Discover a beautiful, simple practice that’s been used by some of history’s greatest minds

Why You Should Ditch Complex Note-Taking Systems for This Centuries-Old Practice

Ev Chapman
4 min readSep 2, 2024

Have you ever felt overwhelmed by all the note-taking and information management systems out there? PARA, Zettelkasten, bullet journaling…

I have.

And it led me to a centuries old practice that has made note-taking more fun & enjoyable than ever.

Enter the world of Commonplacing.

Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash

This isn’t just another system to learn — it’s a beautiful, simple practice that’s been used by some of history’s greatest minds:

  • Leonardo da Vinci
  • Thomas Jefferson
  • Mark Twain
  • Henry David Thoreau

And I think it’s exactly what we need in our information-overloaded world. Here’s Why:

1. It slows down the information firehose 🚰
In a world of endless scrolling and constant notifications, commonplacing forces you to pause and really absorb what you’re consuming.

2. It creates a curated world of your interests 🎨
Imagine having a space filled only with ideas and information that truly…

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Ev Chapman

I help high performers being held back by their tools & workflows unlock a new kind of personal knowledge system that works as hard and as smart as they do.