Noted is two years old! And what a dazzling journey it’s been! Our community has grown exponentially since I sent out my first post (about the bee logo). Now, we’re a community of tens of thousands of people who care about notes. I’m so grateful you’ve given me a place in your inbox.
I suspect that part of the reason so many of you are here is that notes are at once deeply personal and universal. This has certainly been my experience.
I’ve spent most of my life keeping notes privately, writing out quotations that I love. Launching the Commonplace Book Club (CBC) this week has taught me that many of you also keep collections of quotes. It’s exhilarating to know that what had once seemed like my own unique preoccupation is, in fact, widespread—that we’ve all been writing out quotations in our separate, private notebooks.
Even as we share the experience of taking notes, most of us feel deeply tied to our own practice. I never take it for granted when someone shares their notes with me. It’s a generous gift.
When I put out my call for notes, I was hoping to get at least five submissions. I got many more than that. In fact, the response was overwhelming! I loved all the notes I got to read. Seriously! I squealed with excitement; I laughed at the humor; I smiled at the joy; I nodded along with the profound thoughts. I hope you will too.
In the spirit of sharing notes, here’s how I first tried to organize all the entries (I went through three more organizational schemes after this first one):
People are doing amazing things with notes! Because I want to give each of these note-takers the space they deserve (and because you probably don’t want to read a 10,000 word post), I’ve decided to spread out this anniversary post over the next few months. I’ll share around 6-12 different note-taking practices at a time, grouped into themes, at a pace of around once a month.
Because today is the second day of the Commonplace Book Club (CBC), I’m sharing twelve methods that Noted’s readers have used in their commonplace books. I hope these collections will inspire you with ideas for your own practice!
If you’d like to join the CBC, you’ll need to become a paid subscriber. It is a great time to upgrade as we’re in the middle of Noted’s anniversary sale.1
And now, please join me in celebrating another wonderful 12 months of Noted with 12 commonplace book practices!
I. Ways to Design a Commonplace Book Page
There are an infinite number of ways to write quotations on a page. I am always astounded by how some people take that empty space and turn it into something completely original. Here are a few examples.
1. Ed Barrett’s Historic Sketches
While working on his Ph.D., Ed began illustrating the events and figures he learned about. He accumulated an impressive visual reference system. He explains that he used his notebooks
… for all sorts of stuff: trying ideas, making preliminary sketches, designing characters, gathering visual reference, taking notes on things I was reading (often drawing my responses), processing my experiences, creating final illustrations, and so on.
These days Ed is obsessed with 14th century history. Here are the notebooks he’s currently working on:
Want to see more of Ed’s incredible notebooks? He’s posted them on his blog.
2. & Diagonal Lines
I love when note-takers break the tyranny of a horizontal line. It feels subversively creative. Kelcey offers us a beautiful example of writing slanted:
Or, throw out the lined page altogether and paint the cover along with a quote as Kelsey has done here:
Enjoy more of Kelcey’s delightful work at The Habit of Art by Kelcey Ervick!
3. ’s Illustrated Quotes
In the comments section of a post last year, Bekka described herself as “an agent of chaos.”
I’ve learned that chaos and creativity often go together—disorder opens up space for unique pairings. So, I was delighted to see Bekka’s notes and get a glimpse into her “chaos.” She describes her process here:
I’m a chaotic researcher and note taker and there is no sort of index in these notebooks, but I find that when I flip through them, the right page finds me at the right moment.
See more of Bekka’s notes and amazing art at Studio Sundays!
4. Eva’s Experiments
Eva views her notebooks as experiments—gorgeous, colorful experiments, I might add. She explains,
This for me is a personal journal vs work (or only peripherally) and has become a wonderful confidante and companion!
Take a look at Eva’s illustration of “Leonardo da Vinci’s ways to think”:
I also love Eva’s list of people who have kept commonplace books!
Eva is a passionate journal and notebook aficionado, among other things. (Eva asked that I not use her full name.)
5. ’s Map
I’m obsessed with maps—historic and contemporary. I just love seeing space represented with paper and ink. It represents a fascinating design challenge: how do we take something so vast and make it legible for travelers?
This is why I immediately gravitated towards Scoot’s map drawn while watching a movie.
My notetaking practice is both free-form and very visual. I like to see what I am thinking about, so I frequently make charts and diagrams or maps to help me put things in context.
You can read more of Scoot’s work at Gibberish.
II. Ways to Organize A Commonplace Book
When it comes to commonplace books, the perennial question has always been: How should we organize it? Here are some ideas!
6. ’s Marginalia
Last year, I wrote that while commonplace books are great, copying down quotations is not enough for true learning.
