Cèilidh Nam Freumhan

Tag: commonplacebook

The Problem With Aesthetic Productivity

The Bullet Journal Rabbit Hole

I used to see a lot of bullet journals on my personal Instagram account and thought they looked amazing. Design your own planner exactly the way you want? Sweet.

What I didn’t realize at the time was that there was an actual method attached to bullet journaling. I hadn’t done much research before trying it myself. I was mostly seeing beautiful spreads online — watercolor paintings, perfectly coordinated weekly layouts, intricate trackers, and pages that looked more like art books than planners.

Very quickly, I started to feel pressure to make mine look like that.

At first, I tried drawing every weekly and monthly spread ahead of time. I do not have the patience for that, so I switched to drawing one or two weeks at a time instead. Then I realized that if I wanted things like my book tracker in the back of the notebook, I would need to plan the entire notebook layout in advance anyway.

I tried using the actual Bullet Journal method at one point and discovered I hated how unfinished it felt. I wanted structure and consistency, not rapid logging and migration. I know that system works wonderfully for some people, but it didn’t work for me.

The Sticker Phase

While I was working on my computer science degree, I had an instructor who was very into planner culture. She showed me her A6 Wonderland222 planner and I immediately fell in love with it. I ordered one myself and quickly became overwhelmed by all the blank space.

This instructor was also very into a particular stationery and planner sticker shop, which I won’t name here because this is not criticism of that creator or her business. She gave me a small card with samples of washi tape, so naturally I visited the shop and bought a ton of things: weekly kits, monthly kits, decorative stickers, functional stickers…if it had cats, books, or cats with books, I bought it.

Then I found another shop and bought even more.

I hit the Black Friday sales hard. I ordered a Chinese New Year advent calendar and opened the entire thing all at once because I lacked the patience to wait.

As it turns out, many of these weekly kits are not designed for A6 planners at all. They are generally made for Hobonichi planners and similar Japanese formats. So I ended up with stickers overlapping into the next day, which drove me absolutely insane. At that point, I decided I hated my A6 planner and swore I would never buy one again.

Naturally, I decided to try bullet journaling again so I could use the stickers there instead.

That also did not work.

I tried using every sticker in the weekly kits because I felt like I needed to justify owning them. The result was cluttered, overwhelming, and honestly kind of ugly. I also experimented with a notebook that used black paper, which sounded cool in theory but quickly became impractical when I realized I couldn’t jot something down without finding a light-colored gel pen first.

The Hobonichi Cousin

After all of that, I bought a Hobonichi Cousin because everyone I followed online swore it was the perfect planner. I liked the idea of having monthly, weekly, and daily pages all in one place. When it arrived, I spent several hours assigning themes to each month and drawing a detailed book tracker in the back. I was ready.

And then I realized that system didn’t work for me either.

The daily pages felt like pressure. I barely touched the monthly spreads. I ignored most of the trackers. I disliked how few blank pages there were, and especially disliked what felt like wasted space: pages about preserving eyesight and address pages I knew I would never use.

People often say the printed ink is light enough that you can simply write over the daily pages if you want to repurpose them. In my experience, that wasn’t true at all. My handwriting competed visually with the printed quotes at the bottom of the page, and I found myself crossing out dates at the top just to make the pages usable.

Everything felt chaotic.

Returning to Structure

Eventually, I tried bullet journaling again — except this time, it slowly stopped being a planner altogether. Instead, it became a commonplace book. Looking back, that is probably what brought me back to keeping commonplace books in the first place.

Ironically, after all of this experimentation, I ended up returning to the A6 Wonderland222 planner.

Why Aesthetic Productivity Didn’t Work for Me

Over time, I realized that my aesthetic simply does not align with what people often associate with planner culture online. What I actually appreciate about the Wonderland222 is that it provides underlying structure without demanding that I use it in a particular way.

I eventually realized that I am creative, but only if there is some structure underneath everything.

For example, I turned some of the undated daily pages into a baseball section where I track my favorite team’s roster, wins and losses, and other notes throughout the season. I even designed my reading tracker to resemble a baseball scorekeeping book.

That creativity came much more naturally once I stopped trying to recreate what looked good online.

