{"id":7682,"date":"2022-11-09T16:06:57","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T16:06:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?p=7682"},"modified":"2022-11-09T16:06:58","modified_gmt":"2022-11-09T16:06:58","slug":"commonplace-books","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/","title":{"rendered":"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>If you&#8217;re a Bloomsoup veteran, you&#8217;ll know that I preach about the benefits of <a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/writing-therapy\/\">writing therapy<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/stream-of-consciousness-journaling\/\">journaling<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Closely related to this are commonplace books, which are perfect for curating information, ready for future retrieval and reflection&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Essentially a notebook or journal where you keep quotes, passages, and other bits of inspiration that you encounter in daily life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>With the sheer firehose of information we&#8217;re blasted by every day, this practice has become even more crucial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So let&#8217;s dive into the topic &#8211; but before that, we better define terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Is a Commonplace Book?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A commonplace book is a notebook or book in which quotations, poems, anecdotes, observations, and apt phrases are collected for personal use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can serve as a personal source of inspiration and reflection, or be used to organize and track ideas for academic or professional purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What They&#8217;re Not<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Commonplace books are typically not long-form journals or diaries, as they focus on smaller snippets of information, as opposed to personal musings or daily events.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They also don&#8217;t usually contain original content, but rather are compiled from various sources, like articles and books you&#8217;re reading.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They&#8217;re not for writing once and never looking at again. Instead, they&#8217;re intended for regular review and retrieval.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Benefits of the Practice<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Allows for easy organization and storage of information<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Provides a source of inspiration and reflection<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Can aid in critical thinking and understanding of interconnected ideas<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Improves memory by serving as a reference tool<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Helps cultivate creativity and stimulate new ideas<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Famous Examples<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>This type of book has been used by many writers and thinkers throughout history, including Leonardo da Vinci and Isaac Newton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, it was commonplace books that <a href=\"https:\/\/cudl.lib.cam.ac.uk\/view\/MS-ADD-04004\/1\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">helped<\/a> Newton to formulate his theory of gravity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By documenting his era-defining ideas and thoughts on a regular basis, he was able to develop a clear understanding of the concept.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Similarly, they&#8217;ve also been instrumental as a tool for self-reflection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For example, Marcus Aurelius, the Roman Emperor and philosopher, used his writing as a way to <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Meditations\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">record<\/a> his thoughts on Stoicism and how to live an ethical and fulfilling life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In contrast, Thomas Jefferson <a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/books\/hardcover\/9780691187891\/jeffersons-legal-co\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">used his<\/a> to collect and organize information for his professional pursuits, including legal cases and political discussions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">How to Create One<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are many ways to go about creating a commonplace book, depending on personal preferences and needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>One option is to physically write or type out quotes, observations, or other information into a notebook or binder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Traditional<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I&#8217;m definitely starting to return to a more analog existence, preferring pen and paper to document my findings and reflect on any insights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A5 notebooks provide a pretty handy size for writing reflections on the go, so I&#8217;d recommend starting there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>(If you want to know what shiny tools I use, click here for my resources page.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Modern<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Alternatively, there are also digital versions available, either through apps or online tools such as Evernote, or my personal favorite, <a href=\"https:\/\/obsidian.md\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Obsidian<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>These platforms form a personal repository of information, which can be collated and manipulated in many different ways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Structure<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Regardless of the format, it&#8217;s important to have a system for organizing and categorizing the information in your commonplace book. This could be by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li>Topic<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Date<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Source<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>One benefit of using digital tools is that your structure can be pretty fluid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Platforms such as Roam and Obsidian allow you to interlink note pages and passages, creating a kind of knowledge graph for future reference, which is handy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You can also structure using the traditional file and folder method.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This definitely helps when you&#8217;re searching for an old scrap of information can&#8217;t remember where it is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As I&#8217;ve said, I do currently prefer pen and paper &#8211; so one option is to capture your material as a rough draft in a notebook, before transferring it to a digital medium of your choice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s also important to regularly review and reflect on the information in your commonplace book, as this will help you get the most from the process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Summary<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, thanks to the proliferation of online tools and apps, it is easier than ever to create and maintain a commonplace book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Whether you&#8217;re using it for academic purposes or simply as a way to organize your thoughts, this approach is invaluable for anyone who wants to improve their critical thinking skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So go forth and get curating.