One of the ways readers have made their commonplace books useful is by adding personal commentaries to their quotes. This is what A.R. has done by adding marginalia to her commonplace books:
A.R. explains:
I’ve found this practice to be relaxing and enjoyable as well as useful to expand my knowledge and more deeply understand the things I read.
You can see more of A.R.’s notes at
, as well as Instagram, and Youtube as the_stationery_writer.7. Allen Martin and “Catching Lightning in a Bottle”
The trick for Allen Martin is to always have something to write with. Then he sorts his notes into one of three places: a commonplace book, index cards, or Obsidian.
Readers of this newsletter might be interested to see Allen’s notes on the Zettelkasten method:
Allen uses categories to organize his quotes. Here is an example of one of his notecards, tagged with a category he learned from Maria Popova called “Beautiful Language”:
Allen uses these notes to inspire his many writing projects. As Allen writes,
Inspiration can come from anywhere and when we do find it, it’s like catching lightning in a bottle and we need some way to remember it.
You can read more of Allen’s work on his blog.
8. ’s “Memory Cache”
The first thing that impressed me about Matthew’s practice is that he has kept track of all the books he’s read since 1996!
Matthew also copies out quotes, like these excerpts from Tolkien’s The Fellowship of the Ring:
Matthew explains,
My practice helps me flesh out ideas and work through themes before writing longer pieces. It also serves as a physical repository of my ideas, a memory cache of sorts.
You can read more of Matthew’s writing at
.9. ’s Evolving Practice
A great note-taking practice evolves along with us. New adventures and intellectual pursuits often require different frameworks, so I appreciated Nishad’s willingness to shift his style. He explains:
Initially, I hesitated to mar my books with personal notes, fearing my thoughts would dilute the author’s words. I hadn’t yet realized that I, too, am a writer.
Inspired by Leonardo da Vinci’s practice of carrying a small book about town, Nishad always keeps a pocket notebook on hand
to capture fleeting inklings, interactions, paintings, scribblings, and cuttings of interest. This practice has become an essential part of how I navigate and make sense of my world.
You can read more of Nishad’s thoughtful writing at
.10. ’s Digital Commonplace Book
Clearly I’m a pen-and-paper kind of person, but I envy those who can keep commonplace books on their computers—they are so much easier to search! So, I was delighted to see Chris’s practice using Notion’s software.
Here’s a deeper look at Chris’s notes on confidence:
Whenever Chris is writing, he uses his commonplace book as a guide. In addition, he writes,
Most of my notes are adversity-related, so they also serve the benefit of inspiring me whenever I'm going through a tough time.
You can read more of Chris’s inspirational work at
.11. ’s Commonplace Routine
Sometimes we don’t need to organize our commonplace books. Sometimes, the best thing is just getting ideas down on paper. For Scott, evenings are reserved for reading—a time when he can “indulge in ink and paper.” He writes,
The Moleskine serves as a little roadside way station where I can park the things that might otherwise get lost. An essential extension of working memory.
Scott provided these images of his commonplace book with his adorable dog looking on.
You can read more of his writing at T Scott.
12. ’s “Evidence of My Existence”
Victoria organizes her commonplace book chronologically, like a diary. She’ll also add her reflections after quotations. She explains,
Note-taking helps me solidify my thoughts, providing evidence of my existence by capturing moments in time.
I’ve never seen my own name written in someone else’s commonplace book! What a thrill to know that something I wrote resonated with Victoria.2
You can enjoy more of Victoria’s notes at
.Needless to say, if you are one of the many people who keep collections of quotes, you are in very good company!
Noted is fueled by you. Your ❤️’s and comments inspire me. As always, I’d love to know your thoughts: which of these methods inspired you? What practices would you like to borrow?
Till Monday,
As always, if you can’t swing the subscription fee right now, send me a message via email (notedbee@gmail.com—use the subject “Upgrade Comp”) and I’ll comp you for the next few months so you can join in the fun. In return, I ask that you post to our chat at least once.
To be fair to Guillermo del Toro, I believe this is his idea and not mine.
Congrats again on your 2 year anniversary! This post was so inspiring and I'm honored to have been featured.
I love seeing how people organize their commonplace books! I'm sure my practice will change overtime but I'm grateful to have had you be one of the reasons I started mine.
I knew this would be THE most fabulous post (and I am thrilled that it will be a series) but I did not imagine I would find it so daunting. My motley collection of books and scribbles is … I have no words for how paltry it appears beside these masters of the craft of notetaking. I’m in awe of Matt Long and his list of books read … and I have discovered (and subscribed to) Nishad. A fine collection. Here’s to many more.