I have a five year diary which I write something the kids have done to amuse me. Not the big events but the little things that you forget. For example, yesterday my middle one called nostrils, nose holes which is hilarious but I would soon forget. Now I can laugh about it every year.
of The Beach Bum as some sort of debauched Wonder Years threw me. My great grandfather Maris Henry Garton kept a commonplace book, which has been a treasure for his descendants. Although way less special than a hand written notebook, I enjoy keeping one on Tumbler https://nicolegarton.tumblr.com/
"I think there’s a kind of magic of seeing everything laid out on the pages and flipping through the book, coming across unexpected things I had forgotten." - Austin Kleon
I have kept a commonplace book for the past 25 years or so, but until about a year ago didn’t even know that’s what it was called. I just always jotted down quotes, passages, lyrics, whatever moved me at the moment. Over the years, I have pulled a few out to create smaller books to gift to people for Christmas.
After learning about the notecard method that Ryan Holiday, Robert Green and do many others use, I decided to start putting the quotes on cards to better organize them. When I make the gift journals I have to flip through pages that have no rhyme or reason. I’m trying to be better about organizing. But in the process of placing quotes on note cards, I find it interesting to see what still resonates with me-20-30 years later and what no longer serves me.
This post was such an inspiration! My wife and I bought one of these journals to take notes on how the world around us is changing with the seasons, as part of an act of noticing. Our goal is to come up with our own local list of micro-seasons, inspired by the Japanese idea. https://www.fieldandnest.com/journal/japans-72-poetic-micro-seasons
But when we miss a day or are out of town, in goes a quote. I’m looking forward to seeing what connections come up.
I have kept a commonplace book since Junior High School (over 40 years ago.) Started off by stashing quotes and favorite poems alongside my overly dramatic teenage efforts at poetry. Evolved to include all the funny things my husband and son say... I still have all those notebooks, and many more of my own scribblings. And I compulsively copy stuff I don't want to lose into a digital notes file as well. I think in my case, the commonplace book probably qualifies as an addiction...
My first philosophy teacher in high school challeged us to buy a special notebook, and find something inspiring or striking enough from each work to copy into it. I bought one of the most beautiful notebooks I've ever owned. I didn't fill it with that class, and not every book I read had something striking enough to be worth noting down. I've now been slowly filling the notebook for 14 years, and it's almost out of room. I've loved going back over the years, occassionally adding, sometims just reading all the most precious moments and song lyrics from my life.
I used to keep separate notebooks: one for quotes, one for great images from poems, one for ideas, and one for first drafts. (Once I had that first draft, I would then switch to laptop. Actually, I still do that.) Now I have one commonplace book. It's easier to go through it and pick an idea here, a quote there, and start to create something. I learned about commonplace books on Instagram of all places! In a way, a visual social media page, like Instagram or Pinterest, can also act like a commonplace book. But I still like the act of writing on paper. Thanks for this lovely post!
i started my first commonplace book 2 years ago after reading about your practice. i didn’t keep it up at the time but i dug it out again this year and started over. seeing your post today is another of the many ways you’ve inspired me Austin.
my life got an unexpected (voluntary & mostly positive) overhaul last october and now that i’m resettled i‘ve created a little studio in our new apartment, started the 100 Day Project, and subscribed to the various musings of the artists i admire, you included.
thank you for being inspirational, for being...you...and for helping an old woman to believe that the desire to create doesn’t have to fade and die just because it didn’t get its chance when she was young.
I keep track of the daily high/low/average temperatures recorded by my weather station and at the regional "official" station at Sea-Tac airport. Each morning I record the previous day's numbers on color-coded charts in a Moleskine journal. I've been doing this for years, after noticing the weather where I lived was often very different than even the nearby "official" station at the nearby Navy base. This habit satisfies both my curiosity/obsession with the weather, and my excitement for colorful graphs and charts. Over the years my own weather station has had a few gaps due to us moving house and the occasional need for cleaning and battery changes, but the trusty KSEA station picks up the slack. A couple of years ago I had to add new colors for both the coldest and hottest temps (I record in 5-degree segments).
This habit was also inspired by the temperature blankets that people knit or crochet. I could have done that, but after one year why do it again? Also, they are HUGE. I am tempted by the temperature cross stitch patterns I've come across though...
DO IT! I have a station from Ambient Weather, a WS2902A. It's one of their simplest models, and the one I have has lasted over 5 years. They have their own network of stations accessible through their app or website. You can get fancy models with cameras and all sorts of other sensors besides the basics. Their resources on the website explain how to place your station for best readings. I'm in a rental with problematic conditions, so my wind readings are worthless. Everything else is pretty good (good enough for this amateur enthusiast). The only reason I haven't upgraded is because this station keeps ticking along! I will go with the same brand when I finally need a new one.
I have so many places that I keep quotes, thoughts, ideas and photos that it is hard to review them and see them play together but, anything more organized goes by the wayside quickly. So I just keep imagining that I will make some sense of it once I am retired. Either that or my son gets stuck with boxes of journals and hard drives when I die.
I used to keep a google doc of quotes and notable stories from the day “vignettes” and after a couple years, that transferred over to the Notes section of my phone.
I have a five year diary which I write something the kids have done to amuse me. Not the big events but the little things that you forget. For example, yesterday my middle one called nostrils, nose holes which is hilarious but I would soon forget. Now I can laugh about it every year.
