I really enjoy reading/seeing everyone's set ups. So many different options, the list is endless! However, I think it is most important to remember you don't need any of these different, fancy or expensive notebooks, let alone covers and leather bags.. If you actually use your notebooks they will be filled long before they will be destroyed in your pocket (let alone in a leather satchel). Just write. Use what you have. Use one notebook to start with, you can use it for anything and everything. "Especially* if you are new to writing. Don't fall into the trap of buying all kinds of things before you actually know how YOU like to do things, what works for YOU. And you don't have to make a distinction between your journal or your diary, just write, *there are no rules*. Maybe you'll find out you prefer wrting in a larger sized notebook, because you realize you get hand cramps when writing in small notebooks. Just write! Find out what you enjoy. Do you prefer a certain size notebook (or do you like variation), do you prefer having one notebook that you use to write down anything (easier to carry), a Travellers Notebook to corral a few different notebooks, or a lot of seperate ones, one for each subject? What do you use to write with (pencil, pen, what type of ink?) and what paper works best with that? Covers and bags are pretty, but they get expensive, fast, and really have nothing to do with notetaking or writing. However, if I would make one suggestion, if you do write a lot, and/or have hand or wrist issues (rsi, arthritis, etc.): try a fountain pen. Unlike a ballpen, or a pencil, with a fountain pen you don't have to use pressure to get the ink on the paper. So it's easier on your hands and wrists. Just enjoy the process! Try out new things, experiment! You can always change your mind. Have fun!
So well said! 🎉 Also, I’d add that if, after watching all sorts of gorgeous, aesthetic setups, etc., you notice that you’re being too precious with your tools to actually use them, consider using ones that you *won’t* feel precious with, but which are still good enough quality that they serve you. For example, I found I was too nervous to “ruin” a good sketchbook, so I instead used the Moleskine craft cover cahier notebooks with blank pages. They’re kind of floppy, the pages are thin but creamy and lovely to draw on. They look very unassuming, so whenever I draw something ugly in there, it kind of feels at home, making it easier to keep coming back to.
@@21cormorants Ooh, I have done that as well! I had notebooks that I was "saving" for.... I have no idea what! I ended up giving most of them away, and just kept the ones that I knew I would actually use (the size and paper I like). Also, one of my anything-and-everything notebooks that I always have in my Travelers Notebook is really cheap (one I can pick up in a local store when I go grocery shopping) for the exact same reason you described. I will make grocery lists in there, make notes while I am on the phone, sketch new room layout ideas, whatever comes to mind. I don't want it to be precious or pretty, I just need it to be functional.
I'm actually in the process of trying out a new notebook. I've been going back and forth a lot though like between using my phone to take notes and a little notepad I got, which annoyingly has very thin pages that are a bit of a pain to use, and it might be a bit too small, but if I go any bigger I dont think it'll fit in my pocket. I still need to experiment more and find my system for when I'm out and about 😅
📔 My hip-pocket carry is a paper-bound moleskine (usually red). I work from both ends, and flip. One end is a kind of day-by-day activity journal. The other end is an idea journal / commonplaces.
I use cheap little pocket notebooks that I fill, transcribe any good stuff into other journals & then discard. I’ve been doing this for decades and I couldn’t imagine having as satisfying a memory or record of my life without them.
TLDR: If you don't know why and what to put into a compendium (because of your interests / field ) here are two questions that could help! 1. What is important and interesting to me enough that I would put into a compendium and use it...? 2. How could I make it easier on a brain?(Turn it into bit(e) sized chunks!) How could I turn it into bit(e) sized chunks? Honestly, thank you @ParkerNotes ! I have before watching you started a common place book years ago (based on another YT video) and it genuinely meant a lot. Since then inspired by you I have made new notebooks to manage my life thoughts etc (Adenturer's Journal, Quest Log) But the idea of a Compendium previous ly always seemed cool, but I just never thought it would make sense for my field (Computer Science) (digital is better, and CS takes a lot of brain power). However this video made me rethink - and I asked this question: What is important and interesting to me enough that I would put into a compendium and use it...? Languages And Math And another: How could I make it easier on a brain? Turn it into bit(e) sized chunks! Languages: words / sentences I find interesting - just single words or sentences not a full lesson! that would be brain power sucking, or lyrics (no need to think just read and recall melody) and other small tidbits Math: single definitions or statements, theorems, atomic ideas So thank you this might just make me a better CS student and language learner and rid me off doom scrolling for the most part! Will see in a month or so 😉
📔 You’re writing a novel and a ParkNotes book?? Man, I’ve been here since around the same week as the ‘Pocket Notebooks can save your Mind’ video and I’m so glad to hear about that. I always enjoy your content and try to recommend it to who I can. God bless my friend.
🙌🙌🙌 thanks for sticking around and for telling your friends! Yeah I have more of my notes done for the novel and starting writing in November. I'm way over due on my ParkNotes book proposal but I'll get that in soon 😅
📓 I currently carry two notebooks everywhere I go - first is my Field Notes Pocket Planner which is a daily/weekly/monthly planner all in one in a Field Notes (one per month, yeah I burn through them I know haha) and then I got an Exceed pocket notebook with a hardcover from Walmart that I use as my flowing thoughts and ideas notebook where mostly I write down things I hear or read that I want to reflect and look back on but also some of my own.
A pocket catch-all has been really key for me. If I am working on something and have an idea or remember something, I have to write it down to clear the part of my executive functioning brain that tries to "keep remembering it" so I don't forget it when it's time. It will actually disrupt me until I clear it or write it down somewhere. I've been able to focus at work a lot better now that I have a place to jot personal thoughts down so they don't get lost.
I started carrying a field notes-size catch-all and combined sententiae/contemplatio in a traveller's notebook-style cover early in 2024, after seeing one of your videos, and it has been life-changing. I had a baby a few months ago, and the catch-all was absolutely indispensable in the early, chaotic, sleep-deprived days (he's my third child, but no matter how experienced the parent, there are always things to write down in the early days). I also recently added a third notebook to the mix, my memoria, for things I am specifically trying to commit to memory. So far this has mainly consisted of poetry and Latin rules/vocabulary. Lady-clothing rarely has acceptable pockets, but I have taken to choosing new clothing based in part on the presence/absence to decent pockets, and I am also learning basic tailoring and clothing modification, in part because i like pockets. I've also chosen to embrace the fanny pack (or, as the cool kids call it, the "hip sack"), because, well, I can't always have the pockets I want.
