Recently, I came across a Youtube video by Sydney Djotita titled “The Resurgence of Critical Thinking and Commonplace Notebooks”. It was a casual watch that turned out to be really insightful for me, because I have heard of commonplace books before. Sometimes, I’ll buy a new blank journal with no real intention set in place for it. Personally, I love to peruse pinterest for inspiration and that’s how I was initially introduced to the concept of a commonplace book. That was it, though. I didn’t create one, but I was amused by the idea of having a place outside of our digital tools, like a notes app, to store information we come across. In the video, Sydney explains how commonplace notebooks are helpful with learning more and finding more interest in the world around us, especially in these current times where the value for intellect and discussion is steadily growing. These are things I noticed in passing myself, but now I decided to start looking deeper into the realm of commonplace books.

What is a Commonplace Book, exactly? A Commonplace Book (also known as a Commonplace notebook or journal) is defined as a blank book used to collect and organize written information, ideas, and insights for reference purposes or just good ‘ol intellectual growth. The most notable difference between a commonplace book and a journal is that a journal consists of personal accounts, experiences, and reflections, as opposed to a commonplace book, which contains information received externally from various sources. Sort of like a personal library of knowledge that may not be necessarily functional, but relevant to the owner of the book in some way. 

Commonplace books are not new. In fact, commonplace books are somewhat of an ancient relic preserved throughout history, dating all the way back to the Greco-Roman era. Back then, philosophers, scholars, and public speakers collected their personal encyclopedias of information on papyrus scrolls, wax tables, or within manuscripts.

What’s interesting is that, even though the technology for this method of “commonplacing” has changed throughout the ages, what’s remained is the human instinct to mentally broaden our horizons. You could say in the modern day, blog or a social media page is pretty on par with the concept of “digital commonplacing”, but there are some key differences between the analog and the digital that definitely stand out in time now more than ever. Key differences between using a commonplace book or using social media in this way show up in the matters of pacing, privacy, and also curation control. With writing a commonplace book, it takes time to research the topic you’d like and develop the thoughts you’d want to write about regarding it; No one may ever see what’s written in your commonplace book but yourself. Unless, of course, if you’d like to share with others what is in your commonplace book- it’s ultimately up to you. With social media, whether you’re creating a post or simply resharing one, it goes without saying that social media relies on users constantly interacting with information at a quick pace with very little privacy in comparison. This difference is what makes commonplace books (and the growing return to using them) so special.

In the modern age, we’ve been dealing with a new world with new technology that permeates our daily lives almost every second we breathe. Now more than ever, people are realizing what comes with us being so reliant on technology at an excessive rate, especially when it comes to our ways of retaining or recalling information. There’s growing concerns of cognitive decline, a decline in critical thinking, and even literacy as of late. These concerns are also not exclusive to younger generations. Naturally, the collective shift towards intentionality and improving the mind that’s been occurring has brought people full circle with things that they’ve abandoned since the dawn of the new tech entered the chat. People are running to their libraries or local bookstores to check out recommended books, people are going back to the real world and seeking third spaces again, and people are looking for ways to consume the media they like without deteriorating their brain to the point they can’t remember a phone number. Commonplace books, and the rising popularity of them, allow people to focus on active engagement with the information they sought out. The very act of owning, writing, and reviewing a commonplace book you created actually helps to enhance intelligence. It cultivates our ability to evaluate information through encouraging deeper processing and solidifies our understanding and retention of the connections made.

Commonplace books are a great way to feed our insatiable random curiosities. It’s the best outlet to collect meaningful and valuable information personal to us whether it’s something to have or information that is archived to be used later down the road whether you are an artist, writer, etc. For me, I love the methodology of using a commonplace notebook when it comes to keeping track of all the information that I consume daily but might want to look into or write about later, because I find it interesting. The best part is I feel as though this is a more organic way of coming up with ideas rather than cherry-picking my brain on my default favorite things at the moment. Whenever I do get my hands on a new commonplace book, I’m excited about proving science right with the new ability to make mental connections without technology.