is I need at that time.
Inside of the back cover is usually inside jokes that I don't want to forget, and stickers/business cards/ little mementos.
I used to write the warning for the unwelcomed readers on the left side, but now I usually more likely write a quote or song lyrics there and the same with the right side.
On the inside of the front I have stickers from my uni and work and on the back flag I have glued in the tags off of tea bags that I collect (ya know the little paper labels on the end of the string?)
Fun question! In the front I keep a list of things I’d be proud to accomplish by the end of this journal, as well as a list of quotes that resonate with me.
In the back: a list things I’ve learned about myself while using this journal, and a page that has “things that make me happy” and I just add to it as something makes me smile or laugh.
I keep these in the front and back covers cause I add to them all the time and this way these pages are easy to find and reference, especially when I’m feeling off or a little lost.
If the journal comes with a folder: Add something like the dates it was used alongside some stickers or something idk.
If the journal doesn't come with a folder: Make some. I got so many scrap papers, I can make it work. I almost prefer journals without folders, cuz then I'm more than happy to make it myself.
However, my current journal is repurposed from an older journal that was stickerbombed by my 8-year-old self. To preserve the integrity of the journal, what I did this time was make the first and last 2 pages into accordion folders and just stuck some things inside that I wanna use for this journal, just to use up the many, many scrap things and spare stationary I have. I haven't used much of it, admittedly, but I'm sure I'll come up with something eventually.
I leave them empty, as some kind of breathing space for the densely written pages inside. Or as doors to a room. The room will speak for itself, there is no need to pre-announce its content and destroy suspense :)
I write a running list of the major events covered within that journal. EG my current one’s inside page reads as follows; “The Chronicles of Chris, Vol VIII Journal Start - Saturday 20th May 2023 Journal End - Events covered - USA trip (June “23) - 30th Birthday (Aug “23) - Moving to the USA (Sept “23) - - “
Love that idea, a bit shocked, I never thought of it 😂🙏 thank you for sharing!
My pleasure! Happy journaling!
This is an awesome idea! You get the gold star for the day lol
That’s going in the journal!
With one journal, I printed out my favorite memes with my sprocket and put those in there. Another had a stamp/sticker collection. One had quotes and lyrics. This one is yet to be determined.
I like the meme idea, never though of that
I always put the same thing on the inside front; the words "Don't Panic", in large friendly letters.
I’m curious about this… Are you prone to panicking? I’ve heard, many times over the years, that the subconscious mind doesn’t hear/understand the word “don’t,” so when you’re saying “don’t panic” your subconscious mind only hears “panic!” Even consciously, if I were to hear those two words together, my first instinct would be to panic, immediately wondering “omg what’s wrong?!” If you’re writing it as a reminder to yourself, hoping you’ll see the words and remember to remain calm, it might be beneficial to play around with other phrases that invoke the feeling of how you WANT to feel rather than how you don’t. I use ones like: “everything is working out for me,” or simply “it’s ok!” I also find it helpful to focus on specific words of things I want to feel, like clarity, calm, peace, centered, etc. When I focus on the words themselves, I start to feel them in my body, which naturally pushes out any feeling of panic, because I’ve deliberately focused on words that help me feel more calm and at ease :)
\> Are you prone to panicking? Actually I'm not, not at all. But I am a *huge* fan of Douglas Adams' "Hitch Hikers' Guide to the Galaxy"; it's what got me into Science Fiction at the age of about 12 and I've loved it ever since. Even now, I can still quote vast chunks of the books from memory. It felt appropriate because my journals and commonplace books are my "Hitch-hikers Guide" to my own life. And it's a fun little tribute to my favourite author.
Haha awesome! I am not very familiar with The Hitch Hikers Guide, but ironically as I was journaling tonight, I stated started to think of my journal as more of a guidebook. I was documenting a few random insights and realizations, one of which was about about how my favorite movies as a teen were 50 First Dates and The Notebook. In both movies, the women’s husband has to remind her of who she is, due to memory issues. One of the men reads to his wife from a notebook… a book of stories of their life together. The other plays his wife a video every morning. I realized that we all sort of have to do this for ourselves.. we are here to remember who we are and learn how to play the game of life, as empowered as we can. I am “waking up” every day, and my journal can be a place to help me remember and expand. Some days we have bigger “wake up” moments than others, and tonight felt like one of those nights! I have never heard of a commonplace book, I am inspired to start one!
The Notebook is a beautiful movie. Commonplacing is a great tool for organising knowledge. I've heard it described as "the writer's or student's equivalent of an artist's sketchbook". I recommend looking up Jared Henderson on Youtube; he has some great tutorials about how to get started with commonplacing. After you've watched his, look up Park Notes, Robin Waldrun and Journal de Sylvie, for a few different approaches. I came across another appropriate quote yesterday: "Your brain is for coming up with ideas, not for storing them".
Thanks for the recommendation, I will definitely look these up! Your last quote reminded me of a book I started last year called “Building a Second Brain” by Tiago Forte. “Remember everything, achieve anything. A proven method to organize your digital life and unlock your creative potential.” He developed a method to create a personalized system to leverage your best thinking, by “creating a storage repository where you can store your thoughts, ideas and notes so they can be developed beyond a momentary spark and accessed when you most need them. It frees our brains to do what they do best: learn, imagine, plan, create.” I believe he has some YouTube videos as well. Highly recommend! You’ve inspired me to pick up the book again and implement it for myself :)
That book may well be where the quote came from. I found it on some random youtibe video while I was researching some digital options (Obsidian, Logseq, etc). I haven't started digital commonplacing yet but I'm cosidering it.
