I have a new notebook and I’m ready to write. I have plenty of things to write about and plenty of uses for notebooks, but what is this one for? And what are the rules for this notebook? Will I skip the first page? Use only the fronts? Am I assigning a certain pen or ink to this notebook? Is it private? Is it okay to tear pages out? Is it going to be with me all the time? Am I going to keep it forever? Should I fill in the owner information? What should I label the cover? Should I label the cover? Will I write in the margins?

The notebook I’m writing this in has four subjects coded blue, red, gray, and green, as one does. When Chrissy gave it to me I was ecstatic – four notebooks in one, this solves all my problems! Then I took out my Rhodia A5 no skip, fronts only, private, tear okay, always handy, no archive, no cover label, anything goes notepad and starting listing possible categories. It took weeks before I could write anything in here, but that’s pretty good –  I have two notebooks from the ’90s I’ve been moving around the country with, just waiting for the right topic.