📓Mainly use a single notebook (Cross Jotzone, plan to use it until it's filled and is a hodgepodge between journal, notes, exercise log, reading log and list of websites/books to read or projects to do); I fell out of the habit of carrying a notebook but my favorite way to organize info is 3-ring binder so I can freely re-order things. Pretty much have an engineering binder that I need to use more often but I do like the added flexibility of organizing info.
I carry a Leuchtturm1917 notebook which functions as a catch all notebook. My “not booking” is not nearly as sophisticated as your’s is, but I am eager to learn. I have subscribed to your channel and look forward to exploring your videos to add to my repertoire and to share with my grandchildren. I try to make this journey inter generational. Thanks a million.
K you for this presentation. I have been away from college days for sometime. Use to carry some type of notebook just as a catch all. But recently as as I have now gotten more involved in photography/videography I find i need them again.
Thank you. This was very helpful. I have almost always had a ‘catch-all’ or a sketch book on me, but I can see the value of carrying tow distinctly different notebooks. I also love the idea of substituting the notebook for doom scrolling. 📓
My Saddleback Leather co. Large backpack is amazing. It’s carried me through all of my greatest adventures abroad and at home and will continue to carry me through countless more. I’m more partial to Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks for my pocket notebooks-mostly because of my line of work and lifestyle lead to days of mess, grease, and occasionally being storm soaked.
I’m very happy i found this channel. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I have seen so many videos about note taking but i still have one big issue? Let’s say from now on in one year im thinking: hmm about this i have read something and im sure i have take some notes about, how I’m going to find this again? Does someone else have similar issues? Ore even a good solution? I’m great foul for all Ideas
📓 love the information, and I love the saddlebag briefcase you carry. Since I've been on this analog journey, I have got more rest at night by unloading thoughts on paper and just generally healthier by not infinite scrolling constantly. Absolutely love the pocket size. I am trying to condense everything into one pocket notebook but it does fill up quicker and I'm ok with that. Just like my brain, my notebooks are filled with chaos 😂 nothing matches or makes sense. That's the creative in me I guess 🤷🏻♀️😅
Always appreciate you talking about what you carry and how you carry it. I've been trying to keep a pocket notebook with me more often (used your code for a Lochby recently!). I'm finding that I have all my ideas when I forget to bring it, and almost no ideas when I do actually have it. Such is life. Keep up the good work! 📓
I am a new college student and I just bombed an exam. I was wondering if you could make a video on how to study effectively for an exam or something along those lines?
Sorry to hear that! I would highly recommend reviewing the book Make It Stick. It’s very good at teaching you to learn effectively and explaining the ways that we fool ourselves into thinking we’re learning even though we’re not. The last chapter has the more practical tips if you’re really pressed for time. But the whole book is well worth it.
The idea notebook, quotes, studies… I have these in larger sizes, but creating a smaller version for carrying all the time is genius. Thank you! I am going o do this. Sweet. 📓
I usually take a pocket moleskine with me everywhere has my catch all and a travellers notebook I take to work and that’s where my time blocker/work log is kept. At home I keep a journal and have recently started a reading log too. I do think it’s important to not get bogged down In all the fancy setups of your notebooks and to just write!😊
📓I have always carried a little notebook in my purse for 'whatever' I've needed to remember. For cost's sake, I mostly used the 3/$1, which I am sure are much more expensive now, little spiral notebooks. I did make a fabric cover to protect it and then also the remainder of my purse from the spirals. In my decade-plus of having a smart phone, I have probably only used the notes app a dozen times. I am now out of my inventory of the little notebooks so will look for something new (small and lightweight) - may just make one 😊.
📓 I have been carrying a lochby pocket folio wish two lochby notebooks for about a year now. One acts as the catch all and the other is what I generally consider a thoughts book. I love that little lochby folio, plenty of space for both notebooks and my kaweco liliput fits between the two notebook spines nicely
📓 I always carry my Smythson Panama in Mara with me. And sometimes another Smythson Panama. These are my go to pocket notebooks. Love your videos. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Always have my catch all! 📓 I number all my pages and index my volumes. That way whether in a digital space or other notebook I can reference the volume and page number of any idea I need to remember later.
📓💼Great explanation. I’m using the Leuchtturm 1917 and find that bullet journaling (w/o fancy artwork) keeps my life together. Then a pocket notebook and space pen fit in my EDC pouch that I keep in my back pocket to take everywhere as a catch-all. Those leather cover you showed look awesome, I’ll check them out.
I always carry my bullet journal with me which is essentially my catch all 📓 notebook as well. I started out with Moleskine but I prefer the wider A5 format from Leuchtturm 1917, so that’s what I use now. Love the idea of reviewing thoughts instead of scrolling!
I love your content so damn much, it kinda motivates me to do things when I feel really down like just watching you talk abt the cool stuff you do its cool enough to make me do smt abt my work, if that makes sense 😆
📓I always have two Field Notes with me. One is my "catch all" and the other contains notes on the book that I'm currently reading or game I'm playing. Both are in a TN style leather cover. I love your videos.
📓I recently started keeping a commonplace book. A delightful thanks is owed to you for showing me the way. I use my notebooks to record notes on Stoicism and leadership.
📓 I usually always carry a C.D Notebook, pocket sized as well as a larger notebook in a leather folio both made by Galen Leather out of Turkey if I have a backpack. The folio is really nice and fits my fountain pens and has some room for business cards, a small ruler, or other pencils, eraser, etc. I sometimes have the Field Notes pocket slims or something similar if I'm just going somewhere where I can't bring a bag. The notebook in my folio is my journal/diary while the others are all catchalls. I like the idea of having a set function for each one so I'll have to implement that to keep myself better organized. They're all a jumbled, random mess😂
📔 My favorite notebooks are currently from Clairefontaine. I love the dot matrix ones. Because when I get bored I can draw maps if I want. I have some arriving next week from Franklin Christoph that have pages made from bamboo, and I'm really exicted to see whaty they're like. They have angled corners too which strangely appeals to me. Thank you!
