Love your channel, thank you! But please know there will come a day when I will personally blame you when my wife questions my stationary spending habits.
I went to a keynote at a history conference focussed on the difficult times we're in, and the one thing the speaker noted is that we need to be generating primary sources for the generations to come regarding what were doing and how we were getting through. Digital sources are well and good, but so much is lost to the cloud or to the graveyard of abandoned social media. These ideas seem like viable ideas to generate those sources - deliberate, meaningful ways of storing thoughts and ideas- as long as they don't just fall into the trap of mindless consumption, they can be such an act of hope and mindfulness. Loved the video!
I had the idea of recording my thoughts onto vinyl disks, with the idea being that subsequent generations will copy the data on it onwards onto their consecutive digital storage medias
I always struggled with journaling. Everyone in my family journals in the classic "Write everyday and put bullet points" way, but I have ADHD and CANNOT keep a journal. I tried to and got bored five days in. I found out about commonplace books and zibaldones recently and realized that Ive been keeping zibaldones and catch-all notebooks for years. I have a bunch of little pocket notebooks with random tidbits of information I picked up here and there. Right now, I have a proper commonplace book for my master's degree. I use colored tabs to mark the pages where there's info for the Introduction of the thesis, where's the bibliography, quotes taken from articles I've been reading, etc. and it has been very helpful.
I have been on the spectrum for thirty years. I used to hate reading and writing, as I found them boring and tedious. As I grew older and was presented to my family's community. I gave them a list of life skills I wanted to learn soon. So, my uncle bought me a small pocketbook. It took me at least three and a half years to get used to writing into a small pocket book which then led to keeping a commonplace book and later I kept and still do; I journal every day. But not as crazily as everyone else as they do two-plus pages of their daily lives. I keep one page or one and a half pages of my day. Its taken me years to get out of a dark place and journaling has helped me in retrospect. I even give some of my journals, every 6 months, to my therapist or my coach so that they know what I've been up to and how I am doing mentally. I'm the type of person to keep to myself a lot and never talk about my feelings with strangers or with my therapist. so journaling has been a release. I'm sure others AuDHD has felt the same way or haven't I don't know. But writing can be a burden or a release from one's mind.
ADHD isnt real. Its a made up illness created to sell meth to children and profit off of them. The reason youre bored is because you lack willpower and initiative
Pocket catch all onotebook/Journal (Like an inbox notebook) Zibaldone: collection of different kind of things (favorite things, quotations, thoughts) Common place book: collection of quotations. You use Headings to catalog. You keep. You remember. General and Specific Treasury and Manuscript Mix and match 😅
Just as an aside: music students in 18th-century Italy also kept notebooks called zibaldone. These were used specifically to record basic building blocks of musical compositions that recurred over and over in that era (and which modern music historians call "schemata").
This gives me more context as when I saw the thumbnail, I wondered if I had purchased a Zibaldone because the paper was artisanal and leather binding string was similar. Its previous owner was a talented artist. Now, it is basically a codex/index physically describing the chronologically ordered catch all journals I had mistakenly called commonplace books. I came across the idea of commonplace books because of the Series of Unfortunate Events. Lab notebooks contained boring syntheses, measured masses and volumes, statistical analyses or citations to relevant literature, but it didn’t describe the gossip I learned about the previous weekend or the cocktail recipe that I learned at the gay bar over holiday. Now I’m considering digitizing my diaries to extract as many quotes that hopefully won’t reveal too many personal details. I keep a travelogue to hold memories for family trips or get togethers. Maybe one day I’ll sit down to get working on a handmade family tree archive. I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that the “common” place might not have been physical: after so many years of sharing wisdom and experience, maybe it’s time to consider the possibility that those privileged to scribe memories to paper will always find common ground with penfellows who contemporaneously share a common love, or hope.
Sometimes you get recommended a pure gem of a channel. I found this video extremely helpful and informative. I had no idea I have been creating my own Zibal done books for decades. Now I need to embrace the Common Place book practice. I enjoyed the discussion with Roland Allen. I have listened to 25 minutes which have filled my head with ideas, creative endeavours and books and people I now want to research and read about. Thank you. I have subscribed.
📓 The one way you can easily trim down the search is with a rear index. As long as you have some sort of page count in the bottom, you can always make the generic categories and page numbers visible. That way you are targeting your searches a bit better. There also could be a "master" index depending on the volumes of Zibaldones you have, where you would consult it first with maybe some more refined search methods (names, catchphrases, so on and so on). I think you might be onto something here and I am happy to give it a go for sure!
Master Index for sure! In mine I write a description of the notebook I am referencing (color, art on the cover) but I’m sure one could also number them or use stickers. Parker’s really cool stickers come to mind. 🥋
Idk why I'm not allowed to associate myself more with the place my great grandparents are from than the hellhole I live in. I'm irish-american, but still, I don't get it
@EchoByrnes you're in America, so you're free to associate yourself however you'd like... but there was a reason your great grandparents left for what you call a hellhole. As a fellow irish American, I can tell you it likely had to do w fleeing religious persecution, economic hardships, and the promise of a life where they could feed and raise their children how they saw fit
@@EchoByrnes because to be a member of a culture is to share a lived experience in the land or with it's people. Irish are irish wherever they are, they experience the remnants of living under english rule every day, the aftermath of the troubles every day, it's in their music, in their way of speaking, in the food they eat. Americans are americans wherever they are I recognize an american when I see one. I can tell an irish-american when I see one. You are not irish and that's okay. You are an american of irish descent, an irish-american. You have your own culture, you have more in common with other americans of any race and descent than any irish person and there is no need to unilaterately attach yourself to a culture that is not your own. It's the same reason latinos don't recognize americans of latin descent that don't speak spanish as latinos. Language is how you participate in culture. I know americans love their individual self-determination, it is part of their culture, but if everyone can decide to be everything then becoming anything by decision is meaningless because it's all the same. You have to participate in a culture to be part of it, an emulation is not enough. The emulations americans create to separate themselves from each other is the reason for many of the problems that make it a hellhole. And you are exporting that way of thinking to the rest of the world.
This was actually super helpful, especially with the clear definition and description of a commonplace book. It’s been a topic that confused me until now as so many people are using them for seemingly random things. I want to get more organised with my notebooks and you have certainly put me on the right path
📓 I index both my catch-all notebooks and zibaldone journal after they're nearly full by listing topics and page numbers, and then color coding subjects for quick reference. For example, I often jot down recipes I want to try in the midst of all the other notes. Then I highlight the margin of any recipe page (usually with a brown mildliner). I also tend to jot down ideas for current writing projects, and those margins are typically highlighted blue. Facts from nonfiction reading get a color, quotes from fiction another. Bible verses or theological quotes get purple margins. I add the color key to my index and then it's quite easy to quickly flick through my notebooks and see at a glance exactly what each page holds. I find there's less wasted space using this method of organization than if I try to guess ahead of time how much space to allocate any particular topic, but it's still simple to locate information for later reference.
Thank you so much for going into such detail & just being naturally passionate about notebooking! I found this extremely valuable! 📓 I began bullet journaling in 2018 however these journals quickly became inconsistent & chaotic to look through. Each time I finished a notebook I would pull the best parts (similarly to when you finish your catch-all) & transfer them into the next one. Unable to focus while flipping through the catch-all/planner/collection pages I would become deflated. I finally decided to transfer any useful information from each notebook to index cards. The index cards helped me focus on a single idea or list at a time while no longer feeling the pressure that comes with a notebook. Touching & seeing each idea was a huge win for me as I could move them around freely without being bound to a spine. This year I found the Zettelkasten Method, Common Place Books & Zibeldone. With the information you provided in this video I feel like I now have a clear definition & truly understand the Common Place Books. Thank you Parker!!! Would love to hear your thoughts about Zettelkasten. Have you ever tried this Method?