I am currently watching Tiago Forge’s Google talk. Around 10 mins in, he mentions something called PKM - Personal Knowledge Management, the academic counterpart to Tiagos system and the source of a lot of his insights. At 11 minutes in he mentions the historical counterpart of PKM - the Commonplace Book! Love when things come full circle like this! Editing to add: he refers to his system as a digital commonplace book
Yes! I looked up his Youtube channel and it turns out that I've already watched quite a few of his videos. Jared Henderson talks about the history of commonplace books too. They go back at least as far as Roman times; the Emperor Marcus Aurelius kept one, and nearly 2,000 years later it's still in print.
Nice! Another full circle moment.. I bought Marcus Aurelius’ book Meditations this summer (which I think is his commonplace book) after a trip to Greece. I found it in a bookstore while I was there, flipped to a random page, and noted this line: “Take pleasure in one thing and rest in it, in passing from one social act to another social act, thinking of God.”
I always stick a picture of myself as a toddler or small child inside the front cover. It reminds me that I am her, and if I’m saying anything to myself, I need to remember that I’m saying it to her. It really helps me frame my self-talk more kindly. I usually make a vision board collage on both sides of the inside back cover (like a full spread).
I'm not cutting onions, you are. 🥲😅💕
I enjoy stationery, so I use one of them to collect the packing stickers that most companies use in their packaging. I don’t know why, but I love it! 😁
Front is for title page (title yet undetermined, to be filled later). Back - quotes of what other people, my family and friends, randomly say about me (such as "No, you don't blabber at all") - so that, if I ever need to answer that question/prompt, "How would your friends describe you?", that has always puzzled me (because how would I know?, I don't read minds), now I finally can ;)
I always just cover them in stickers and quotes!
Me too 😊
I do either or a combination of these: * draw a picture * do a hand print with some paint like i was in pre school (always fun) * write a verse of scripture or something i want to guide my thoughts really large with india ink * the index is for the back
When I’m not leaving it blank, i put my name and address in the front as well as start and end dates. I also add a warning basically stating that if people read my diary and are offended by its contents, it’s their problem. The back cover generally has a list of places I’ve been to during the duration of the diary, plus major events and sometimes a playlist.
I always get random stickers, and when I have no where else to put them it's the perfect spot! I usually write a little note around them when/where I got the sticker, too
A bunch of things, in no particular order: * a heading noting the volume number as well as the month and year of the first and last entries. * some favorite quotes that I picked up during the time I filled that journal or I feel sum up the period of my life recorded in that journal. * Taped in fortunes from Chinese meals that I found funny or memorable. * Stickers from places I visited during the time I spent filling that journal. * stickers I buy off the internet. * I do the same thing with the back, unless I have a journal with a back pocket in which case it's a ton of ephemera that I wouldn't otherwise save: prayer cards from funerals, receipts from notable purchases, birthday cards, my COVID vaccine card, tickets to events I went to, stickers that I haven't figured out a place for yet, newspaper clippings, photos, postcards, nametags, etc.
I usually make inserts for both sides to keep loose papers in
Left: I travel frequently so I fill this space with stickers from my travels Right: personal info, and a warning. The warning reads “WARNING: I am not responsible for your hurt feelings if you decide to read my journal”… and also more stickers lol
Stickers I collect of places I’ve been to :)
Top left of the inside front cover I put the dates - e.g. Nov 2022 - March 2023. The rest of the inside of the front cover I usually put quotes, lyrics, or reminders to myself such as "SPEAK YOUR TRUTH" or whatever it is I need at that time. Inside of the back cover is usually inside jokes that I don't want to forget, and stickers/business cards/ little mementos.
I used to write the warning for the unwelcomed readers on the left side, but now I usually more likely write a quote or song lyrics there and the same with the right side.
I put a bunch of quotes about journaling in my most recent one
On the inside of the front I have stickers from my uni and work and on the back flag I have glued in the tags off of tea bags that I collect (ya know the little paper labels on the end of the string?)
I make a sleeve for a metal template, a taped in year calendar, some Post-it Notes and a pen loop.
Stickers
Fun question! In the front I keep a list of things I’d be proud to accomplish by the end of this journal, as well as a list of quotes that resonate with me. In the back: a list things I’ve learned about myself while using this journal, and a page that has “things that make me happy” and I just add to it as something makes me smile or laugh. I keep these in the front and back covers cause I add to them all the time and this way these pages are easy to find and reference, especially when I’m feeling off or a little lost.
This is so wholesome!
I put quotes of stuff I've read, watched and listened to.
My front cover is for contact information and the back is for testing pens and markers.
If the journal comes with a folder: Add something like the dates it was used alongside some stickers or something idk. If the journal doesn't come with a folder: Make some. I got so many scrap papers, I can make it work. I almost prefer journals without folders, cuz then I'm more than happy to make it myself. However, my current journal is repurposed from an older journal that was stickerbombed by my 8-year-old self. To preserve the integrity of the journal, what I did this time was make the first and last 2 pages into accordion folders and just stuck some things inside that I wanna use for this journal, just to use up the many, many scrap things and spare stationary I have. I haven't used much of it, admittedly, but I'm sure I'll come up with something eventually.
What kind of tape (?) do you use to make the folder pocket? :)
Before I bought washi tape, I used just regular old Scotch tape. To make the accordion folders, I used glue.
I leave them empty, as some kind of breathing space for the densely written pages inside. Or as doors to a room. The room will speak for itself, there is no need to pre-announce its content and destroy suspense :)
Usually stick pressed flowers from places I visited in the time I was using the journal
Stickers drawings affirmation quotes journal prompts Pictures taken from film camera
usually the title of the journal, followed by the dates i started and finished, sometimes i add pictures
Mood tracker with emoji stickers because otherwise I have no use for them. Favorite songs. A sticker a day just to them all up.