📓 I use a Field Notes grid for to do lists in the first half of the book & ideas to keep in the second half. I just got a Portage blank notebook for sketching. I keep both in a green leather cover from Hidemont.
📓 I just filled my every where carry notebook with my quotes. I realized I’ve had it for 3 years. So, definitely checking out leather covers for my next one. I was wondering do you copy any older quotes or proverb’s into a new book or do you start from scratch.
📓I also love leather bags and covers! They're just a timeless classic. I also use a saddlebag like yours, bought locally in my country and love it to bits. They're so elegant and sturdy. For notebooks, I also have a catch-all notebook that I bring along everyday inside my traveler notebook's leather pocket cover, snuggled nicely with my pocket work planner, ready to grab whenever I go.
📓 I have a collection of notebooks I take with me almost everywhere. They come in handy sitting in waiting rooms for appointments. I will put some lofi music on my phone and pull out one of the many notebooks. I have a pen & gear $1 notebook for morning pages, and the pocket sized spiral and composition pen & gear notebooks for commonplace books and a few specific subjects. Plus I usually carry my journal/diary which is am A5 size. I just started writing out the Bible in one of those as well. I love that bag! I usually use some kind of tote bag that gets left in the car and a smaller tote bag that I can fill with whatever I feel I need to take into a specific place. (I know, crazy! 🤪 😂) I just never know what I am going to want to have with me when I have to wait for multiple appointments in different places. So I may switch out things each time. I have always loved notebooks and when I came across one of your videos awhile back about commonplace notebooks I had to give it a try! Thanks for all the information in your videos.
I love my passport travelers notebook as a common place book. I have also started carrying a moleskin pocket for work in my work pants in case I want to log a phone call or conversation
📓Nice as usual. I'll have to scan your video list, but if you haven't discussed this before, do you "backup" your notebooks? For instance, periodically take photos of each page so that the content isn't lost forever if the notebook is lost.
I've found less is more, for myself. I appreciate a minimalistic setup, which has evolved into 3 notebooks for me. I am able to utilize these 3 notebooks to effectively document everything I need to. Work notebook (a5), pocket notebook to catch all my thoughts, lists, quick notes, etc (a6) and my journal (a5) for daily pages and poetry. These 3 are used daily (work notebook only on weekdays). I do use a French ruled Clairefontaine notebook for penmanship practice and when testing/tuning nibs on my fountain pens (used 1-2x per week) that lives on my office bookshelf and doesn't travel with me as the other 3 usually do. I could and have broken up these notebooks into more, with greater specificity applied to them. I used to have one notebook for my journal and a separate for completed poetry and a third for my poetry process - it became simpler for me to just consolidate the 3 into one and simplicity became a big variable in utilization for me.
Paper is peace. I have a pocket moleskine always with me and a a5 moleskine in my home as diary and commonplace book but I would consider to have a portable commonplace pocket book like you
I usually don't carry a notebook, but I use them at home. I do have favorites 1) Mnemosyne - A5. I use this for work (meetings, day planning and problem solving) 2) Midori MD - B6 Slim. For reading notes and devotionals. If anyone hasn't tried those, the paper is really good and really different. The Mnemosyne I'd describe as cold and frictionless, that's why I use it for work. The Midori has more texture and has a softer, creamy color, that I love for more personal stuff. 📓
Start small. Start with a catch - all notebook and just jot down anything. From a to-do, an idea in a line, book recommendations. The act of getting it out of the pocket is a habit building exercise in itself
📔 Great video. Big fan of the Leuchtturm A5 with a leather cover, goes with me everywhere. Your video has me thinking about starting my own commonplace book, for all the scrolling it would prevent.
📓 I might’ve considered a bag like that bcuz of how stiff it is. But I think if I want to carry several notebooks around simular to the way u do. I'll just try using my PC bag for now. Since that's all I've. I do have another bag I can use. But even though I call it a bag, it's more like a loose purse. So I'll have to play around w/ my set up. I really like this video.
📓 😂… I am a fan of midori MD paper notebooks. I love the paper I love to look back at them. Even if i don’t write neatly the color cream paper seems to smooth to the eye everything. The only thing is I cannot fixated on one size sometimes I am with the A6 for portability but sometimes I need A5 to feel at ease! And I just bought their paper cover it looks neat but I want to find an A6 cover that closes or with pen loop. I will try the common/ or quote book I love the idea 💡 thanks always for sharing
📓not using notebooks enough, but they simplfiy my daily organisation so much /if/ I do. I have a very small (A7 or so) catchall notebook, which I take with me most of the time. Further, I use an A5-hardcover notbook I made myself from scratch to keep some kind of diary (about more or less important events and my thoughts and fellings about them).
Travelers Notebook, back when it was called Midori for on the go. Nearly 50 years of writing in a collage rule 5 part spiral notebook mostly for home, plus a 50 year old clipboard. Tried and true.
📓 my favorite notebook is my blue passport-sized traveler's notebook, though, oddly enough, i dont write in it very often. feels too special to keep in my pants pocket and to just write in completely disorganized. i do have a few different notebooks lined up for use as catch-alls, and i'm currently using an a6 paperback one by itoya. it's got illustrations of fish on it! i haven't found a cover for it, though, so it'll probably end up rather ragged when i'm done with it
Thank you for your thoughts. Have you covered how to setup and use your catch-all notebook? I find that having a place (actually to many places) to capture details about life that I need to remember (phone numbers, product numbers, account numbers, etc) that come at me randomly and unexpectedly is critical. Then have you discussed a process for integrating and syntesising all that you capture in the multitude of notebooks? Thank you 📓
📓 notebooks multiply! I have a small notebook of randomness for lists, things to look into later. Books to read, etc. I also have a small notebook for ideas.