Ive been keeping what I call a “Common Catch-all” for several years now, I’m an artist who is constantly coming up with ideas for new paintings throughout the day, and my small pocket common catch-all is the perfect place to quickly record quick sketches and notes on ideas, as well as anything I read or hear that’s inspiring. I also put mundane things like lists or little journal entries, and I love the immediacy and spontaneity of it. It’s become a completely indispensable part of my artistic process and my life in general! Its a free place to be as messy or clean as I want, without the pressure of my nicer, more polished sketchbooks or journals.
📓 I recently started my 3rd commonplace (Brain & Mind) book since watching this channel. I have also purchased my first fountain pen (Lamy Safari) with the EF tip and now find myself apologizing to friends because I'm busy writing lol
Just ordered the Roland Allen book a few days ago and can't wait for it to arrive. So happy to find a tribe of autodidacts I didn't even know I belong to. I appreciate all your great videos!
The distinction between zibalsone and commonplace book was really helpful - I've been accidentally keeping a zibaldone for several years now, and will keep doing so. I'm now going to see if I can start organising a proper commonplace book or two 📓📓📓
This contains a lot of gems thank you. I love it all - the Zibaldone, Commonplace, Marginalia - it’s so valuable. I agree with a previous commenter about documenting events now - they’ll be history and they need to be accurately recorded. Digital is too easy to change. It can’t be trusted. An analogue statement may be false of course, but you can see if it has been changed
i've found that keeping an index to my notebooks really helps. i have an index notebook that has a keyword on the top of each page. when i am done with a notebook, i review it and add a reference to the notes under their associated keywords in my index. it's a pretty simple system. i replicate my index digitally for easier searching. if i'm on the computer i use digital notes, if i'm out and about or reading a book i usually use analog.
I've made my "catch all" notebook a small A7 ring binder, so that I can easily separate and categorize all of my thoughts and ideas. It makes it so much easier to log what I need and discard what I don't. I've definitely had various zibaldone journals over the years. I was unaware that there was a name for it though. Very interesting.
This is great! The commonplace book idea has always felt too rigid for me as I dont usually delve so incredibly deeply into specific topics but like collecting bits and pieces of many concepts. I had not heard of the zibaldone before, but it sounds much more like what I gravitate towards in my notebooks. I love the idea that people would share theirs and write in their friends' books as well. It goes to show that people are fundamentally similar across the ages and we all like collecting and sharing interesting information with each other, be it tumblr blog or zibaldone.
Wow, thank you for your content. Somehow, you climbed into my head and organized what my thoughts were based on how I wanted to capture my thoughts, insights, quotes, etc. Great! I get to add another notebook....
I can recommend to everybody to use fountain pens. Because fountain pens bring joy as they facilitate self-expresssion (different nibs, inks etc). This will keep you going and help to establish consistency.
I love this exploration of different ways of keeping records and collecting thoughts with which to craft things in future. Journaling and keeping bits of the past for future generations is a passion of mine. I am delighted to have just found your channel. :) And yes, you do have a fantastic mustache, as one commenter said. :)
Nearly 50 years of journaling/writing, I consider my main book a commonplace/journal/quotes/everything book. I do have other notebooks, but after 50 years, I guess I have a bit of experience. Yeah, of course shopping lists and stuff go elsewhere. But my main books? Pure gold. Stacks of gold.
This came across my recommendation and just decided to watch it. I never thought I've been practicing this since then. I really love notebooks as a kid and as I grow, it slowly developed into wanting to write ideas, tasks, and journaling. I use it mainly for writing stories and as of now, it's scattered on other things 😅 Thank you for sharing this, I'll definitely put this into practice.
Thanks for the distinction. I've been keeping a Catchall, but I can see the benefit of reviewing and transfer to a common book. I love the idea of a shareable Zibaldone. The idea that it was a fun way to interact with friends and others with similar interests. I am looking forward to listening to the complete Roland Allen podcast.
📓 loved the in-depth analysis thanks Parker! I definitely keep all 3 types you discussed in this video. The other two essentially funnel into/feed my common place.
📓 Excellent video as always, brother. Been really upping my notebook-game for study and this helps to further my note-taking journey. Apparently I had a Zibaldone this whole time!
It is a helpfull distinction. I didn't know, that I need a zibaldone - a notebook for my thinking, and ideas, and quotations, and research plans - even the erratic ones - but a notebook thatbiscan intellectual tool without lists of household chores. Also - I've started to learn Italian, so the italian beginnings of zibaldone are very interestong for me 🙂📓
I think it's a really helpful distinction, because ideas go through multiple stages and iterations before they are fully refined, and they need to interact with other sources of information. So, I think keeping them at different storehouses is useful. Additionally, as much as I would LOVE, to have a bunch of notebooks, at this point in time, it really isn't feasible or sustainable for me - so I'm working on creating a system w/ google forms and obsidian, where I can just catch information, search and organize, reflect every day, and just go back to obsidian to update, tweak or add. Loved the distinctions between the zibaldone and a commonplace - the distinction really helps and i will be reinfing my systems to match! Especially with the difference b/w treasury and manuscript.
📓 Thank you! I think what I want to keep is a Zibaldone journal, but you are right - it would be haphazard and hard to retrieve information. That’s why I got the idea of keeping it on a Rolodex and moving cards around to keep it organized. It’s still paper and non-electronic. And the cards could be color-coded. You could also just have a box of index cards, and move the cards around to arrange and rearrange.
📕 this was so nice to watched. I really enjoyed the clip about the history about the zybaldone. I’ve been inspired to keep a commonplace book but I struggle with what to put in it. This actually helped a lot. Keeping a catchall is probably what I need to do. Then transfer the info. Great vid. Thank you.
This was a great video! I have been compiling a zibaldone this year without knowing what it was called. In the back of the book, I have what I fondly call a "reverse index". I start on the back page with page 1 and list with bullet points a short phrase describing the quote or topic I have on that page, then progress to page 2. At the bottom of that page is say page 10. I would then move to the next to the last page in the book, the page facing the one I just finished writing on, and would list page 11, progressing as I fill up the book from the front. Another idea could be to color code the index so you can find the topic you are looking for quickly if you are one that tends to fill it with specific things like recipes, quotes etc and leaving the ones with no category in black. A third idea could be to number each zibaldone book, and use excel to list the book, page, category and description so it could be searchable. Using excel will probably be my go to once I expand past my first book so I can find what I am looking for quickly, as well as listing a reverse index in the back of each book as I go along.
Thanks for this video. I think the distinctions are very useful. I certainly see the need to have a catch-all that is a different notebook from something that is more permanent like either a commonplace reading journal or a zibaldone of proverbs.