In the end, aesthetic productivity simply did not work for me, and that’s okay.

I don’t want organizing my life to feel performative. I’m minimalist by nature, and I eventually realized that I was spending more time trying to create the appearance of organization than actually building systems that supported my life.

At the same time, I know aesthetic productivity genuinely helps some people stay engaged and organized, and I’m glad they’ve found systems that work for them.

Because ultimately, that’s the point of a planner in the first place.

Baseball schedule – a bit messy, but beautiful to me! 🙂

May 25, 2026
Too Many Interests, Not Enough Lifetimes

This is not an actual photo of me – credit to ChatGPT for the image generation.

I have spent years feeling inadequate because there is so much I want to learn that I eventually become overwhelmed and end up touching none of it.

At the moment, I am studying four languages. I am still in the phase where my brain immediately reverts to French because it was the first language I learned outside of English.

There are currently four commonplace books in my bag. One of them is completely blank, just in case.

I carry a pen case full of stationery tools I “might need,” along with a Kindle Scribe.

I want to write a dissertation on the Scottish Highlands around the time of Culloden. Or perhaps another period of Highland history. I still cannot decide.

I want to learn to knit so I can make beautiful sweaters and shawls.

I am trying to grow my own food and learn how to can it, partially because gardening fascinates me and partially because apparently some part of my brain is preparing for a zombie apocalypse.

I want to make paper and ink.

I am going to spin my own yarn someday and dye it using plants I have grown myself.

I am designing a planner that actually fits the way I think and work instead of settling for something mass-produced.

I am binding notebooks by hand because it turns out I genuinely enjoy it.

For a long time, all of this made me feel like a failure. I constantly felt behind. Surely, if I were more disciplined, more focused, or more organized, I would already be proficient at half these things.

Eventually, though, I realized something important:

You cannot dedicate your entire life to mastering dozens of subjects simultaneously.

Some seasons of life are for language learning. Some are for gardening. Some are for theology, history, sewing, bookbinding, or note-taking systems.

Some days I spend hours studying Torah. Other days I spend six straight hours documenting Norwegian vocabulary and grammar rules in my learning compendium like a Victorian scholar who has just discovered Scandinavia.

And honestly? That is fine.

I have stopped trying to force myself into becoming a hyper-efficient machine optimized for productivity and mastery at all times.

Now I mostly try to ride the wave of whatever is currently lighting up my brain.

The interests eventually circle back around anyway.

You do not have to learn everything at once.

You just have to stay curious enough to keep returning to the things you love.

May 22, 2026
I Never Learned How to Study

Notebook phone table by Markus Spiske is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

There have been several studies showing that people tend to remember information better when they write it down by hand. For me, that has absolutely been true. Hence the ever-growing stack of commonplace books around my house.

One study discussed in Scientific American explains that typing involves repeating the same simple finger movements, while handwriting creates distinct physical motions for each letter. According to Audrey van der Meer, who spearheaded the study, handwriting helps lock the motor and sensory systems together.

I won’t get too deep into the science here. That isn’t my area of expertise. But looking back, I wish I had been able to handwrite more of my notes in law school.

I tried for a week or two. Eventually, though, the professors spoke too quickly for me to keep up effectively by hand. I switched to typing instead, organizing everything neatly in OneNote by class, with individual pages for each topic on the syllabus. My organization system was solid. The problem was retention.

I’m also not the type of person who can compulsively reread notes over and over again. That makes it especially important for me to absorb the material the first time I encounter it, and handwriting seems to help with that.

In high school, we had spelling tests where we memorized vocabulary terms alongside their definitions. During the test, we had to fill in the correct word next to each definition. Because I had physically written the words down beforehand, I could often close my eyes and “see” the page in my head. Even if I couldn’t immediately remember the correct word, I could remember where it had been positioned relative to the others on the list.

That kind of visual and physical memory still seems to matter for me now.

At any rate, I love creating these various and often random commonplace books. I don’t have to learn at someone else’s speed. I can sketch diagrams where needed. I can reorganize information however my brain naturally wants to process it. For me, it’s simply a better system.

The funny thing is that I never really learned how to study. As a child, most schoolwork came easily to me, so no one ever thought I might need actual study strategies later on.