📓 I'm moving over to traveller's notebooks...got a regular but already I'm looking at the passport style because it looks a lot more portable. My writing is so big that it would probably be a struggle to write in them though. I might have to give to a chance after a while of playing with my TN. I actually switched to these because I was lugging around up to 5 a5 hard cover leuchtturm books. It was getting a little bit heavy. Hopefully this works out for me now.
never heard of this before. but the idea of having something else to focus on other than phone makes this really interesting. thinking about the possibilities that would open up if all of that phone time was directed with intention towards something else. seems cool, might try. Edit, watching this a 2nd time, I realize I do a simple version of this already, padfolio with notepad to do list to keep me on track but can be a catch-all for items I want to transfer elsewhere (notion, google drive, etc), which I take absolutely everywhere. Very ADHD coded video. Never heard of compendium or commonplace. Really like the idea of a commonplace. I I think for me it would be good to have a notebook of positive thoughts and memories, to help with rumination, and reinforce good memories instead of rehearsing bad ones....
📓Mine is a mashup. I love both traveler's notebooks and field notes notebooks. Problem is: there isn't a traveler's notebook size that fits field notes books. So I got one of the leather covers for a field notes sized book and converted it into a traveler's notebook. All I needed was a punch and some elastic cord. That's my EDC. I put 3 books in. One is a general idea dump; the second is for my thoughts and ruminations, and the last is for drawing dungeons, monsters, etc., for D&D games (technically I play Index Card RPG, but I just call it D&D).
Lifelong journaler(if it's a word), and I have become burned out from all the journals/notebooks I have, for me I feel like it's time for me to enter the 21st century and get an e-ink notebook, this has sent me down the e-ink notebook rabbit-hole trying to find the one that is right for me. Question for you, what are your thoughts about e-ink journaling? Have you ever seriously considered it? I get the feeling that you are the type to prefer physical pen to paper(no shade), but am definitely interested in your thoughts about e-inks, if any, thanks! 📓
📓 i wear cargo pants and shorts to carry at minimum 2 notebook. Sometimes specialized and handmade or a hard cover dotted notebook. One, is as you say a catch all notebook. And the other is what I'm working on that day. And i can NOT function without carrying at least one of them to unload my brain during the day. It's for personal studies, game designs, and developing and learning shorthand, which the later is my yearly focus because my days are busy and hectic that i need a writing system to be able to convey my ideas on paper in a timely manner before it gets left behind.
📓great review!! As a leuchtturm user over the years, I’ve felt their quality change - the paper doesn’t handle fountain pen ink as well as it used to. I’m attempting to use the hobonichi weeks mega as a catch all for 2025. I’ve also used Tomoe river paper (the hobonichi paper) and it has held up well over the years. Does the change of paper type for the Leuchtturm affect you as much? Just curious :) keep up the great work!!
Hey! I prefer to have only one notebook at the same time for all my thoughts. It's fine if use an advanced index strategy. Dairy, commonplace, jots, blog ideas, any other stuff - there. I always carry with me moleskine pocket, but moleskine large/A5 format is better for regular basis. But only one notebook each format at the same time.
📓 i am trying to jot down my thoughts But it so difficult when i am walking or travelling in buses or really just existing and some kind of thought came in I cant have a place where i can sit and write because usually i need a place to sit and quietly write what i am thinking or it would just slip out of mind But yeah its a really good idea i would try this catchall pocket notebook and that compendium too Thank you so much
📓 I've been keeping notebooks for a few years myself as a pastor but also an armchair philosoper and historian. So, I enjoy not only how you capture your thoughts but your other videos on philosophy etc. Thank you
📓 perhaps it's me but I noticed the more expensive a notebook is the less likely I am to use it, so I get the cheapest ones I find, the elementary school ones work best and I ham at them :D
I currently use a travelers notebook with 4 inserts, but I might need to get a couple more notebooks, I find myself with the need to compartmentalise more. Btw 9:27..... Welcome to the Warhammer world, The Emperor Protects
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I really enjoy reading/seeing everyone's set ups. So many different options, the list is endless!
However, I think it is most important to remember you don't need any of these different, fancy or expensive notebooks, let alone covers and leather bags..
If you actually use your notebooks they will be filled long before they will be destroyed in your pocket (let alone in a leather satchel).
Just write.
Use what you have.
Use one notebook to start with, you can use it for anything and everything.
"Especially* if you are new to writing.
Don't fall into the trap of buying all kinds of things before you actually know how YOU like to do things, what works for YOU.
And you don't have to make a distinction between your journal or your diary, just write, *there are no rules*.
Maybe you'll find out you prefer wrting in a larger sized notebook, because you realize you get hand cramps when writing in small notebooks.
Just write!
Find out what you enjoy. Do you prefer a certain size notebook (or do you like variation), do you prefer having one notebook that you use to write down anything (easier to carry), a Travellers Notebook to corral a few different notebooks, or a lot of seperate ones, one for each subject? What do you use to write with (pencil, pen, what type of ink?) and what paper works best with that?
Covers and bags are pretty, but they get expensive, fast, and really have nothing to do with notetaking or writing.
However, if I would make one suggestion, if you do write a lot, and/or have hand or wrist issues (rsi, arthritis, etc.): try a fountain pen.
Unlike a ballpen, or a pencil, with a fountain pen you don't have to use pressure to get the ink on the paper.
So it's easier on your hands and wrists.
Just enjoy the process! Try out new things, experiment! You can always change your mind.
Have fun!
I appreciate this comment so much! Great pointers and encouragement
So well said! 🎉
Also, I’d add that if, after watching all sorts of gorgeous, aesthetic setups, etc., you notice that you’re being too precious with your tools to actually use them, consider using ones that you *won’t* feel precious with, but which are still good enough quality that they serve you. For example, I found I was too nervous to “ruin” a good sketchbook, so I instead used the Moleskine craft cover cahier notebooks with blank pages. They’re kind of floppy, the pages are thin but creamy and lovely to draw on. They look very unassuming, so whenever I draw something ugly in there, it kind of feels at home, making it easier to keep coming back to.