I’m glad I didn’t unsubscribe. The allusion
of The Beach Bum as some sort of debauched Wonder Years threw me. My great grandfather Maris Henry Garton kept a commonplace book, which has been a treasure for his descendants. Although way less special than a hand written notebook, I enjoy keeping one on Tumbler https://nicolegarton.tumblr.com/
"I think there’s a kind of magic of seeing everything laid out on the pages and flipping through the book, coming across unexpected things I had forgotten." - Austin Kleon
This will be my entry for today. <3
Thank you for always being so inspiring
I have kept a commonplace book for the past 25 years or so, but until about a year ago didn’t even know that’s what it was called. I just always jotted down quotes, passages, lyrics, whatever moved me at the moment. Over the years, I have pulled a few out to create smaller books to gift to people for Christmas.
After learning about the notecard method that Ryan Holiday, Robert Green and do many others use, I decided to start putting the quotes on cards to better organize them. When I make the gift journals I have to flip through pages that have no rhyme or reason. I’m trying to be better about organizing. But in the process of placing quotes on note cards, I find it interesting to see what still resonates with me-20-30 years later and what no longer serves me.
This post was such an inspiration! My wife and I bought one of these journals to take notes on how the world around us is changing with the seasons, as part of an act of noticing. Our goal is to come up with our own local list of micro-seasons, inspired by the Japanese idea. https://www.fieldandnest.com/journal/japans-72-poetic-micro-seasons
But when we miss a day or are out of town, in goes a quote. I’m looking forward to seeing what connections come up.
This is so interesting--the Kleon Crafters!
I have kept a commonplace book since Junior High School (over 40 years ago.) Started off by stashing quotes and favorite poems alongside my overly dramatic teenage efforts at poetry. Evolved to include all the funny things my husband and son say... I still have all those notebooks, and many more of my own scribblings. And I compulsively copy stuff I don't want to lose into a digital notes file as well. I think in my case, the commonplace book probably qualifies as an addiction...
My first philosophy teacher in high school challeged us to buy a special notebook, and find something inspiring or striking enough from each work to copy into it. I bought one of the most beautiful notebooks I've ever owned. I didn't fill it with that class, and not every book I read had something striking enough to be worth noting down. I've now been slowly filling the notebook for 14 years, and it's almost out of room. I've loved going back over the years, occassionally adding, sometims just reading all the most precious moments and song lyrics from my life.
I used to keep separate notebooks: one for quotes, one for great images from poems, one for ideas, and one for first drafts. (Once I had that first draft, I would then switch to laptop. Actually, I still do that.) Now I have one commonplace book. It's easier to go through it and pick an idea here, a quote there, and start to create something. I learned about commonplace books on Instagram of all places! In a way, a visual social media page, like Instagram or Pinterest, can also act like a commonplace book. But I still like the act of writing on paper. Thanks for this lovely post!
i started my first commonplace book 2 years ago after reading about your practice. i didn’t keep it up at the time but i dug it out again this year and started over. seeing your post today is another of the many ways you’ve inspired me Austin.
my life got an unexpected (voluntary & mostly positive) overhaul last october and now that i’m resettled i‘ve created a little studio in our new apartment, started the 100 Day Project, and subscribed to the various musings of the artists i admire, you included.
thank you for being inspirational, for being...you...and for helping an old woman to believe that the desire to create doesn’t have to fade and die just because it didn’t get its chance when she was young.
"I don’t think we talk enough about amusement as a worthy enough reason to do things."
Feels like most of our cultural amusements are passive now, rather than active. Consuming phones, games, TV, whatever.
The quote from the Ohio sewer district person resonated the most with me! (I'm from Ohio btw.)
so am I :)
I keep track of the daily high/low/average temperatures recorded by my weather station and at the regional "official" station at Sea-Tac airport. Each morning I record the previous day's numbers on color-coded charts in a Moleskine journal. I've been doing this for years, after noticing the weather where I lived was often very different than even the nearby "official" station at the nearby Navy base. This habit satisfies both my curiosity/obsession with the weather, and my excitement for colorful graphs and charts. Over the years my own weather station has had a few gaps due to us moving house and the occasional need for cleaning and battery changes, but the trusty KSEA station picks up the slack. A couple of years ago I had to add new colors for both the coldest and hottest temps (I record in 5-degree segments).
This habit was also inspired by the temperature blankets that people knit or crochet. I could have done that, but after one year why do it again? Also, they are HUGE. I am tempted by the temperature cross stitch patterns I've come across though...
Do you have a weather station you like? I've been thinking of setting one up in our yard!
DO IT! I have a station from Ambient Weather, a WS2902A. It's one of their simplest models, and the one I have has lasted over 5 years. They have their own network of stations accessible through their app or website. You can get fancy models with cameras and all sorts of other sensors besides the basics. Their resources on the website explain how to place your station for best readings. I'm in a rental with problematic conditions, so my wind readings are worthless. Everything else is pretty good (good enough for this amateur enthusiast). The only reason I haven't upgraded is because this station keeps ticking along! I will go with the same brand when I finally need a new one.
https://ambientweather.com
My station: https://ambientweather.net/dashboard/b8c7d6305ff60db08123c4830ba4a199
Awesome, thanks!
I have so many places that I keep quotes, thoughts, ideas and photos that it is hard to review them and see them play together but, anything more organized goes by the wayside quickly. So I just keep imagining that I will make some sense of it once I am retired. Either that or my son gets stuck with boxes of journals and hard drives when I die.
I started a quote book last year. I like to write quotes down to practice Lettering
I used to keep a google doc of quotes and notable stories from the day “vignettes” and after a couple years, that transferred over to the Notes section of my phone.
Ah I wish I could include a screenshot!