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Commonplace books have been used by some of history&#8217;s greatest thinkers to organize their minds &#038; unlock inspiration. <\/p>\n<p>Click here to learn more!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7686,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[100],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v22.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information | Bloomsoup<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Commonplace books have been used by some of history&#039;s greatest thinkers to organize their minds &amp; unlock inspiration. Click here to learn more\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information | Bloomsoup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Commonplace books have been used by some of history&#039;s greatest thinkers to organize their minds &amp; unlock inspiration. Click here to learn more\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Bloomsoup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloomsoup\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-11-09T16:06:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-11-09T16:06:58+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/commonplace-books.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1275\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joel\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@joelface\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@thebloomsoup\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joel\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joel\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/540656bb1e42797634f467f16f584da7\"},\"headline\":\"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information\",\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-09T16:06:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-09T16:06:58+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\"},\"wordCount\":735,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Personal Development Activities\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\",\"name\":\"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information | Bloomsoup\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2022-11-09T16:06:57+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2022-11-09T16:06:58+00:00\",\"description\":\"Commonplace books have been used by some of history's greatest thinkers to organize their minds & unlock inspiration. Click here to learn more\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Personal Development Activities\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/category\/activities\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/\",\"name\":\"Bloomsoup\",\"description\":\"Re-Imagine Your Reality\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Bloomsoup\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bloomsoup-logo-1.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bloomsoup-logo-1.png\",\"width\":169,\"height\":33,\"caption\":\"Bloomsoup\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloomsoup\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/thebloomsoup\",\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bloomsoup\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCO2Dd0fMHv_S7kYcM7QjXww\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/540656bb1e42797634f467f16f584da7\",\"name\":\"Joel\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/316d86b5d67c9e515c4b2037ccd75702?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/316d86b5d67c9e515c4b2037ccd75702?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joel\"},\"description\":\"Joel's trying to solve universal riddles for the machines that will one day take over, in addition to the greatest question of all; why cheese tastes so good.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joelface\"]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information | Bloomsoup","description":"Commonplace books have been used by some of history's greatest thinkers to organize their minds & unlock inspiration. Click here to learn more","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information | Bloomsoup","og_description":"Commonplace books have been used by some of history's greatest thinkers to organize their minds & unlock inspiration. Click here to learn more","og_url":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/","og_site_name":"Bloomsoup","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloomsoup","article_published_time":"2022-11-09T16:06:57+00:00","article_modified_time":"2022-11-09T16:06:58+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1275,"url":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/commonplace-books.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joel","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@joelface","twitter_site":"@thebloomsoup","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joel","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/"},"author":{"name":"Joel","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/540656bb1e42797634f467f16f584da7"},"headline":"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information","datePublished":"2022-11-09T16:06:57+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-09T16:06:58+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/"},"wordCount":735,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#organization"},"articleSection":["Personal Development Activities"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/","url":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/","name":"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information | Bloomsoup","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#website"},"datePublished":"2022-11-09T16:06:57+00:00","dateModified":"2022-11-09T16:06:58+00:00","description":"Commonplace books have been used by some of history's greatest thinkers to organize their minds & unlock inspiration. Click here to learn more","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/commonplace-books\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Personal Development Activities","item":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/category\/activities\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Commonplace Books: The Perfect Tool for Synthesizing Information"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/","name":"Bloomsoup","description":"Re-Imagine Your Reality","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#organization","name":"Bloomsoup","url":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bloomsoup-logo-1.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/bloomsoup-logo-1.png","width":169,"height":33,"caption":"Bloomsoup"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/bloomsoup","https:\/\/twitter.com\/thebloomsoup","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/bloomsoup\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCO2Dd0fMHv_S7kYcM7QjXww"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/540656bb1e42797634f467f16f584da7","name":"Joel","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/316d86b5d67c9e515c4b2037ccd75702?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/316d86b5d67c9e515c4b2037ccd75702?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joel"},"description":"Joel's trying to solve universal riddles for the machines that will one day take over, in addition to the greatest question of all; why cheese tastes so good.","sameAs":["https:\/\/twitter.com\/joelface"]}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7682"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7682"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7682\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7688,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7682\/revisions\/7688"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7686"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7682"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7682"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bloomsoup.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7682"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}