@@KlingonPrincess Thank you for your kind words!
@@21cormorants Ooh, I have done that as well! I had notebooks that I was "saving" for.... I have no idea what!
I ended up giving most of them away, and just kept the ones that I knew I would actually use (the size and paper I like).
Also, one of my anything-and-everything notebooks that I always have in my Travelers Notebook is really cheap (one I can pick up in a local store when I go grocery shopping) for the exact same reason you described.
I will make grocery lists in there, make notes while I am on the phone, sketch new room layout ideas, whatever comes to mind.
I don't want it to be precious or pretty, I just need it to be functional.
I'm actually in the process of trying out a new notebook. I've been going back and forth a lot though like between using my phone to take notes and a little notepad I got, which annoyingly has very thin pages that are a bit of a pain to use, and it might be a bit too small, but if I go any bigger I dont think it'll fit in my pocket. I still need to experiment more and find my system for when I'm out and about 😅
📔 My hip-pocket carry is a paper-bound moleskine (usually red). I work from both ends, and flip. One end is a kind of day-by-day activity journal. The other end is an idea journal / commonplaces.
📓 My plan was to begin using a trapper keeper again.
That isn't entirely a joke.
I was way more organized in the 7th grade.
Not a bad idea
Understandable
I use cheap little pocket notebooks that I fill, transcribe any good stuff into other journals & then discard.
I’ve been doing this for decades and I couldn’t imagine having as satisfying a memory or record of my life without them.
TLDR: If you don't know why and what to put into a compendium (because of your interests / field ) here are two questions that could help!
1. What is important and interesting to me enough that I would put into a compendium and use it...?
2. How could I make it easier on a brain?(Turn it into bit(e) sized chunks!) How could I turn it into bit(e) sized chunks?
Honestly, thank you @ParkerNotes !
I have before watching you started a common place book years ago (based on another YT video) and it genuinely meant a lot.
Since then inspired by you I have made new notebooks to manage my life thoughts etc (Adenturer's Journal, Quest Log)
But the idea of a Compendium previous ly always seemed cool, but I just never thought it would make sense for my field (Computer Science) (digital is better, and CS takes a lot of brain power).
However this video made me rethink - and I asked this question:
What is important and interesting to me enough that I would put into a compendium and use it...?
Languages And Math
And another:
How could I make it easier on a brain?
Turn it into bit(e) sized chunks!
Languages: words / sentences I find interesting - just single words or sentences not a full lesson! that would be brain power sucking, or lyrics (no need to think just read and recall melody) and other small tidbits
Math: single definitions or statements, theorems, atomic ideas
So thank you this might just make me a better CS student and language learner and rid me off doom scrolling for the most part! Will see in a month or so 😉
📔 You’re writing a novel and a ParkNotes book?? Man, I’ve been here since around the same week as the ‘Pocket Notebooks can save your Mind’ video and I’m so glad to hear about that. I always enjoy your content and try to recommend it to who I can.
God bless my friend.
🙌🙌🙌 thanks for sticking around and for telling your friends! Yeah I have more of my notes done for the novel and starting writing in November. I'm way over due on my ParkNotes book proposal but I'll get that in soon 😅
📓 I currently carry two notebooks everywhere I go - first is my Field Notes Pocket Planner which is a daily/weekly/monthly planner all in one in a Field Notes (one per month, yeah I burn through them I know haha) and then I got an Exceed pocket notebook with a hardcover from Walmart that I use as my flowing thoughts and ideas notebook where mostly I write down things I hear or read that I want to reflect and look back on but also some of my own.
A pocket catch-all has been really key for me. If I am working on something and have an idea or remember something, I have to write it down to clear the part of my executive functioning brain that tries to "keep remembering it" so I don't forget it when it's time. It will actually disrupt me until I clear it or write it down somewhere. I've been able to focus at work a lot better now that I have a place to jot personal thoughts down so they don't get lost.
I started carrying a field notes-size catch-all and combined sententiae/contemplatio in a traveller's notebook-style cover early in 2024, after seeing one of your videos, and it has been life-changing. I had a baby a few months ago, and the catch-all was absolutely indispensable in the early, chaotic, sleep-deprived days (he's my third child, but no matter how experienced the parent, there are always things to write down in the early days). I also recently added a third notebook to the mix, my memoria, for things I am specifically trying to commit to memory. So far this has mainly consisted of poetry and Latin rules/vocabulary.
Lady-clothing rarely has acceptable pockets, but I have taken to choosing new clothing based in part on the presence/absence to decent pockets, and I am also learning basic tailoring and clothing modification, in part because i like pockets. I've also chosen to embrace the fanny pack (or, as the cool kids call it, the "hip sack"), because, well, I can't always have the pockets I want.
📓Mainly use a single notebook (Cross Jotzone, plan to use it until it's filled and is a hodgepodge between journal, notes, exercise log, reading log and list of websites/books to read or projects to do); I fell out of the habit of carrying a notebook but my favorite way to organize info is 3-ring binder so I can freely re-order things. Pretty much have an engineering binder that I need to use more often but I do like the added flexibility of organizing info.
I carry a Leuchtturm1917 notebook which functions as a catch all notebook. My “not booking” is not nearly as sophisticated as your’s is, but I am eager to learn. I have subscribed to your channel and look forward to exploring your videos to add to my repertoire and to share with my grandchildren. I try to make this journey inter generational. Thanks a million.
Bro, I started carrying a catch-all notebook a few months ago, and it's changed my life! Next goal is the contemplatio! Thanks man! 📓
K you for this presentation. I have been away from college days for sometime. Use to carry some type of notebook just as a catch all. But recently as as I have now gotten more involved in photography/videography I find i need them again.
Thank you. This was very helpful. I have almost always had a ‘catch-all’ or a sketch book on me, but I can see the value of carrying tow distinctly different notebooks.
I also love the idea of substituting the notebook for doom scrolling. 📓
My Saddleback Leather co. Large backpack is amazing. It’s carried me through all of my greatest adventures abroad and at home and will continue to carry me through countless more.