One of the things I do for a catch all book is buy cheap 5 subject coil bound notebooks. Each tab serves a specific purpose. Example being: 1 tab for a to do list, 1 tab for motivational or inspirational quotes or topics, 1 tab for researching topics like writing a book, 1 tab for events of any and all types and 1 tab for wishes, dreams and goals. It makes it so much easier to locate things quickly when I want to transfer information into a zibaldone about self improvement or a commonplace book like a Book of Shadows for my magical practices and spells. Each type of these books serves a purpose for me to be able to condense things into a much cleaner deeper path for my thoughts and emotions. It is also a way to open my mind to other ways of think. The same way it allows me to expand my knowledge. Adapt any new information as to how it applies to my existing knowledge. It also helps me become more open to different view points from others to be able to say I was wrong, I didn't have enough information about a subject or that what use to work no longer works in my life.
This differentiation between a commonplace book and a Zibaldone is new to me.. With all of the different types of notebooks you speak about it would be nice to have something like a notebook types Wikipedia :)
@@ParkerNotes So you are writing a commonplace book with own thoughts about (not only) commonplace books... It sounds weird for almost everybody else, bu totally normal for you 🤣 But thanks to your suggestion I ordered Roland´s book as well and will start reading it soon.
📕Loved the video and happy I found your channel :) I always used a notebook since as long as I can remember, but always had this issue of not completing them or not getting back to them... Just recently I stumbled on the term commonplace book and started going down that fascinating rabbit hole :D Now I'm hooked! Thank you for making such in-depth analysis, it was an eye-opener for me!
I used different note books for various things. For exercise I have two note books. One for general exercise. The other for strength/weights with an attention to statistics. It helps me to separate the two books.
24:30 I think the secret to keeping everything organized is to make a zibaldone when your everyday journal gets full, and then make a common place book once the zibaldone is full. First filtering important information you've gathered, and then categorizing it.
Hi Parker, great content, as always. I use what you call a "Catch All" book, too. I call mine HCE - after one of the characters of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, HCE= Here Comes Everyone, so this notebook catches everybody, everything, all of it. No matter where I start a new entry, I put the date. At the very beginning I leave 3-5 Index/Context pages blank, so that if it is extremely important I can put the theme or category with the date (rather than page number - but you could do it that way too, I guess). When I come to the end of the notebook I can peruse through it and fill out the Index/Content/Context pages at the beginning with whatever detail it needs. I am not super consistent with it, but this is my method. Thanks for all you do here!
📓 Brilliant tips. Over the years I've written so many notes on bits of paper, that I'm overwhelmed with bits of paper 😂 Love all the ideas given in this Video. Definitely going to start a commonplace book, for cataloging my Art Studies note's 📝 Have a great day 🌅
📓thanks! I just filled up my whole Leuchtturm notebook... it was a mess, but near the end it came to be more like a Zibaldone/Commonplace book hybrid. I like this idea of seperating the two. My next Leuchtturm notebook will link closely to Zibaldone, and I will look into getting a commonplace book for my particular interests. Thanks for your compilation of insight! 📓
When I was a kid, my school encouraged journaling and scrapbooking, which was good, but I just sorta forgot about it until I got a journal for Christmas a couple of years ago and then slowly fell down the rabbit hole of commonplace books and other stuff like that
Midpoint between zipaldone and commonplace book: put the category in the footer, you don’t need all of the same category to be together, but seeing the footer tag will help find things also.
📗 I am a part of the planner community here & yes a lot of people call a zibaldoni (?) a common place book. One thing that a lot of us do is to use a key, they sell dot stickers in different colors, or highlighters, to color code what kind of info it is. So as you flip through the book you can see the topics by color. A lot of notebooks also have an index page and numbered pages, so you can flip back to the index page & write down the topic and page number there. I have been keeping books like this since I was a kid. The whole annotations book took stuff….yeah that’s old news, & has always been fun. All of the non fiction books I read have all the covers and front pages & margins full, & a lot of them also have sections in notebooks too. Thanks for this video I learned a lot and added a book to my tbr.
Going to write all of this down in my catch-all notebook, so I’ll remember it for next time. 😂 I already keep a zibaldone, which I call my “quotes book”, just full of quotes that inspire me. Don’t know if I have the stamina to keep a commonplace book, but thank you for making this distinction clear. It was really cool to hear from Mr. Allen as well, so thank you for sharing!
I’ve been using a “commonplace” book for some time but according to this video I need to start referring to it as a zibaldone. Haven’t heard that term previously. Interesting video. Thanks!
I think Zibaldone can be use like a Catch-all, but not the one that you carry in a pocket all the time, but rather the one that you pull out when listening to a lecture or reading a book. And, similarly to a Catch-all, you would move knowledge from a Zibaldone into a relevant Commonplace book.
this is a great overview - but my one recommendation to anyone getting into it is don't over complicate it. Keep it simple, just write stuff down, eventually you'll figure out what works for you. sometimes hearing all this stuff can be overwhelming.
@@ParkerNotes Ended upgrading to the Pilot Birdy and Life Noble A7 Notebooks. Nice little wallet and you can keep 2 pens or 1 pen and a pencil on you at all times.
I actually write silvarium which is an XVI century form popular back then in poland. It consists of all diffrent quotes and obituaries and cooking recipies but its meant to be passed down in a family. It is a sort of family memory so you write down everything you think people should remember.
📖 Good stuff! I now work hard to index my valuable notes after I realized how difficult it was to find pertinent info. Also I’ve been keeping a ziboldone for years without knowing what it was. Unfortunately I’ve discarded most of them because I was if ignorant to their value at the time.
Been seriously debating going back to paper for some of my planning needs. I've been loving physical paper for journaling, but am still hesitant to fully go back to paper for work/life planning. I've still got two months to make a decision -- 2025 may be the year of the notebook for me. 📓 Thanks, as always, for the insightful videos!! 📓
📓 Hey Parker, I'm curious if your old videos (like a year ago) oversimplified the concept of commonplace books like you discussed here, or did they take into account zibaldones and the differences between these? I think this is the first time I've seen you mention zibaldones in a video, and I feel like your prior definitions of commonplace books might have been more general, but I can't tell. Thanks for the great video!
@@irvinkershner9142 yeah I've been studying the history of CPBs a ton since my first videos and I've since discovered the distinctions between them and compendiums and now zibaldones. People still conflate zibaldones and CPBs but I think the distinctions is really beneficial. CPBs are great for academic work and writing and zibaldones are great for inspiration
Well it looks like all these years I've been keeping a Zibaldone style journal! I have journaled consistently since I was 12 (now 24) and have never seen anyone on RUclips journal exactly like me. My journals are first and foremost a diary and then I add in things like stickers, tags, business cards (junk journaling). I have pages that are just quotes from books I have recently finished. I use scrapbook materials to design pages for lyrics from songs that have been on my mind. I collage. I typically work in a Leuchtturm1917 A5 lined notebook and I use the provided index for organization. I recently started keeping a digital Writer's Notebook through MilaNote because I like the visual aspect and can add aesthetics to an idea I may have.
