Collect the little things that matter—quotes, moments, thoughts, and memories worth saving.

Hiya! I’m Janice, the artist and creator behind Hamletta Studios, where I create playful art and stationery for creative people who love journaling, slow moments, and a bit of quiet reflection. I help you playfully plan your best life.

What is a Commonplace Book?

It’s an old idea. People used to keep them as a way to gather quotes, bits of information, and anything they didn’t want to forget. Writers, students, and thinkers would fill the pages with things they found meaningful or useful.

Usually, commonplace books were filled with other people’s words.

But other people’s words are not the only things you can use to fill up your commonplace book.

Instead of only saving things you’ve read or heard, you can use yours to capture little pieces of your life right now.

A commonplace book can hold pieces of your actual, everyday life — things you’ve read, overheard, wondered about, or just want to remember.

In that way, it becomes something more like a time capsule. Wouldn’t it be cool to look back years from now and peer into what comprised of your life right now?

It would not just be a record of what inspired you, but a way to return to who you were at a certain moment in your life.

If you're like me and tend to collect notebooks faster than you can fill them, this might be a good place to start.

This list is here to help you start. Take what works, skip what doesn’t. There’s no right or wrong way to build a commonplace book.

Just fill it up with what resonates with you!

Commonplace Book Ideas for Your Journal

Everyday Atmosphere

Small details from your current surroundings that make up your daily landscape.

• The view from your favorite window

• What’s on your nightstand right now

• The last thing you touched before sitting down

• How your room smells today

• The soundscape of your day (traffic, music, birds, etc.)

• How you’re dressing lately without thinking about it

• What’s hanging on your walls

• The last thing you cleaned — and why

• What the light looked like at 3 PM today

• Something on your floor you’ve been ignoring

Emotional Snapshots

Personal reflections and internal check-ins.

• A worry you can’t quite name

• What you’re looking forward to, even a little

• A moment this week you felt proud of

• A memory that feels different now

• Something you’ve been grieving (quietly or loudly)

• A joy you didn’t expect to feel this month

• A part of your life that feels in limbo

• What safety feels like to you right now

• What feels like "too much" right now

• Something you’ve forgiven (or are trying to)

Creative Threads

Capture your curiosities, inspirations, and creative energy.

• A sentence you wish you’d written

• A creative idea you haven’t started but keep thinking about

• A color palette that feels like your mood

• A medium or craft you want to try just for fun

• A shape or motif you keep noticing lately

• A story you’d tell if no one else ever read it

• Something that’s been inspiring you in an indirect way

• A quote that helped you feel unstuck

• A project you abandoned and how you feel about it

• The last time you got lost in making something

Time Capsule Details

Tiny, specific things that place you in this moment.

• Your current go-to breakfast

• What your phone background is right now

• A receipt or product label you don’t want to throw away

• A silly or strange search from your browser history

• The number of unread notifications you have

• The last app you opened today

• A piece of packaging you thought looked beautiful

• Something you always do in the same order

• A sound you associate with this season of life

• A brand or product you keep using even if you’re not sure why

Gentle Observations

Notice the quiet stuff — the patterns, habits, and human moments around you.

• How your coffee/tea looks before you stir it

• The way someone close to you greets you

• A new habit you didn’t mean to form

• The emotional tone of your neighborhood lately

• A conversation you overheard that made you smile

• A phrase someone says often that you’ve started picking up

• Something someone does that feels like a love language

• A random act of kindness you witnessed

• What the sky looked like when you stopped to look up

• Something you noticed today that made you pause

Words That Stuck With Me

For capturing phrases, quotes, and language that linger — from others or yourself.

• A quote from a friend that made you laugh or feel seen

• A lyric that’s been stuck in your head for weeks

• Something you overheard that stayed with you

• A compliment someone gave you recently

• A podcast episode that changed something for you

• Something someone said to you years ago that still echoes

• A sentence you wrote in a journal that surprised you

• A piece of advice you’ve been ignoring

• A conversation you keep replaying

• Something you wish someone would ask you about

Snapshots of Right Now

Quick captures of your daily life, moods, routines, and surroundings — as they are.

• What your mornings actually look like right now

• A snapshot of your current routine

• The weather today and what it reminds you of

• What your space looks like right now

• A list of the tabs open on your phone

• What’s inside your bag or purse today

• A list of people you’re texting the most right now

• What your handwriting looks like today

• What time of day you feel most relaxed and joyful

• What’s currently pinned on your Pinterest boards

Things I’m Thinking About

Self-reflection prompts for tracking mental shifts, growth, and what’s occupying your mind.

• A mistake you made and what you learned from it

• What you’re avoiding and why

• Something that felt hard to do, but you did it anyway

• A memory that’s resurfaced lately

• What you’re learning to let go of

• A dream or goal that feels scary to write down

• A list of things you thought were true at age 10

• A list of things you still believe, even now

• A reminder you needed recently

• Something you’d tell your past self

Sensory Time Capsules

Capture the sounds, sights, tastes, textures, and little things you want to remember.

• A food you’re craving a lot lately

• A scent you wish you could bottle

• A color that feels like your mood today

• A playlist you made for no one but yourself

• A photo you printed out and why you saved it

• A random little fact that delighted you

• The last thing that made you cry

• The last thing you laughed about

• Your current top 3 comforts

• A moment you want to freeze

Lists That Mean Something

Curated, casual lists that may seem small now but will speak volumes later.

• A list of books you’ve abandoned and why

• A list of things that made you smile this week

• A list of things that feel heavy right now

• A list of things that feel light

• A personal rule you’ve made for yourself (and actually like)

• What you’re currently watching and how it makes you feel

• A text you keep meaning to reply to

• What’s on your mind when you can’t sleep

• Something you hope your future self remembers

• Things that are helping, even if just a little

Start Where You Are

There is no right way to keep a commonplace book.

Don’t be intimidated by the beautiful spreads on social media and pinterest.

Remember back in the day when journals were private and they stayed private for your eyes only?

Bring those days back. No need to share online if you don’t want to.

The little details that seem ordinary now often turn out to be the most interesting to look back on later.

Don’t let perfection get in the way of starting your own personal commonplace book.

So write what you notice, what you feel, and what you want to remember.

Keep track of your life as it happens.

So open one of those blank notebooks you’ve been saving and begin anywhere.