Notebooks and writing

That’s analog notebooks, mind you.  Yes, I’m writing this on a digital notebook (Dunadan, my trusty iBook), but I really mean the “paper, bound in leather” kind.  Like Moleskine s, although the standard wire-bound spiral notebooks I used in college (or high school, or most any academic setting where it was convenient) would work just as nicely, it not with a little less perceived style.

Anyway, I was reading stuff online, and came across this page which inspired me to start using my notebook (OK, I’ll admit it – it’s a 8.5"x5.5" unlined Moleskine) again.  I always think it’s a really good idea when I initially buy notebooks, then the novelty wears off and the books languish on a shelf or table for weeks or months before I start using them again.  Assuming I ever start using them again; I’m pretty sure I have notebooks in my office that I haven’t even looked at in several years, much less picked up & used.

I just had an idea that might help people break out of the “too pristine to use” problem that I have from time to time.  I always find it hard to start writing in a notebook because I want the first thing to be significant, or at least not unintelligible drivel.  So here’s my idea (which I’ll try out once my current notebook is full): don’t start on page one.  Open to a random page and start there.  Date all of your entries, and do it every time you open the book.  Granted, it will probably lead to a situation where the information you want is more difficult to find, but at least you don’t have to worry about what to put on page one (at least, not for a while).