I’m more partial to Rite-in-the-Rain notebooks for my pocket notebooks-mostly because of my line of work and lifestyle lead to days of mess, grease, and occasionally being storm soaked.
I’m very happy i found this channel. Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge with us. I have seen so many videos about note taking but i still have one big issue? Let’s say from now on in one year im thinking: hmm about this i have read something and im sure i have take some notes about, how I’m going to find this again? Does someone else have similar issues? Ore even a good solution? I’m great foul for all Ideas
📓 love the information, and I love the saddlebag briefcase you carry. Since I've been on this analog journey, I have got more rest at night by unloading thoughts on paper and just generally healthier by not infinite scrolling constantly. Absolutely love the pocket size. I am trying to condense everything into one pocket notebook but it does fill up quicker and I'm ok with that. Just like my brain, my notebooks are filled with chaos 😂 nothing matches or makes sense. That's the creative in me I guess 🤷🏻♀️😅
Always appreciate you talking about what you carry and how you carry it. I've been trying to keep a pocket notebook with me more often (used your code for a Lochby recently!). I'm finding that I have all my ideas when I forget to bring it, and almost no ideas when I do actually have it. Such is life. Keep up the good work! 📓
📓 Notebooks are contagious. They kind of… multiply in your life and use your resources to multiply further and further. 😂
So true 😂
They're like cats you can write on
I am a new college student and I just bombed an exam. I was wondering if you could make a video on how to study effectively for an exam or something along those lines?
Sorry to hear that! I would highly recommend reviewing the book Make It Stick. It’s very good at teaching you to learn effectively and explaining the ways that we fool ourselves into thinking we’re learning even though we’re not. The last chapter has the more practical tips if you’re really pressed for time. But the whole book is well worth it.
@@josephkauslick5034 thanks. I'll have to go to the library this weekend
What are you studying?
Go to class and try!
Check out Justin Sung, he also has a learning program you can take online.
The idea notebook, quotes, studies… I have these in larger sizes, but creating a smaller version for carrying all the time is genius. Thank you! I am going o do this. Sweet. 📓
I like the idea of using the notebook while waiting in lines vs scrolling, good stuff.
I usually take a pocket moleskine with me everywhere has my catch all and a travellers notebook I take to work and that’s where my time blocker/work log is kept.
At home I keep a journal and have recently started a reading log too. I do think it’s important to not get bogged down In all the fancy setups of your notebooks and to just write!😊
Also - the saddleback a5s are so lovely. I ordered two and paid the £30 delivery to Scotland and it was worth it!
📓I have always carried a little notebook in my purse for 'whatever' I've needed to remember. For cost's sake, I mostly used the 3/$1, which I am sure are much more expensive now, little spiral notebooks. I did make a fabric cover to protect it and then also the remainder of my purse from the spirals. In my decade-plus of having a smart phone, I have probably only used the notes app a dozen times. I am now out of my inventory of the little notebooks so will look for something new (small and lightweight) - may just make one 😊.
📓 I have been carrying a lochby pocket folio wish two lochby notebooks for about a year now. One acts as the catch all and the other is what I generally consider a thoughts book. I love that little lochby folio, plenty of space for both notebooks and my kaweco liliput fits between the two notebook spines nicely
📓 I always carry my Smythson Panama in Mara with me. And sometimes another Smythson Panama. These are my go to pocket notebooks. Love your videos. Greetings from the Netherlands.
Always have my catch all! 📓 I number all my pages and index my volumes. That way whether in a digital space or other notebook I can reference the volume and page number of any idea I need to remember later.
📓💼Great explanation. I’m using the Leuchtturm 1917 and find that bullet journaling (w/o fancy artwork) keeps my life together. Then a pocket notebook and space pen fit in my EDC pouch that I keep in my back pocket to take everywhere as a catch-all. Those leather cover you showed look awesome, I’ll check them out.
I always carry my bullet journal with me which is essentially my catch all 📓 notebook as well. I started out with Moleskine but I prefer the wider A5 format from Leuchtturm 1917, so that’s what I use now. Love the idea of reviewing thoughts instead of scrolling!
I love your content so damn much, it kinda motivates me to do things when I feel really down like just watching you talk abt the cool stuff you do its cool enough to make me do smt abt my work, if that makes sense 😆
📔 I think the form factor is making a big difference in my not finishing these books. I'm going to have to try that A6 leather catchall. Thanks!
This is the first video I’ve watched of yours. I like it. Now to scroll and see what else you cover. 📓
You're reading Horus Rising! Good for you! I carry a travelers notebook and am always looking for ideas of what to do with them.
📓 I always carry at least one Smythson Panama. It is a catch all. One thing I add a lot is observations of people or situations while I am out.
Those are so amazing. I have one I use to keep track of all my TH-cam projects. Bright red like Moriarty's from Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows
📓I always have two Field Notes with me. One is my "catch all" and the other contains notes on the book that I'm currently reading or game I'm playing. Both are in a TN style leather cover. I love your videos.
📓I recently started keeping a commonplace book. A delightful thanks is owed to you for showing me the way. I use my notebooks to record notes on Stoicism and leadership.
Great video as always! I have three covers from strideridge and they are now my favorite! Great stuff
📓 I usually always carry a C.D Notebook, pocket sized as well as a larger notebook in a leather folio both made by Galen Leather out of Turkey if I have a backpack. The folio is really nice and fits my fountain pens and has some room for business cards, a small ruler, or other pencils, eraser, etc. I sometimes have the Field Notes pocket slims or something similar if I'm just going somewhere where I can't bring a bag. The notebook in my folio is my journal/diary while the others are all catchalls. I like the idea of having a set function for each one so I'll have to implement that to keep myself better organized. They're all a jumbled, random mess😂
Lochby Pocket Journal with a dot-grid for daily tracking and tasks plus a lined notebook for a catch all.
📔 My favorite notebooks are currently from Clairefontaine. I love the dot matrix ones. Because when I get bored I can draw maps if I want. I have some arriving next week from Franklin Christoph that have pages made from bamboo, and I'm really exicted to see whaty they're like. They have angled corners too which strangely appeals to me. Thank you!
