Commonplace Books: Borrowing Simple Systems for Organized Thinking from the Ancient Greeks

Picture yourself as an Ancient Greek student named Plotus. You’ve just embarked on your rhetorical education, where you’ll master the art of persuasion—learning how to create and deliver arguments that captivate and convince your audience. In many ways, the Greeks were pioneers of content creation.

You, Plotus, would soon understand the importance of composing a compelling speech to earn your master’s approval. Greek orators took their speeches seriously, often carrying notebooks filled with notes, observations, and ideas to aid their memory and creativity. These notebooks, known as commonplace books, were not only repositories of knowledge but also tools for intellectual exploration.

Some of history’s greatest minds used commonplace books. It’s said that Marcus Aurelius started Meditations as his commonplace book, and John Locke even wrote a book on how to create one.

But why call them “commonplace” when they are anything but ordinary?

We are lost in translation here: Ancient Greeks used koinos topos— meaning “general topics”— to organize ideas and arguments for their rhetorical exercises. These koinos topos were symbolic places inside their books where ideas or examples could be “found” when needed.

Centuries later, Renaissance scholars woke up after eras of disorganization and revived this Greek tradition. They translated koinos topos into the Latin locus communis (“common places”) and used headings as the symbolic places to organize information. These were intellectual locus communis or “common places” of knowledge.

Because of this linguistic twist of fate, we ended up calling these personalized repositories “commonplace books”—even though they’re far from common in the modern sense of the word.

As a restoration of justice to the Ancients, I’ve called mine an ‘uncommonplace book.’ It’s ‘uncommon’ because it’s custom-made by me, for me. It’s my brain’s best friend. Let me explain.

If you’re still unsure about the value of a commonplace book, consider this: you’re inside one right now. This blog post (and much of what I write) comes directly from my personal (un)commonplace book.

I started mine in 2021 during an episode of what I call “informational nausea”. While writing my first scientific review, I had to distill insights from over 150 papers (!). My brain hit its limit, refusing to absorb more information, much like a full stomach resists another bite. In total desperation, I saved tons of tabs, PDFs, and notes, hoping to recall their relevance later.

Of course, I didn’t. Our working memory is limited and does not like to work at the edge of informational nausea. Searching for a system to organize my chaos, I discovered commonplace books. Unlike many projects born of procrastination, this one stuck.

Today, it’s my happy place: A digital space where my ideas are stored and organized, freeing my mind to think and create without the burden of retention. I sleep peacefully knowing my precious content is safely preserved and easily accessible.

(For the curious, you can read my first scientific review—co-authored with the help of my commonplace book—here.)

Creating a commonplace book is quick and simple. Regardless of the platform you use, here’s how to get started:

• Set up categories: Create tags or folders for your topics. These categories are the organizational backbone of your book.
• Save information effortlessly: Whenever you find something that resonates—a quote, idea, or article—add it to your book without overthinking. If it catches your attention, save it.
• Stay organized: Use categories consistently for easy retrieval later. The more predictable your system, the less time you’ll spend searching.

You can use a folder system on your computer. Or Evernote, Obsidian, or Google Keep. You can even create repositories on GitHub.

My commonplace book runs on Notion because I’m a big fan: you can create whatever you want on the platform thanks to its database feature, and its free version is excellent. There are many tutorials and templates available online. If you’re unfamiliar with Notion, I highly recommend giving it a try. I started learning with my now-favorite Notion teacher, Thomas Frank, who offers plenty of high-quality (and free) tutorials for all skill levels.

Creating your own commonplace book is a great way to start using Notion. It doesn’t have to be perfect from the beginning (it won’t be). It’s a scalable project. Start small.

Simple doesn’t mean easy. Starting your commonplace book is straightforward, but keeping it going takes some effort at the beginning. These have been the main challenges for me:

• Developing a tagging system that works: Today’s information is complex and often resists single-category classification. I created tags that connect directly to my projects to simplify and keep it relevant. For example, the tag “tips for writing” links to my project “Blog,” ensuring classification aligns with practical use.
• Adding content efficiently: You’ll need to experiment to find the best way to quickly and effortlessly add content across all your devices. My workflow includes:
  • The Notion desktop app for general use and organizing content.
  • The Notion Web Clipper to save pages automatically while browsing.
  • The Notion Mobile app on my phone, which features a minimalist widget perfect for adding ideas on the go.
• Maintenance is harder than it seems: Your commonplace notebook is a living system. Periodically revisiting, refining, and decluttering is essential. I still struggle with occasional chaos and welcome suggestions for creating a more self-sustaining system!

Once you’ve mastered the basics, take it to the next level: Add your personal touch and align it with your projects and workstyle. Mine links the content I save to my projects and ideas, all of which are connected to my tasks. This creates an all-in-one system: every new piece of information contributes to ongoing or potential projects and feeds my task list with relevant material. For this, I use my version of the PARA method—a topic for another day.

A commonplace book can transform your relationship with information, whether you’re overwhelmed by data or simply curious about trying a new system. It’s a simple yet powerful tool that honors the Greek legacy and channels your intellectual energy into creative productivity.

Release your inner Plotus and start yours today—you’ll wonder how you ever managed without it.

Share your Thoughts:

• Do you already have a commonplace book? How has it helped you?
• What challenges have you faced in building and maintaining it?
• If you don’t have one, what would your ideal commonplace book look like?

Add your comment here below or send me a message to fgarro@writthink.com

• References:
  • Burke, Victoria E. “Recent studies in commonplace books.” English Literary Renaissance 43.1 (2013): 153-177. Link
    

• Footnotes:

1. Locke, John. A new method of making common-place books. London: Printed for J. Greenwood, bookseller, at the end of Cornhil, next Stocks-Market, 1706. *EC65 L7934 706n. Houghton Library, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Repository Houghton Library. Institution Harvard University
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