Over the years, I have Googled and browsed Pinterest trying to find the “best” note-taking system. One method that appears constantly is the Cornell Method, where the page is divided into three sections: a narrow left-hand “cue” column for keywords or questions, a larger note-taking section on the right, and a summary section at the bottom.

I tried it a couple of times and never found it especially helpful. Even the research surrounding the method seems somewhat inconclusive.

What I eventually realized is that I don’t need an elaborate system.

I just need something straightforward that works with the way my brain already processes information: plain notebooks, handwritten notes, and room to think.

No fancy handwriting. No planner stickers. Just paper.

And yes, I once asked ChatGPT for note-taking advice. It suggested mind maps.

I practically yelled at the screen.

They look so chaotic to me that I know I would immediately become irritated with my own notes and never look at them again.

May 18, 2026
What I’m Bringing (and Not Bringing) to Read on Vacation

Every time I take a vacation (which is rare the past few years), I always end up being overly ambitious about how many books I will get through. Even though I always have my Kindle, I still think I should pack 3 or 4 physical books too.

I considered taking two physical books and one commonplace book for this trip and studying a bit. Then I remembered that ships sway. Like…a lot. I try very hard to keep my handwriting neat and readable, so I don’t believe a swaying ship will be conducive in this particular endeavor.

Thus, I will only take my Kindle. I have the Scribe, which comes with a stylus, so I can either take notes in the book itself, or highlight things I might want to transfer into a commonplace book after I get home.

I am also one of those people who packs a ton of stuff “just in case” I want to use it. For example, when I go to work, my bag contains my Kindle; a pen case with a variety of Zebra Mildliners, some washi tape, correction tape, a straightedge, two mechanical pencils, lead refills, and an eraser; at least two of my commonplace books; my planner (which is in its own purse); and if there is a morning/early afternoon baseball game, my tablet. Yesterday, I was excited to read during lunch, so guess what I forgot to pack? See? If I don’t have it, that’s the only thing I want.

So…I have to be firm while packing. Kindle, planner, maybe one commonplace book. Oh, and I suppose I should pack clothes.

Stacks of black notebooks on a table with evergreen holiday decorations by Courtney Robertson is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

May 11, 2026
My Garden System is Getting More Sophisticated (What’s Working)
The garden overview photo was taken as I began this three-hour tour.

On the left side is a cover crop of clover that I definitely did not plant. That is supposed to be a row of greens, but unfortunately nothing has grown enough for me to distinguish between actual food and the three-leaf version of a leprechaun’s dream.

Why Everything Is Numbered

I have a tendency not to plan things out, which becomes problematic when trying to grow food and medicinal herbs.

So everything is divided into numbered beds. What you don’t see is why they were placed where they were.

The bottom half is all herbs:
- #1 loves water
- #2 likes a moderate amount
- #3 prefers it drier, grows taller, and would otherwise shade the others
The rest is organized by nutrition, water needs, and companion planting.

My Planting Spreadsheet

This spreadsheet tracks:
- frost dates
- indoor starts
- transfer dates
- direct sow timing
I had to start marking completed tasks with little stars because apparently I cannot be trusted to remember what I already did.

Eventually I’ll rewrite it in fountain pen like the rest of the commonplace book, but growing actual food takes priority.

The Commonplace Book

This idea sprouted (yes, I did that intentionally) from a terrible mistake last year: I didn’t know what any of the herbs looked like beyond the seed packet photos.

So I started drawing the herbs and writing what they’re useful for.

I’m doing something similar with vegetables, but without pictures. If I can’t recognize a tomato by now, I clearly have other issues that need immediate attention.

Also, I’m not sure why I decided to write my capital A’s like that. I appear to be passing notes in 7th grade English.

Starts Actually Worked This Year

Last year my starts failed because I made too many mistakes to recover from and ended up buying starts.

This year they germinated.

I’d like that entered into the record.

Improved Trellises

I still haven’t built proper trellises because I refused to ruin my cozy “don’t leave the house” weekend by going to the home improvement store.

Instead:
- I flipped two tomato cages upside down and secured them to fence posts for cucumbers
- I used another tomato cage for pole beans, buried to the first ring
Elegant? No.

