Commonplace Books

Nearly all great men and women keep notebooks to record their thoughts and observations.

The Pocket Notebooks of 20 Famous Men

They record many things in these notebooks.

• notes on what they are learning
• todo lists
• sketches
• drafts of letters and books
• brainstorming ideas
• inventions
• diaries
• travel logs
• observations of nature
• pithy sayings
• mathematical and financial calculations
• observations of the characters of men they met
• questions and musings on topics of interest
• inspiration and answers to prayers
• blessings and "tender mercies"

They had many ideas for formatting and organizing their notebooks.

Isaac Newton had separate notebooks for each subject.

Da Vinci kept small 3.5"x2.5" inch notebooks tied to his belt.  He object jumped between many different subjects on a single page, and because he was left handed, he often wrote in mirror image letters to avoid smearing ink.

Emerson wrote 263 notebooks, for which he had 400-page index to help him find things. 

Mark Twain had his books custom printed with a tab he could tear off as each page was used, so he could easily turn to a blank page.

Benjamin Franklin had a notebook in which he kept track of his progress in morality in 13 separate categories.

Beethoven was so well known for always having a notebook with him, that it often appears in portraits of him.

Jefferson has a small notebook of ivory plates he could write on during the day (much more durable than paper), and then would transfer his notes from them to paper notebooks at the end of the day, erase the ivory and reuse it.