Minutes Concerning Notebook First Page Fear
A blank first page has remained blank for six weeks pending an entry worthy of its position.
Meeting: Notebook First Page Status Review Location: Desk, left side Attendees: Owner of notebook Notebook status: Unopened. Technically opened once to smell it. Otherwise unopened.
Agenda Item 1: Review of Current Status
The notebook was purchased forty-two days ago. It is a good notebook. It has thick cream paper, a cloth cover, and an elastic band. It cost more than a notebook should cost. This is relevant because the opening entry must justify the cost.
No entry has been made.
Agenda Item 2: Candidates Considered for Page One
Three entries have been considered and deferred:
Candidate A: A task list. Rejected. A task list is not worthy of page one. Task lists belong in a cheaper notebook or a notes app.
Candidate B: A thought about a project. Considered on November 14th. Ultimately judged to be a page-three thought dressed as a page-one thought. Tabled.
Candidate C: A date and the word "Begin." Appealing in its simplicity. Rejected because simplicity on page one reads as ironic in retrospect, and the owner does not want this notebook's first page to be an ironic entry.
Agenda Item 3: The Governing Rule
The notebook's first page fear is now stable. It has survived six weeks without challenge. The rule: no entry is placed on page one until it is unambiguously worthy. Worthiness has not been defined. This is not considered a problem.
Agenda Item 4: Use of the Notebook
The notebook has not been used. A different, older, cheaper notebook has been used heavily during the same period. The expensive notebook sits on the desk. It is present at every writing session as a reminder of what a good entry would look like.
Action Items
- Owner to identify a worthy first entry. No deadline assigned.
- Owner acknowledges that assigning a deadline would create pressure, and pressure would produce a pressured entry, and the first page will not host a pressured entry.
Next meeting: Unscheduled.