Thoughts on different uses for different notebook sizes and their effect on ones' thought expression? I've only just started journaling consistently about 2 months ago, but I have found that my thinking changes depending on my canvas for expressing my thoughts. Whether it is typing, handwriting on a tablet (Apple Pencil + iPad), taking notes in my small pocket sized moleskine or my B6 Leuchtthurm or my Muji A5 grid paper notebook, I find that the tools I use affect my thought process, and I'm wondering if you've noticed similar things. I would also love more 'how to' videos, videos for setting up journals for daily reflection, for using a pocket notebook (you have this video out), when different size paper is more or less 'appropriate' (obviously this changes for everyone, but I do believe that there must be some type of link between canvas size and the way thoughts are formed and communicated on them, if you'd like to point me in this direction of philosophy if it exists), keeping a calendar, etc. I like the way you think and how you express your thoughts. I'm just getting into your channel, but I'm enjoying myself a lot. Kudos to you, and hope to see more content! Would appreciate some series on different notebook reviews, favorite pens, different styles of note taking. journaling or 'brain dumping' that you have found beneficial or not, etc. Preference question: Moleskine or Leuchtturm? I have used pocket soft cover moleskines here and there, but I just bought a Leuchtturm and I may be a convert. While the pocket size is inconvenient for writing without a table and sometimes forces me to condense my thoughts, and the B6 doesn't have this problem, it only barely fits into my back pocket which I find a bit awkward at times. I mostly carry my notebooks in my backpack, anyways. I also think I want to get a leather sleeve / cover so that I can also keep my pens with my notebook should I just want to go somewhere with my notebook and not my backpack. Any recommendation for B6 and pocket sized leather covers with pen holding capabilities? Any favorite pens? I've used frixion erasable for the last few years (I'm 23, have used them for about 5 years) but have found that I have difficulties with not allowing myself to make mistakes (hence the erasable pens). I've wanted to change that, so I started using Muji 0.38 mm roll ball pens and they are not erasable. I'm enjoying learning to allow myself to scribble things out :) Anyways, apologies for the essay. I will be commenting the exact same thing on some other videos in hopes you see it, so apologies for that as well 😅. Sincerely, a bored Engineering and Computer Science undergraduate student who should probably be studying for finals or asleep, but is somewhat wishing he studied philosophy instead.
📔 I loved the explanation between a Zibaldone and a Commonplace book. Thanks for straightening that one out for me. Just heading into a PhD and have laid out a commonplace book. Index at front (and at the back if necessary). Got a doorstep of a notebook which will keep me busy for a while. B6 - my new favourite size. Thanks again from London UK.
Dear Parker, if it’s not too much trouble, could you share more details on how you made your notes during your Master’s Degree in Theology? I’m about to start my own Master’s and would love some good ideas to keep everything organized-and you’re the best at that! Thanks a lot in advance. ps.: This could make a great Instagram post-I believe many people will enjoy it!
this is funny because when I discovered commonplacing and did some research about it to start my own commonplace book, I literally called it Zibaldone because I'm italian and I was inspired by the Romantic era's Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi which kept a commonplace book and called it "Zibaldone di pensieri" (meaning "Zibaldone of thoughts")!
Just getting into notebooks...but it seems to me that in order to avoid the resistance to action on the commonplace book, being that it is indeed a lot of work to organize, I would suggest keeping the zibaldone daily, and then tasking yourself once a week to go through what you have added, categorize and index them into the commonplace book...since the zibaldone includes anything interesting its likely only 50% of it will rate migrating anyway. That way you only have to have extra discipline once per week instead of all throughout your day.
Love the idea of the Zibaldone! 📓 I think it gives people permission to not be so precious about what they put in their book compared to commonplacing. Analysis paralysis is real.
I just found your channel and its great. Question for you... what type of book or format is used when you are crafting a project? Do "in progress" projects get a book? Do completed projects get a book? You touched on this briefly when speaking of your blog projects and graduate work but can you share "After the Common place book"? Thanks!
@@ParkerNotesWhat book do you mean? I'm thinking about The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem, the author of Solaris. I like Solaris more, but The Invincible is very captivating as well. Do you mean that book by Lem or something else?
@@ParkerNotes Love the stuff you're making dude. The Invincible books just jumped out at me off your shelf lol. You've really inspired me to keep a journal and think about life more.
📒 Thank you so much for this. I've heard of the commonplace book and I think it was more zibaldone that was referenced. I've been wondering how to organize myself for some time now. I'm no longer in school, but simply a student of life and definitely have difficulties with some level of executive dysfunction and/or neurodiversity; without an externally enforced discipline it is difficult for me to get my thoughts in order, and sometimes with the wrong kind of discipline it becomes nearly impossible. I am actively working towards ordination in Zen Buddhism and want to organize my thoughts better. I am hoping to work on some form of referential notekeeping to build this skill, but the going is hard sometimes. Hearing your explanation regarding the different styles of notekeeping has me wondering what types of commonplace books and subjects I could start organizing around, as well as considering to begin with a zibaldone and then, as you mention, annotating it after 'completion' and analyzing the themes to start commonplace books based off of such. Thank you for the content, I appreciate it, cheers!
📔 I have been writing in "journals" off and on for decades. I've recently been drawn to be more purposeful about my writing. So this video has been a helpful guide. And it's interesting to see how I've gravitated to variations of the type notebooks you described. Now, to tweak what I'm doing for them to be even more useful for me. Thanks.
Thank you for informing me that I've been making Zibaldones the past 2 years. Knew they weren't considered commonplace considering the vomit of poetry and sketches included.
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I bought a hard copy of Zibaldone in English translation
Love your channel, thank you! But please know there will come a day when I will personally blame you when my wife questions my stationary spending habits.
Hahah I'm constantly blaming you guys to my own wife. "I gotta buy more so I can test them for my subscribers!!"
@ParkerNotes We've got your back ❤😂
I dunno maybe I watched to many epic the musical video at once…but that was so Odysseus coded I laughed 😂 thanks
Ask your wife to join you 😂
WIVES!!! ASSEMBLE!!! HERE’S THE SOURCE OF ‘UNEXPLAINED’ SPENDINGS!!! 😂 (as I add yet another notebook to my Amazon cart 😅)
I went to a keynote at a history conference focussed on the difficult times we're in, and the one thing the speaker noted is that we need to be generating primary sources for the generations to come regarding what were doing and how we were getting through. Digital sources are well and good, but so much is lost to the cloud or to the graveyard of abandoned social media. These ideas seem like viable ideas to generate those sources - deliberate, meaningful ways of storing thoughts and ideas- as long as they don't just fall into the trap of mindless consumption, they can be such an act of hope and mindfulness. Loved the video!
You make some very good points. Even if one's "journal" of thoughts and news is only passed down through the family, it is valuable information.
I had the idea of recording my thoughts onto vinyl disks, with the idea being that subsequent generations will copy the data on it onwards onto their consecutive digital storage medias
I always struggled with journaling. Everyone in my family journals in the classic "Write everyday and put bullet points" way, but I have ADHD and CANNOT keep a journal. I tried to and got bored five days in.
I found out about commonplace books and zibaldones recently and realized that Ive been keeping zibaldones and catch-all notebooks for years. I have a bunch of little pocket notebooks with random tidbits of information I picked up here and there.
Right now, I have a proper commonplace book for my master's degree. I use colored tabs to mark the pages where there's info for the Introduction of the thesis, where's the bibliography, quotes taken from articles I've been reading, etc. and it has been very helpful.
I have been on the spectrum for thirty years. I used to hate reading and writing, as I found them boring and tedious. As I grew older and was presented to my family's community. I gave them a list of life skills I wanted to learn soon. So, my uncle bought me a small pocketbook. It took me at least three and a half years to get used to writing into a small pocket book which then led to keeping a commonplace book and later I kept and still do; I journal every day. But not as crazily as everyone else as they do two-plus pages of their daily lives. I keep one page or one and a half pages of my day. Its taken me years to get out of a dark place and journaling has helped me in retrospect. I even give some of my journals, every 6 months, to my therapist or my coach so that they know what I've been up to and how I am doing mentally.