📓 I use a Field Notes grid for to do lists in the first half of the book & ideas to keep in the second half.
I just got a Portage blank notebook for sketching. I keep both in a green leather cover from Hidemont.
📓 I just filled my every where carry notebook with my quotes. I realized I’ve had it for 3 years. So, definitely checking out leather covers for my next one. I was wondering do you copy any older quotes or proverb’s into a new book or do you start from scratch.
📓I also love leather bags and covers! They're just a timeless classic. I also use a saddlebag like yours, bought locally in my country and love it to bits. They're so elegant and sturdy. For notebooks, I also have a catch-all notebook that I bring along everyday inside my traveler notebook's leather pocket cover, snuggled nicely with my pocket work planner, ready to grab whenever I go.
📓 I have a collection of notebooks I take with me almost everywhere. They come in handy sitting in waiting rooms for appointments. I will put some lofi music on my phone and pull out one of the many notebooks. I have a pen & gear $1 notebook for morning pages, and the pocket sized spiral and composition pen & gear notebooks for commonplace books and a few specific subjects. Plus I usually carry my journal/diary which is am A5 size. I just started writing out the Bible in one of those as well. I love that bag! I usually use some kind of tote bag that gets left in the car and a smaller tote bag that I can fill with whatever I feel I need to take into a specific place. (I know, crazy! 🤪 😂) I just never know what I am going to want to have with me when I have to wait for multiple appointments in different places. So I may switch out things each time. I have always loved notebooks and when I came across one of your videos awhile back about commonplace notebooks I had to give it a try! Thanks for all the information in your videos.
📓 Great video! I always love to see how other people are using their notebooks 😄
I love my passport travelers notebook as a common place book. I have also started carrying a moleskin pocket for work in my work pants in case I want to log a phone call or conversation
📓Only recently discovered your channel when I found out about commonplace notebooks. Enjoy your videos a lot!
📓Nice as usual. I'll have to scan your video list, but if you haven't discussed this before, do you "backup" your notebooks? For instance, periodically take photos of each page so that the content isn't lost forever if the notebook is lost.
📓 I run through field notes quite often along with my rite in the rain and lochby covers.
I've found less is more, for myself. I appreciate a minimalistic setup, which has evolved into 3 notebooks for me. I am able to utilize these 3 notebooks to effectively document everything I need to. Work notebook (a5), pocket notebook to catch all my thoughts, lists, quick notes, etc (a6) and my journal (a5) for daily pages and poetry. These 3 are used daily (work notebook only on weekdays).
I do use a French ruled Clairefontaine notebook for penmanship practice and when testing/tuning nibs on my fountain pens (used 1-2x per week) that lives on my office bookshelf and doesn't travel with me as the other 3 usually do.
I could and have broken up these notebooks into more, with greater specificity applied to them. I used to have one notebook for my journal and a separate for completed poetry and a third for my poetry process - it became simpler for me to just consolidate the 3 into one and simplicity became a big variable in utilization for me.
What is your opinion on using any digital note taking device such as remarkable 2?
Paper is peace. I have a pocket moleskine always with me and a a5 moleskine in my home as diary and commonplace book but I would consider to have a portable commonplace pocket book like you
📓 Blackwing notebooks are my current favorite ones
I usually don't carry a notebook, but I use them at home. I do have favorites
1) Mnemosyne - A5. I use this for work (meetings, day planning and problem solving)
2) Midori MD - B6 Slim. For reading notes and devotionals.
If anyone hasn't tried those, the paper is really good and really different. The Mnemosyne I'd describe as cold and frictionless, that's why I use it for work. The Midori has more texture and has a softer, creamy color, that I love for more personal stuff.
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📓 I like your take on personal proverbs. Cool idea!
Thanks. Definitely my favorite notebook thus far
📓 I carry mostly catch-alls, since I like writing poetry and drawing in my notebooks.
📓 Good information. I am trying to become consistent in using a notebook. The struggle is slowing down to do it.
Start small. Start with a catch - all notebook and just jot down anything. From a to-do, an idea in a line, book recommendations.
The act of getting it out of the pocket is a habit building exercise in itself
📔 Great video. Big fan of the Leuchtturm A5 with a leather cover, goes with me everywhere. Your video has me thinking about starting my own commonplace book, for all the scrolling it would prevent.
📓 I might’ve considered a bag like that bcuz of how stiff it is. But I think if I want to carry several notebooks around simular to the way u do. I'll just try using my PC bag for now. Since that's all I've. I do have another bag I can use. But even though I call it a bag, it's more like a loose purse. So I'll have to play around w/ my set up. I really like this video.
Looks like I need more notebooks.📓
📓 😂… I am a fan of midori MD paper notebooks. I love the paper I love to look back at them. Even if i don’t write neatly the color cream paper seems to smooth to the eye everything. The only thing is I cannot fixated on one size sometimes I am with the A6 for portability but sometimes I need A5 to feel at ease! And I just bought their paper cover it looks neat but I want to find an A6 cover that closes or with pen loop.
I will try the common/ or quote book I love the idea 💡 thanks always for sharing
📓I also always have 3+ notebooks on me, also carried in a bag. It’s a sickness haha! Great video!
📓not using notebooks enough, but they simplfiy my daily organisation so much /if/ I do. I have a very small (A7 or so) catchall notebook, which I take with me most of the time. Further, I use an A5-hardcover notbook I made myself from scratch to keep some kind of diary (about more or less important events and my thoughts and fellings about them).
📓Great video. Have always wanted a Saddleback bag.📓
Travelers Notebook, back when it was called Midori for on the go. Nearly 50 years of writing in a collage rule 5 part spiral notebook mostly for home, plus a 50 year old clipboard. Tried and true.
📓 Thanks! Your videos are awesome and insightful!!! Keep it up!
