Commoncog

“I can’t remember what I read last week!”

You know how it is. You’re a busy professional. Your industry changes rapidly due to new technology and new threats.

You read widely to ensure your career doesn’t get left behind. You devour news articles, social analysis, Medium stories, pithy Facebook posts, long Twitter threads. You want to know how this affects you tomorrow. 👓

But you can’t remember what you read last week!

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And how can you? The internet is a battleground for our attention! You can’t remember what you’ve read if you don't process it, and you can’t process it when you have Instagram, and Facebook, and chat. 📱

But what if you could?

I created Commoncog to help you with exactly that. 🙏

Every article you read can be highlighted in Commoncog. When you’re done, Commoncog asks you to record your takeaways. 🤔

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Twice a week, you get summaries of your takeaways emailed to you. (You can tell it to stop if you’re done with that particular article.) 📬

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When you want to remember what you’ve learnt, you run a search. 🔍

You may also tag your takeaways with a topic tag, for browsing later. 📖

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Eventually, your collection of links and your takeaways serves as your external brain. You’ll see Commoncog as a log of ideas that you want to remember. 💡

This is why I call Commoncog an idea bookmarking service. 💡📚

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An article with no takeaway is time you’ve just wasted. (Unless you’re reading for fun, that is!)


My name is Cedric. I created Commoncog for myself. This software is how I track ideas for my career growth.

Commoncog’s blog is where I write about building career moats in a world of rapid change. I update it twice a week, and I use Commoncog to track the ideas I write about. Here are the latest posts:

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Commonplace, the Commoncog Blog

Radical Candor

Kim Scott's 2017 book is a how-to guide for the people-side of management. Read as a follow-up to Andy Grove's High Output Management.

The Chinese Businessman Paradox

The Chinese Businessmen Paradox: what is it that makes uneducated, superstitious Chinese businessmen successful?

Surprising Implications of Treating Self-Help as Art

Six surprising implications from treating self-help as technê.

Deep Work

Cal Newport's 2016 book Deep Work is a guide to doing valuable work in a world of digital distraction.


You may follow the blog here, if you’d like ideas for finding an edge in your career. 🚨

If you’d like to receive an invite for Commoncog’s beta, sign up here:

Be notified when this launches

Thanks for reading! ❤️

Warmly, Cedric