I'm the type of person to keep to myself a lot and never talk about my feelings with strangers or with my therapist. so journaling has been a release. I'm sure others AuDHD has felt the same way or haven't I don't know. But writing can be a burden or a release from one's mind.
ADHD isnt real. Its a made up illness created to sell meth to children and profit off of them. The reason youre bored is because you lack willpower and initiative
Pocket catch all onotebook/Journal (Like an inbox notebook)
Zibaldone: collection of different kind of things (favorite things, quotations, thoughts)
Common place book: collection of quotations. You use Headings to catalog. You keep. You remember.
General and Specific
Treasury and Manuscript
Mix and match 😅
Just as an aside: music students in 18th-century Italy also kept notebooks called zibaldone. These were used specifically to record basic building blocks of musical compositions that recurred over and over in that era (and which modern music historians call "schemata").
@@DivergentIntegral I believe Roland covers this in his book as well, so cool
This gives me more context as when I saw the thumbnail, I wondered if I had purchased a Zibaldone because the paper was artisanal and leather binding string was similar. Its previous owner was a talented artist. Now, it is basically a codex/index physically describing the chronologically ordered catch all journals I had mistakenly called commonplace books.
I came across the idea of commonplace books because of the Series of Unfortunate Events. Lab notebooks contained boring syntheses, measured masses and volumes, statistical analyses or citations to relevant literature, but it didn’t describe the gossip I learned about the previous weekend or the cocktail recipe that I learned at the gay bar over holiday.
Now I’m considering digitizing my diaries to extract as many quotes that hopefully won’t reveal too many personal details. I keep a travelogue to hold memories for family trips or get togethers. Maybe one day I’ll sit down to get working on a handmade family tree archive. I’m getting a sneaking suspicion that the “common” place might not have been physical: after so many years of sharing wisdom and experience, maybe it’s time to consider the possibility that those privileged to scribe memories to paper will always find common ground with penfellows who contemporaneously share a common love, or hope.
Sometimes you get recommended a pure gem of a channel. I found this video extremely helpful and informative. I had no idea I have been creating my own Zibal done books for decades. Now I need to embrace the Common Place book practice. I enjoyed the discussion with Roland Allen. I have listened to 25 minutes which have filled my head with ideas, creative endeavours and books and people I now want to research and read about. Thank you. I have subscribed.
📓 The one way you can easily trim down the search is with a rear index. As long as you have some sort of page count in the bottom, you can always make the generic categories and page numbers visible. That way you are targeting your searches a bit better. There also could be a "master" index depending on the volumes of Zibaldones you have, where you would consult it first with maybe some more refined search methods (names, catchphrases, so on and so on). I think you might be onto something here and I am happy to give it a go for sure!
Master Index for sure! In mine I write a description of the notebook I am referencing (color, art on the cover) but I’m sure one could also number them or use stickers. Parker’s really cool stickers come to mind. 🥋
4:35 „Im italian but i dont speak italien“ is the most american thing i heard today
Can't not think of Brad Pitt in these situations. "I speak the most i-talian... bonjourno"
Eurotrash love to let Americans live rent free in their heads
Idk why I'm not allowed to associate myself more with the place my great grandparents are from than the hellhole I live in. I'm irish-american, but still, I don't get it
@EchoByrnes you're in America, so you're free to associate yourself however you'd like... but there was a reason your great grandparents left for what you call a hellhole. As a fellow irish American, I can tell you it likely had to do w fleeing religious persecution, economic hardships, and the promise of a life where they could feed and raise their children how they saw fit
@@EchoByrnes because to be a member of a culture is to share a lived experience in the land or with it's people. Irish are irish wherever they are, they experience the remnants of living under english rule every day, the aftermath of the troubles every day, it's in their music, in their way of speaking, in the food they eat. Americans are americans wherever they are I recognize an american when I see one. I can tell an irish-american when I see one.
You are not irish and that's okay.
You are an american of irish descent, an irish-american. You have your own culture, you have more in common with other americans of any race and descent than any irish person and there is no need to unilaterately attach yourself to a culture that is not your own.
It's the same reason latinos don't recognize americans of latin descent that don't speak spanish as latinos. Language is how you participate in culture.
I know americans love their individual self-determination, it is part of their culture, but if everyone can decide to be everything then becoming anything by decision is meaningless because it's all the same. You have to participate in a culture to be part of it, an emulation is not enough. The emulations americans create to separate themselves from each other is the reason for many of the problems that make it a hellhole. And you are exporting that way of thinking to the rest of the world.
This was actually super helpful, especially with the clear definition and description of a commonplace book. It’s been a topic that confused me until now as so many people are using them for seemingly random things. I want to get more organised with my notebooks and you have certainly put me on the right path
📓 I index both my catch-all notebooks and zibaldone journal after they're nearly full by listing topics and page numbers, and then color coding subjects for quick reference. For example, I often jot down recipes I want to try in the midst of all the other notes. Then I highlight the margin of any recipe page (usually with a brown mildliner). I also tend to jot down ideas for current writing projects, and those margins are typically highlighted blue. Facts from nonfiction reading get a color, quotes from fiction another. Bible verses or theological quotes get purple margins. I add the color key to my index and then it's quite easy to quickly flick through my notebooks and see at a glance exactly what each page holds. I find there's less wasted space using this method of organization than if I try to guess ahead of time how much space to allocate any particular topic, but it's still simple to locate information for later reference.
Yes!! The color coding is an at a glance win! I have purple for Bible/spirit/personal development. 💜
Thank you so much for going into such detail & just being naturally passionate about notebooking!
I found this extremely valuable! 📓
I began bullet journaling in 2018 however these journals quickly became inconsistent & chaotic to look through. Each time I finished a notebook I would pull the best parts (similarly to when you finish your catch-all) & transfer them into the next one.
Unable to focus while flipping through the catch-all/planner/collection pages I would become deflated. I finally decided to transfer any useful information from each notebook to index cards.
The index cards helped me focus on a single idea or list at a time while no longer feeling the pressure that comes with a notebook. Touching & seeing each idea was a huge win for me as I could move them around freely without being bound to a spine.
This year I found the Zettelkasten Method, Common Place Books & Zibeldone. With the information you provided in this video I feel like I now have a clear definition & truly understand the Common Place Books. Thank you Parker!!!
Would love to hear your thoughts about Zettelkasten. Have you ever tried this Method?
Ive been keeping what I call a “Common Catch-all” for several years now, I’m an artist who is constantly coming up with ideas for new paintings throughout the day, and my small pocket common catch-all is the perfect place to quickly record quick sketches and notes on ideas, as well as anything I read or hear that’s inspiring. I also put mundane things like lists or little journal entries, and I love the immediacy and spontaneity of it. It’s become a completely indispensable part of my artistic process and my life in general! Its a free place to be as messy or clean as I want, without the pressure of my nicer, more polished sketchbooks or journals.
Thanks!
📓 I recently started my 3rd commonplace (Brain & Mind) book since watching this channel. I have also purchased my first fountain pen (Lamy Safari) with the EF tip and now find myself apologizing to friends because I'm busy writing lol
The fountain pen realm is dangerous! I just bought a twsbi & have multiple kaweco fp’s.
Just ordered the Roland Allen book a few days ago and can't wait for it to arrive. So happy to find a tribe of autodidacts I didn't even know I belong to. I appreciate all your great videos!