📓 my favorite notebook is my blue passport-sized traveler's notebook, though, oddly enough, i dont write in it very often. feels too special to keep in my pants pocket and to just write in completely disorganized.
i do have a few different notebooks lined up for use as catch-alls, and i'm currently using an a6 paperback one by itoya. it's got illustrations of fish on it! i haven't found a cover for it, though, so it'll probably end up rather ragged when i'm done with it
I use a field notes catch all and a nanami seven seas writer for my work. 📓
Notebooks are like tribbles and randomly spawn in your home, often in groups of two or three in a pile. 😂
Thank you for your thoughts. Have you covered how to setup and use your catch-all notebook? I find that having a place (actually to many places) to capture details about life that I need to remember (phone numbers, product numbers, account numbers, etc) that come at me randomly and unexpectedly is critical.
Then have you discussed a process for integrating and syntesising all that you capture in the multitude of notebooks?
Thank you 📓
📓 notebooks multiply! I have a small notebook of randomness for lists, things to look into later. Books to read, etc. I also have a small notebook for ideas.
📓 I'm moving over to traveller's notebooks...got a regular but already I'm looking at the passport style because it looks a lot more portable. My writing is so big that it would probably be a struggle to write in them though. I might have to give to a chance after a while of playing with my TN. I actually switched to these because I was lugging around up to 5 a5 hard cover leuchtturm books. It was getting a little bit heavy. Hopefully this works out for me now.
📓Good stuff brother. Thanks for the discounts!
never heard of this before. but the idea of having something else to focus on other than phone makes this really interesting. thinking about the possibilities that would open up if all of that phone time was directed with intention towards something else. seems cool, might try. Edit, watching this a 2nd time, I realize I do a simple version of this already, padfolio with notepad to do list to keep me on track but can be a catch-all for items I want to transfer elsewhere (notion, google drive, etc), which I take absolutely everywhere. Very ADHD coded video. Never heard of compendium or commonplace. Really like the idea of a commonplace. I
I think for me it would be good to have a notebook of positive thoughts and memories, to help with rumination, and reinforce good memories instead of rehearsing bad ones....
I love my Field Notes! 📓
📓Mine is a mashup. I love both traveler's notebooks and field notes notebooks. Problem is: there isn't a traveler's notebook size that fits field notes books. So I got one of the leather covers for a field notes sized book and converted it into a traveler's notebook. All I needed was a punch and some elastic cord. That's my EDC. I put 3 books in. One is a general idea dump; the second is for my thoughts and ruminations, and the last is for drawing dungeons, monsters, etc., for D&D games (technically I play Index Card RPG, but I just call it D&D).
📔 I use a variety of notebooks. Leuchturm, Archer&Olive, Hobonichi, and Miquelrius top the list. Oh and field note to capture anything on the fly.
Lifelong journaler(if it's a word), and I have become burned out from all the journals/notebooks I have, for me I feel like it's time for me to enter the 21st century and get an e-ink notebook, this has sent me down the e-ink notebook rabbit-hole trying to find the one that is right for me.
Question for you, what are your thoughts about e-ink journaling? Have you ever seriously considered it? I get the feeling that you are the type to prefer physical pen to paper(no shade), but am definitely interested in your thoughts about e-inks, if any, thanks!
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📓 i wear cargo pants and shorts to carry at minimum 2 notebook. Sometimes specialized and handmade or a hard cover dotted notebook. One, is as you say a catch all notebook. And the other is what I'm working on that day. And i can NOT function without carrying at least one of them to unload my brain during the day. It's for personal studies, game designs, and developing and learning shorthand, which the later is my yearly focus because my days are busy and hectic that i need a writing system to be able to convey my ideas on paper in a timely manner before it gets left behind.
Amazing video. Keep it coming.👍
📓great review!! As a leuchtturm user over the years, I’ve felt their quality change - the paper doesn’t handle fountain pen ink as well as it used to. I’m attempting to use the hobonichi weeks mega as a catch all for 2025. I’ve also used Tomoe river paper (the hobonichi paper) and it has held up well over the years. Does the change of paper type for the Leuchtturm affect you as much? Just curious :) keep up the great work!!
📒 newbie here, loving your stuff & your impressive mustache ! Hello from the UK
📓 I’ve been testing out karst and Midori notebooks lately. I need to up my leather cover game ha
Hey! I prefer to have only one notebook at the same time for all my thoughts. It's fine if use an advanced index strategy. Dairy, commonplace, jots, blog ideas, any other stuff - there. I always carry with me moleskine pocket, but moleskine large/A5 format is better for regular basis. But only one notebook each format at the same time.
Thanks for this really interesting and informative video
📓 i am trying to jot down my thoughts
But it so difficult when i am walking or travelling in buses or really just existing and some kind of thought came in
I cant have a place where i can sit and write because usually i need a place to sit and quietly write what i am thinking or it would just slip out of mind
But yeah its a really good idea i would try this catchall pocket notebook and that compendium too
Thank you so much
📓I only carry my commonplace notebook currently. But honestly I don’t leave the house too often 😂
📓 -> My EDC notebook is usually just some random Field Notes-sized notebook with paper good enough for the G2 I carry with me.
ah the infinite scroll.......VERY INTERESTING. I've subscribed. :)
📓. Love the stash
📓 I've been keeping notebooks for a few years myself as a pastor but also an armchair philosoper and historian. So, I enjoy not only how you capture your thoughts but your other videos on philosophy etc. Thank you
📓I always carry a catch all note book, but have recently started a commonplace book, which I've started carrying with me more.
📓📓 Very helpful, thank you! Love that bag ...
📓 perhaps it's me but I noticed the more expensive a notebook is the less likely I am to use it, so I get the cheapest ones I find, the elementary school ones work best and I ham at them :D
Do you keep compendiums about the philosophy & organization of notebooks & their usage?
Ah, a fellow lover of theology and Leuchtturm 😌
@@MarlonOwnsYourCake 🙌🙌🙌🤝🤝🤝🤝
📘love the look of that bag
ok I want a video on how you keep track of all your notebooks....you have sooooo many
I currently use a travelers notebook with 4 inserts, but I might need to get a couple more notebooks, I find myself with the need to compartmentalise more.
Btw 9:27..... Welcome to the Warhammer world, The Emperor Protects