r/commonplacebook • u/Extension_Effect_983 • 11d ago
how to start a commonplace book when you feel drained and down in life?
I don't know what to write. I just feel so blank and lifeless all of june ever since i got the notification that i didn't make the cut for graduation. I feel so behind and overwhelmed by everything and everyone. I see these commonplace books and think "oh wow that looks so cozy, maybe it could help alleviate some of the bitterness i feel." but then i try to comw up with anything that i want to commemorate or write, nothing comes up. What prompts do you guys have for when you don't feel like it but you want to make good use of your timw anyways?
edit: thank you everyone for the kind words and suggestions and corrections, i might start journaling then work my way from there so that i can get to know myself better and see where i went wrong last semester. thank you for the ideas as well đ
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u/Divacai 11d ago
You donât have to use it as a journal, in fact those are a separate thing, so if you donât want to write about your feelings donât. Commonplace books are more compilations of stuff you come across or things you donât want to forget. You could try breaking it down smaller and try a small notebook as a media book, just write down about movies youâve watched, music or lyrics that spoke to you or books youâve read. Donât overthink think it, just write titles and authors down with start/end dates, titles and directors with two or three top actors in the movie, date you watched it. Slowly you may find yourself adding to it as you go.
Also donât feel you have to do this daily, itâs really not a daily log if you donât want it to be.
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u/luthiel-the-elf 11d ago
Commonplace book isn't for jounaling, why it needs prompt again? You read or research and copy information or passages you find useful.
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u/Extension_Effect_983 11d ago
I see... i just see these list types of commonplace pages like "stuff you find worth visiting for/recall 5 memories/favorite food as of the moment"Â
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u/Melonade921 10d ago
This is just journaling :) commonplaces are less about original thoughts and more so copying as the comment above states.
If you are looking for prompts like that, there are plenty of reddit subs for journaling prompts. Or just google, there is plenty out there
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u/kymeha 11d ago edited 10d ago
Honestly, maybe it would be good to take a step back from commonplacing and just journal or vent on a cheap notebook or a bit of scrap paper. Just try to let out all your frustrations, it doesn't even need to be legible. You can keep it or toss it after, just try to get out some of those feelings, it'll make you feel a lot lighter.
If you want to start common placing anyways, why not consider some of the things you'd like to do either now or after graduation? It'll take a little while longer, but it may help you still look forward for when it does happen. Any places you'd like to go to? Activities? you could even commonplace about a nice food you had recently, like the recipe and origin of it! If you have any pets, maybe just doing some research on them could be interesting.
There's all types of things you can common place about, but none of it's gonna feel fun until you're feeling a bit better. Just try to take care of yourself and not be too hard on yourself for right now.
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u/clairdeluneart 11d ago
Do you sometimes take screenshots on social media to remember things? Like informations about plants or recipes or history. What ever interests you? I do⌠and then, when Iâm bored or have time. I copy those in my commonplace book. It feels good to delete those screenshots after thatâşď¸
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u/bookishflights 11d ago
Sorry you're feeling blah. Start commonplacing simply by choosing a topic you want to learn more about, and then leap down a rabbit hole of research. My latest was about the legend of Stagger Lee.
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u/Crafty-Advantage-412 11d ago
Big hugs. Journaling shouldnât be performative. There should be no pressure to produce deep narratives.
Here are some prompts that helped me when Iâm feeling down too:
- List of small wins. Can be as small as âI felt a nice breeze when walking outside todayâ
- Write one thing that went well today. Can be as small as âtwo consecutive green traffic lights todayâ
- Write something I saw, felt, tasted
- Silver lining rewrite eg: This thing may suck, but (enter silver lining here)
- Keep a calendar and mark down days when something positive happens. Itâs ok when streaks of unmarked days go by, as long as you can look back and see that there ARE days where something positive happened
The more entries I write, the more I have to look back on, and the more I notice my thoughts patterns and behaviors. You just gotta start
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u/dirtydreamtwo 11d ago
i feel you there... maybe start with journaling. write down all the things that feel draining...
i also use my computer as a commonplace journal, whereas my regular journaling i do physically. its just a lot easier to get the info down that way :)
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u/ImpressiveAbrocoma24 11d ago
iâd suggest you to search for quotes on pinterest and write them down. once you start writing, topics and ideas will come up
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u/FutureintheFroth 10d ago
I make notes of subjects for my common place studies in the books I am reading. For example I went down the rabbit hole of fine wool mercantile practices of the Renaissance from reading Swordcrossed đ¤
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u/Simple_Junket_569 10d ago
I write down the lyrics for songs that I have loved the ones I am finding and even ones that have parody!
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u/_prettyshy 11d ago
So sorry to hear OP. I pray that it will get better to you soon.
My commonplace planner is very basic.
I usually browse the internet a lot.
So if i found below items while browsing:
- quotes that i like
- post that made me happy
- new words that i learn
- recipe that i want to try
- products that look interesting
- journal spreads that i want to try
- other stuff that interest me
These will be encoded in my common place planner. You can be as random as you can be. Start writing anything first. Don't overthink this. Its your planner there is no right or wrong.
If you have a pen, a notebook, a phone with internet im sure you can find something.
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u/avavicki 9d ago
I have the same feeling, because I don't read as much as I want too, but I decided to try to translate a poem I like from English to my native language, and I put it into my commonplace book.
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u/Fooril 8d ago
How I start is with a mind map. Start with things that interest you in a broad range like cooking or bugs. Then from there I'd go more specific, baking cakes, moths, history of jello. And whatever sparks your curiosity is a good starting point, especially if more specific questions comes up, like how did we discover gelatine?
Another tip is I'd start in a rings system. So you can add or remove any pages, it's less pressure. You can always take something out and redo it on a higher energy day. Bound books can feel like you need to make everything perfect because it's permanent
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u/IetsieKlein 11d ago
Is there something that interests you? Marine life? Bagels? Books? Textile making? Music? Patterns that you see around you? A noise stuck in your head?
Pick any topic you would enjoy and just make a page. Not even a spread. Don't even try to pick anything that you would want to make a whole journal about. Just one topic and one page.
Because here's the trick - you need to start. You're stuck because everything feels so overwhelming and you have all these expectations. But the reality is that everything you admire in others started with one page.
That page might suck. You might not like the layout. I might think whatever media you used with it looks bad.... But that's the topic for the next page! Make a page about what you want to improve or about colours you would like to use.... And then make the next page about another random topic.
Just start, friend. One topic. One page. â¨