The distinction between zibalsone and commonplace book was really helpful - I've been accidentally keeping a zibaldone for several years now, and will keep doing so. I'm now going to see if I can start organising a proper commonplace book or two 📓📓📓
This contains a lot of gems thank you. I love it all - the Zibaldone, Commonplace, Marginalia - it’s so valuable. I agree with a previous commenter about documenting events now - they’ll be history and they need to be accurately recorded. Digital is too easy to change. It can’t be trusted. An analogue statement may be false of course, but you can see if it has been changed
i've found that keeping an index to my notebooks really helps. i have an index notebook that has a keyword on the top of each page. when i am done with a notebook, i review it and add a reference to the notes under their associated keywords in my index. it's a pretty simple system. i replicate my index digitally for easier searching. if i'm on the computer i use digital notes, if i'm out and about or reading a book i usually use analog.
I've made my "catch all" notebook a small A7 ring binder, so that I can easily separate and categorize all of my thoughts and ideas. It makes it so much easier to log what I need and discard what I don't.
I've definitely had various zibaldone journals over the years. I was unaware that there was a name for it though. Very interesting.
This is great! The commonplace book idea has always felt too rigid for me as I dont usually delve so incredibly deeply into specific topics but like collecting bits and pieces of many concepts. I had not heard of the zibaldone before, but it sounds much more like what I gravitate towards in my notebooks. I love the idea that people would share theirs and write in their friends' books as well. It goes to show that people are fundamentally similar across the ages and we all like collecting and sharing interesting information with each other, be it tumblr blog or zibaldone.
Wow, thank you for your content. Somehow, you climbed into my head and organized what my thoughts were based on how I wanted to capture my thoughts, insights, quotes, etc. Great! I get to add another notebook....
Can never have too many 💕
Great video! Really enjoyed the snippet with Roland Allen! 📓 📓 📓
Thanks for this feedback! I wasn't sure if I should include the snippet or not
I can recommend to everybody to use fountain pens. Because fountain pens bring joy as they facilitate self-expresssion (different nibs, inks etc). This will keep you going and help to establish consistency.
I love this exploration of different ways of keeping records and collecting thoughts with which to craft things in future. Journaling and keeping bits of the past for future generations is a passion of mine. I am delighted to have just found your channel. :)
And yes, you do have a fantastic mustache, as one commenter said. :)
Nearly 50 years of journaling/writing, I consider my main book a commonplace/journal/quotes/everything book. I do have other notebooks, but after 50 years, I guess I have a bit of experience. Yeah, of course shopping lists and stuff go elsewhere. But my main books? Pure gold. Stacks of gold.
Tell it! ❤It's pretty astonishing to look back and see all the notebooks I've filled over the decades. 😊
50 years of journaling... how much is this in metric tons?
@@Polly_Jean it’s a lot but mine measure in imperial
This came across my recommendation and just decided to watch it. I never thought I've been practicing this since then. I really love notebooks as a kid and as I grow, it slowly developed into wanting to write ideas, tasks, and journaling. I use it mainly for writing stories and as of now, it's scattered on other things 😅 Thank you for sharing this, I'll definitely put this into practice.
📓 Today I learned in my attempt to keep a commonplace book, I have been actually keeping a zibaldone!
I learned I’ve actually been keeping a catch all. 🤣🤣🤣
This is amazing content. It's really cleared things up for commonplace book enthusiasts. ❤ Thanks
Thanks for the distinction. I've been keeping a Catchall, but I can see the benefit of reviewing and transfer to a common book. I love the idea of a shareable Zibaldone. The idea that it was a fun way to interact with friends and others with similar interests. I am looking forward to listening to the complete Roland Allen podcast.
As always, great video.
I always end up taking something from your videos and I really appreciate that.
📕
📓 Qué buen video!! Muchas gracias por darnos siempre una visión más profunda sobre los diferentes métodos para organizarse. Saludos desde España!🇪🇸
So good. Thanks for putting this together.
I'm reading The Notebook- A History....now- love it. Loved the interview
📓 loved the in-depth analysis thanks Parker! I definitely keep all 3 types you discussed in this video. The other two essentially funnel into/feed my common place.
📓 Excellent video as always, brother. Been really upping my notebook-game for study and this helps to further my note-taking journey. Apparently I had a Zibaldone this whole time!
It is a helpfull distinction. I didn't know, that I need a zibaldone - a notebook for my thinking, and ideas, and quotations, and research plans - even the erratic ones - but a notebook thatbiscan intellectual tool without lists of household chores. Also - I've started to learn Italian, so the italian beginnings of zibaldone are very interestong for me 🙂📓
I really enjoyed the descriptions of distinctions between the different notebooks 📓
I think it's a really helpful distinction, because ideas go through multiple stages and iterations before they are fully refined, and they need to interact with other sources of information. So, I think keeping them at different storehouses is useful. Additionally, as much as I would LOVE, to have a bunch of notebooks, at this point in time, it really isn't feasible or sustainable for me - so I'm working on creating a system w/ google forms and obsidian, where I can just catch information, search and organize, reflect every day, and just go back to obsidian to update, tweak or add. Loved the distinctions between the zibaldone and a commonplace - the distinction really helps and i will be reinfing my systems to match! Especially with the difference b/w treasury and manuscript.
📓 Thank you! I think what I want to keep is a Zibaldone journal, but you are right - it would be haphazard and hard to retrieve information. That’s why I got the idea of keeping it on a Rolodex and moving cards around to keep it organized. It’s still paper and non-electronic. And the cards could be color-coded. You could also just have a box of index cards, and move the cards around to arrange and rearrange.
Great discussion. Thanks for your work on this topic.📕
📕 this was so nice to watched. I really enjoyed the clip about the history about the zybaldone. I’ve been inspired to keep a commonplace book but I struggle with what to put in it. This actually helped a lot. Keeping a catchall is probably what I need to do. Then transfer the info. Great vid. Thank you.
📓 So very much intresting. I can't help but smile when you say "zibaldone" with an italian accent!
😅😅😅
This was a great video! I have been compiling a zibaldone this year without knowing what it was called. In the back of the book, I have what I fondly call a "reverse index". I start on the back page with page 1 and list with bullet points a short phrase describing the quote or topic I have on that page, then progress to page 2. At the bottom of that page is say page 10. I would then move to the next to the last page in the book, the page facing the one I just finished writing on, and would list page 11, progressing as I fill up the book from the front. Another idea could be to color code the index so you can find the topic you are looking for quickly if you are one that tends to fill it with specific things like recipes, quotes etc and leaving the ones with no category in black. A third idea could be to number each zibaldone book, and use excel to list the book, page, category and description so it could be searchable. Using excel will probably be my go to once I expand past my first book so I can find what I am looking for quickly, as well as listing a reverse index in the back of each book as I go along.
Thanks for this video. I think the distinctions are very useful. I certainly see the need to have a catch-all that is a different notebook from something that is more permanent like either a commonplace reading journal or a zibaldone of proverbs.
One of the things I do for a catch all book is buy cheap 5 subject coil bound notebooks. Each tab serves a specific purpose. Example being: 1 tab for a to do list, 1 tab for motivational or inspirational quotes or topics, 1 tab for researching topics like writing a book, 1 tab for events of any and all types and 1 tab for wishes, dreams and goals. It makes it so much easier to locate things quickly when I want to transfer information into a zibaldone about self improvement or a commonplace book like a Book of Shadows for my magical practices and spells. Each type of these books serves a purpose for me to be able to condense things into a much cleaner deeper path for my thoughts and emotions. It is also a way to open my mind to other ways of think. The same way it allows me to expand my knowledge. Adapt any new information as to how it applies to my existing knowledge. It also helps me become more open to different view points from others to be able to say I was wrong, I didn't have enough information about a subject or that what use to work no longer works in my life.