Functional? We’ll find out.

Bonus Content

This photo is similar to the previous one, but I believe everyone deserves to see my good boy.
April 25, 2026
Building a Commonplace Book

I don’t have any pictures to share yet, but I have been building a commonplace book for this endeavor. I have sections for gardening, recipes, and crafts. I have a separate one for learning Gaelic, so that is not included here. So far, I have a monthly task list for my garden (which I included because those are the ingredients I’ll be using in many of my recipes) and a vegan bannock recipe. One of these days, I will post photos, but right now I am shy about how messy it is. Which shouldn’t be a barrier, but it can take me a while to feel comfortable with that.

I was going to highlight the sides of the pages in the colors I chose for the sections, but I quickly realized that won’t work if I have, say, one page of garden plans and then one page of recipes, and so on. No one would be able to see the differentiation. I will likely try washi tape next, even though the thought of putting a strip of washi tape on every page sounds tedious. If anyone has any suggestions, I would love to hear them.

I do struggle with boring pages…there are people out there who are amazing artists and I love that they share that with the rest of us. I do not expect my pages to look like that, but I grow tired of just writing linearly down the page. So with my monthly garden tasks, I at least color-coded the months to break up the monotony. I also drew a couple strands of wheat on the bannock page and included a quote regarding bannocks by Robert Burns. That’s about the best I can come up with right now, but I am happy the pages are more interesting now.

I’m currently using an Amazon Basics grid notebook. I have TONS of notebooks and I have to use them before I can justify buying more. I find the grids difficult to use though, because they are visually loud, and the substance of my information can get lost. I have decided that the next time I need a notebook, I will buy A5 paper and print out dotted pages. After that, I will bind them. This need became apparent when I was looking for notebooks with more pages; I found many with 50-100 sheets, but I’m looking for 200+ sheets (not pages). I don’t want dozens of books hiding around the house. As it stands, I have a few old planners, an old commonplace book, two black paper journals that I found near impossible to use, several notebooks of certification studying, etc. I don’t mind having a separate notebook for something like a network security certification, but I don’t need four of them to talk about one thing.

Ugh, I just remembered the 8 brand-new engineering pads I bought before I changed my major to computer science.

Creative desk camera notebook by Markus Spiske is licensed under CC-CC0 1.0

April 23, 2026
How to Get Started With Your Highland Adventure

I have dedicated a commonplace book to this topic, in order to have everything in one place. So far, it is divided into: gardening plans, 18th century history, and recipes.

Here are some steps you can try:

Tip #1 – Figure out what aspect of Highland culture you’d like to dig into

Do you like history? Food? How to wear various types of tartans? All of the above?

Tip #2 – Find a way to organize your notes and thoughts

I like to keep as much as possible analog; I find that the act of writing things down helps me remember. I have also used my bujo, but the bujo fills up quickly and I don’t care to make a new one every month. Digital note-taking apps are available as well: Goodnotes, Microsoft OneNote, Evernote, and Notion, among others. I haven’t found one that works for me, but use whatever you need to to keep everything straight.

There is scarcely anything to which I am so feelingly alive as the honour and welfare of my country, and, as a poet, I have no higher enjoyment than singing her sons and daughters.

Robert Burns

Tip #3 – After finding your note-taking method, make a list of what you think you might need (yarn, food ingredients, etc.)

Google will be your friend here; there are lots of great resources that will help you find exactly what you need for your project.

Tip #4 – Give something a try

After finding out what you need, and getting all of it, try it out! If you want to crochet or knit, there are sites with free Outlander patterns (if that’s what you are looking for, otherwise there are free patterns all over). If you want to cook, there are plenty of Scottish recipe sites, both vegan and non-vegan. The best way to improve at something is to just do it.

Tip #5 – Share your work

This last tip is purely optional; I know I have trouble showing people anything I am working on, though I can share my cooking results with my spouse at any time. Even if it looks weird.

Make this project work for you!

If you want to research and/or just enjoy Highland culture, do what makes you happy in the way that makes you happy. And feel free to contact me, whether you have a question, want to share something you made, or just want to express your thoughts.

April 23, 2026