Commonplace Book

The centuries-old habit of copying down lines and ideas worth keeping, with their sources, and the half everyone forgets: re-reading them.

One line per entry, the source always, a theme if you like. Then the Resurface tab deals you a fresh hand of five entries whenever you sit down. Bump the seed, read the hand, and that is a review.

WHAT'S INSIDE

Dashboard - how many entries, how recent, and which themes fill up

Start Here - how the file works and which cells are yours

Entries - one line per idea, with its source, where you write

Resurface - a fresh hand of five for every review

THE PART NOBODY ELSE BUILDS

Most note systems are built entirely around capture, which is the easy half and the reason people end up with four hundred saved quotes they have never read again. Resurface exists to make the other half cost nothing: no scheduling, no algorithm to trust, no queue building up behind you. Five entries, dealt. If you do not like the hand, bump the seed and take another. The source column is required rather than optional for the same reason a commonplace book has always demanded it: a line without its origin is a line you cannot use in front of anyone.

WHAT YOU GET

Excel workbook (.xlsx)

Google Sheets template - one click to copy

Setup instructions (PDF)

Free updates for life

BEFORE YOU BUY

Works in Microsoft Excel 2016 and later, and in Google Sheets. No app, no account, nothing to sync. It stores what you type and shows it back to you at random. Digital download, all sales final.