This differentiation between a commonplace book and a Zibaldone is new to me..
With all of the different types of notebooks you speak about it would be nice to have something like a notebook types Wikipedia :)
@@yonashira3853 i might be in process of writing a book... 😁
@@ParkerNotes So you are writing a commonplace book with own thoughts about (not only) commonplace books... It sounds weird for almost everybody else, bu totally normal for you 🤣
But thanks to your suggestion I ordered Roland´s book as well and will start reading it soon.
@@yonashira3853 hahah yeah sort of. It's a philosophy book on doing practical philosophy with lots of different styles of notebook
📕Loved the video and happy I found your channel :) I always used a notebook since as long as I can remember, but always had this issue of not completing them or not getting back to them... Just recently I stumbled on the term commonplace book and started going down that fascinating rabbit hole :D Now I'm hooked! Thank you for making such in-depth analysis, it was an eye-opener for me!
I used different note books for various things.
For exercise I have two note books. One for general exercise. The other for strength/weights with an attention to statistics. It helps me to separate the two books.
📗interesting video, and I just got Roland Allen’s book. I’m looking forward to diving into it
24:30 I think the secret to keeping everything organized is to make a zibaldone when your everyday journal gets full, and then make a common place book once the zibaldone is full. First filtering important information you've gathered, and then categorizing it.
Hi Parker, great content, as always. I use what you call a "Catch All" book, too. I call mine HCE - after one of the characters of James Joyce's Finnegans Wake, HCE= Here Comes Everyone, so this notebook catches everybody, everything, all of it. No matter where I start a new entry, I put the date. At the very beginning I leave 3-5 Index/Context pages blank, so that if it is extremely important I can put the theme or category with the date (rather than page number - but you could do it that way too, I guess). When I come to the end of the notebook I can peruse through it and fill out the Index/Content/Context pages at the beginning with whatever detail it needs. I am not super consistent with it, but this is my method. Thanks for all you do here!
📓 I am finding your videos to be very helpful. Thanks.
Thanks for this encouragement!
📓 Brilliant tips. Over the years I've written so many notes on bits of paper, that I'm overwhelmed with bits of paper 😂 Love all the ideas given in this Video. Definitely going to start a commonplace book, for cataloging my Art Studies note's 📝 Have a great day 🌅
📓thanks! I just filled up my whole Leuchtturm notebook... it was a mess, but near the end it came to be more like a Zibaldone/Commonplace book hybrid. I like this idea of seperating the two. My next Leuchtturm notebook will link closely to Zibaldone, and I will look into getting a commonplace book for my particular interests.
Thanks for your compilation of insight! 📓
When I was a kid, my school encouraged journaling and scrapbooking, which was good, but I just sorta forgot about it until I got a journal for Christmas a couple of years ago and then slowly fell down the rabbit hole of commonplace books and other stuff like that
Midpoint between zipaldone and commonplace book: put the category in the footer, you don’t need all of the same category to be together, but seeing the footer tag will help find things also.
I have mostly kept them this way with just a title boxed out but I'm started to actually add commonplaces tags to help me too
Amazing weather. Thank you.
📓Thank you! Some interesting points that I can use to refine my process. Much appreciated.
I love your mustache, looks whimsical
📗 I am a part of the planner community here & yes a lot of people call a zibaldoni (?) a common place book. One thing that a lot of us do is to use a key, they sell dot stickers in different colors, or highlighters, to color code what kind of info it is. So as you flip through the book you can see the topics by color. A lot of notebooks also have an index page and numbered pages, so you can flip back to the index page & write down the topic and page number there. I have been keeping books like this since I was a kid. The whole annotations book took stuff….yeah that’s old news, & has always been fun. All of the non fiction books I read have all the covers and front pages & margins full, & a lot of them also have sections in notebooks too. Thanks for this video I learned a lot and added a book to my tbr.
Going to write all of this down in my catch-all notebook, so I’ll remember it for next time. 😂 I already keep a zibaldone, which I call my “quotes book”, just full of quotes that inspire me.
Don’t know if I have the stamina to keep a commonplace book, but thank you for making this distinction clear. It was really cool to hear from Mr. Allen as well, so thank you for sharing!
I’ve been using a “commonplace” book for some time but according to this video I need to start referring to it as a zibaldone. Haven’t heard that term previously. Interesting video. Thanks!
@@MelanieEvans-rc7xv 🙌🤝💪
I think Zibaldone can be use like a Catch-all, but not the one that you carry in a pocket all the time, but rather the one that you pull out when listening to a lecture or reading a book.
And, similarly to a Catch-all, you would move knowledge from a Zibaldone into a relevant Commonplace book.
Yes! I like this. That's basically what I'm doing with my new Zibaldone, except I'm not putting tasks in it like I would a catch-all
this is a great overview - but my one recommendation to anyone getting into it is don't over complicate it. Keep it simple, just write stuff down, eventually you'll figure out what works for you. sometimes hearing all this stuff can be overwhelming.
I'm so hydrated after taking a sip of water everytime you said "intellectual"
😅😅😅
I have heard the zibaldone journal also called a miscellany journal, and I found it really useful for writing my dissertation
Might I recommend the OLPR leather Journal wallet with A7 Size notebooks for a great wallet/daily journal catch all notebook.
@@MrTGgamer I love OLPR. I'll check it out
@@ParkerNotes Ended upgrading to the Pilot Birdy and Life Noble A7 Notebooks. Nice little wallet and you can keep 2 pens or 1 pen and a pencil on you at all times.
📓Thank you so much for explaining these concepts. I was always confused about what a commonplace book really is.
I actually write silvarium which is an XVI century form popular back then in poland. It consists of all diffrent quotes and obituaries and cooking recipies but its meant to be passed down in a family. It is a sort of family memory so you write down everything you think people should remember.
📖 Good stuff!
I now work hard to index my valuable notes after I realized how difficult it was to find pertinent info.
Also I’ve been keeping a ziboldone for years without knowing what it was. Unfortunately I’ve discarded most of them because I was if ignorant to their value at the time.
Great video! First time viewer📓
Been seriously debating going back to paper for some of my planning needs. I've been loving physical paper for journaling, but am still hesitant to fully go back to paper for work/life planning. I've still got two months to make a decision -- 2025 may be the year of the notebook for me.
📓 Thanks, as always, for the insightful videos!! 📓
📓 Hey Parker, I'm curious if your old videos (like a year ago) oversimplified the concept of commonplace books like you discussed here, or did they take into account zibaldones and the differences between these? I think this is the first time I've seen you mention zibaldones in a video, and I feel like your prior definitions of commonplace books might have been more general, but I can't tell. Thanks for the great video!
@@irvinkershner9142 yeah I've been studying the history of CPBs a ton since my first videos and I've since discovered the distinctions between them and compendiums and now zibaldones. People still conflate zibaldones and CPBs but I think the distinctions is really beneficial. CPBs are great for academic work and writing and zibaldones are great for inspiration
📕the distinctions are helpful- I now know that i have Zibaldon'i' and Catch-alls but i haven't graduated to the 'manuscript commonplace'
Well it looks like all these years I've been keeping a Zibaldone style journal! I have journaled consistently since I was 12 (now 24) and have never seen anyone on RUclips journal exactly like me. My journals are first and foremost a diary and then I add in things like stickers, tags, business cards (junk journaling). I have pages that are just quotes from books I have recently finished. I use scrapbook materials to design pages for lyrics from songs that have been on my mind. I collage. I typically work in a Leuchtturm1917 A5 lined notebook and I use the provided index for organization. I recently started keeping a digital Writer's Notebook through MilaNote because I like the visual aspect and can add aesthetics to an idea I may have.
