I Don’t Need Form — I Need Function

When I first wrote about my commonplace book, it was mostly a place to gather notes and ideas. Since then, it has become something much more useful: part reference library, part creative workshop, and part record of what I’m learning now.

Like most good tools, it changed as I changed.

Commonplace books are often used to collect interesting information across many subjects. In my case, that has turned into several notebooks for several passions.

I have one dedicated to Highland culture, where I once half-seriously decided I should write a dissertation. I have another for Torah study and Jewish learning. I even bought matching notebooks for continuity and built a reusable Traveler’s Notebook-style hardcover, which I turned into a replica of River Song’s diary from Doctor Who.

My gardening notebook is one of the most practical. I drew the herbs I planted for easy identification, gave each herb and vegetable its own page with planting instructions and uses, and sketched a not-to-scale map of the garden with beds organized by water needs, height, and invasiveness.

All of this eventually led me to planners.

When I first discovered bullet journaling, planners, and sticker culture, I fell down the rabbit hole and bought far too much. Eventually I realized I am simply too minimalist for that world.

I tried the much-loved Hobonichi Cousin. It had many good features, but the pages felt too busy and included sections I knew I would never use. I looked at other planners and couldn’t justify paying premium prices for branding.

Then I found Wonderland222: clean, functional, and refreshingly minimal.

Even so, it still wasn’t exactly what I wanted.

So now I’m designing my own planner in Scribus. So far I have a daily page template and a calendar spread, but my goal is to arrange monthly, weekly, and daily pages in a way that makes sense to me. I’m also creating a custom baseball tracking section.

I’ll print it myself, bind it myself, and design the cover myself.

If it turns out well, I may even make a few for others someday.

The real lesson in all of this is simple: use what works for you.

Stickers didn’t work for me. Trend-driven planner culture didn’t work for me. Buying things because everyone else loved them didn’t work for me.

What did work was learning my own preferences.

I buy tools I can use for years. I choose quality over clutter. I build systems that support my actual life.

I don’t need form.

I need function.