Thoughts on different uses for different notebook sizes and their effect on ones' thought expression? I've only just started journaling consistently about 2 months ago, but I have found that my thinking changes depending on my canvas for expressing my thoughts. Whether it is typing, handwriting on a tablet (Apple Pencil + iPad), taking notes in my small pocket sized moleskine or my B6 Leuchtthurm or my Muji A5 grid paper notebook, I find that the tools I use affect my thought process, and I'm wondering if you've noticed similar things.
I would also love more 'how to' videos, videos for setting up journals for daily reflection, for using a pocket notebook (you have this video out), when different size paper is more or less 'appropriate' (obviously this changes for everyone, but I do believe that there must be some type of link between canvas size and the way thoughts are formed and communicated on them, if you'd like to point me in this direction of philosophy if it exists), keeping a calendar, etc. I like the way you think and how you express your thoughts. I'm just getting into your channel, but I'm enjoying myself a lot. Kudos to you, and hope to see more content! Would appreciate some series on different notebook reviews, favorite pens, different styles of note taking. journaling or 'brain dumping' that you have found beneficial or not, etc.
Preference question: Moleskine or Leuchtturm? I have used pocket soft cover moleskines here and there, but I just bought a Leuchtturm and I may be a convert. While the pocket size is inconvenient for writing without a table and sometimes forces me to condense my thoughts, and the B6 doesn't have this problem, it only barely fits into my back pocket which I find a bit awkward at times. I mostly carry my notebooks in my backpack, anyways.
I also think I want to get a leather sleeve / cover so that I can also keep my pens with my notebook should I just want to go somewhere with my notebook and not my backpack. Any recommendation for B6 and pocket sized leather covers with pen holding capabilities? Any favorite pens? I've used frixion erasable for the last few years (I'm 23, have used them for about 5 years) but have found that I have difficulties with not allowing myself to make mistakes (hence the erasable pens). I've wanted to change that, so I started using Muji 0.38 mm roll ball pens and they are not erasable. I'm enjoying learning to allow myself to scribble things out :) Anyways, apologies for the essay. I will be commenting the exact same thing on some other videos in hopes you see it, so apologies for that as well 😅.
Sincerely, a bored Engineering and Computer Science undergraduate student who should probably be studying for finals or asleep, but is somewhat wishing he studied philosophy instead.
📔 I loved the explanation between a Zibaldone and a Commonplace book. Thanks for straightening that one out for me. Just heading into a PhD and have laid out a commonplace book. Index at front (and at the back if necessary). Got a doorstep of a notebook which will keep me busy for a while. B6 - my new favourite size. Thanks again from London UK.
Great explanation of “common place” strategy.
I loved this video. I will now binge watch your channel 😂
That is all.
Dear Parker, if it’s not too much trouble, could you share more details on how you made your notes during your Master’s Degree in Theology? I’m about to start my own Master’s and would love some good ideas to keep everything organized-and you’re the best at that! Thanks a lot in advance. ps.: This could make a great Instagram post-I believe many people will enjoy it!
📓Dude - you are fascinating. Thank you for promoting actual thinking.
Haha thank you!!
I am Italian, you prince Zibaldone very well, speaking normally. Great Video.
Haha yes! Thank you 🙌🤝
this is funny because when I discovered commonplacing and did some research about it to start my own commonplace book, I literally called it Zibaldone because I'm italian and I was inspired by the Romantic era's Italian poet Giacomo Leopardi which kept a commonplace book and called it "Zibaldone di pensieri" (meaning "Zibaldone of thoughts")!
Just getting into notebooks...but it seems to me that in order to avoid the resistance to action on the commonplace book, being that it is indeed a lot of work to organize, I would suggest keeping the zibaldone daily, and then tasking yourself once a week to go through what you have added, categorize and index them into the commonplace book...since the zibaldone includes anything interesting its likely only 50% of it will rate migrating anyway. That way you only have to have extra discipline once per week instead of all throughout your day.
i realized that i inadvertently keep a "zibaldone" section in my commonplace book. i've been writing quotes in the very front pages
Love the idea of the Zibaldone! 📓 I think it gives people permission to not be so precious about what they put in their book compared to commonplacing. Analysis paralysis is real.
I just found your channel and its great. Question for you... what type of book or format is used when you are crafting a project? Do "in progress" projects get a book? Do completed projects get a book? You touched on this briefly when speaking of your blog projects and graduate work but can you share "After the Common place book"? Thanks!
It’s crazy I do all of this on my notes app on my phone with out really realizing
📓thank you for explaining about common place notebooks.
Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it
I like the concept of the Zibuzone (sp) style. It's closer to what I do in my "Dragabout" book.
📓 Thanks for the explanation of the difference of each book.
I'm so glad you enjoyed it, I'm always worried that everyone will think I'm drawing too many distinctions and wasting my time
my perfunctory engagement as thanks
@@saliustripe appreciate this!
📓excited to start a Zibaldone and find what I gravitate towards!
🙌🙌🙌
Side note: I read through all of Invincible recently, for the 3rd time. So good. Arguably the best superhero book.
It really is the best superhero story. It has everything and plays on familiar tropes without being cliché. It's just beautiful
@@ParkerNotesWhat book do you mean? I'm thinking about The Invincible by Stanislaw Lem, the author of Solaris. I like Solaris more, but The Invincible is very captivating as well. Do you mean that book by Lem or something else?
It seems like they are referring to the Image Comics published Invincible by Robert Kirkman
@@Sancahez yep, that one
@@ParkerNotes Love the stuff you're making dude. The Invincible books just jumped out at me off your shelf lol. You've really inspired me to keep a journal and think about life more.
📒 Thank you so much for this. I've heard of the commonplace book and I think it was more zibaldone that was referenced. I've been wondering how to organize myself for some time now. I'm no longer in school, but simply a student of life and definitely have difficulties with some level of executive dysfunction and/or neurodiversity; without an externally enforced discipline it is difficult for me to get my thoughts in order, and sometimes with the wrong kind of discipline it becomes nearly impossible. I am actively working towards ordination in Zen Buddhism and want to organize my thoughts better. I am hoping to work on some form of referential notekeeping to build this skill, but the going is hard sometimes. Hearing your explanation regarding the different styles of notekeeping has me wondering what types of commonplace books and subjects I could start organizing around, as well as considering to begin with a zibaldone and then, as you mention, annotating it after 'completion' and analyzing the themes to start commonplace books based off of such. Thank you for the content, I appreciate it, cheers!
Hey! This is great and clarifies a lot. What's is your opinion on Zettelkasten for note taking?
📔 I have been writing in "journals" off and on for decades. I've recently been drawn to be more purposeful about my writing. So this video has been a helpful guide. And it's interesting to see how I've gravitated to variations of the type notebooks you described. Now, to tweak what I'm doing for them to be even more useful for me. Thanks.
Thank you for informing me that I've been making Zibaldones the past 2 years. Knew they weren't considered commonplace considering the vomit of poetry and sketches included.
Haha a kindred spirit! 🤝🤝