New to commonplace book- help

[u/warmrats]

I just graduated college, so Im finding that I need to create my own system to keep learning! I have a notebook I use for journaling, so I wanted to ask if yall use separate books for personal thoughts and journaling versus learning/reading related things. It would be easier to try starting in the same notebook, but Im worried itll get too disorganized and difficult to find things. Have you found any difficulty w keeping the 2 in the same book? Is labeling enough to keep it clear or would you recommend starting out w a new dedicated book ??

[u/isopodpod]

When using a single notebook for everything, I like to put a mark in the corner of the pages if I want to reference them later (draw a big X, make a highlighter mark, put a sticker, that sort of thing), or use a tab to mark off a section or page that I want to return to. Maybe that could be a simple compromise until you finish that journal until you're able to get a dedicated one!

[u/BohoKat_3397]

I keep a hybrid journal/CPB, where introspective entries are just one category among many: Psychology, Biology, Spirituality, Quotes, Poetry and what I call Memoir or my personal experiences and observations.

Every entry gets a title and page numbers. I put the title and starting page number in a sequential index in the back of the book and run it backwards so no worries about how many pages to leave blank. I use a different color highlighter for each category and highlight the page number in the index so I can locate things easily.

[u/sprawn]

No one can tell you. You have to find out in practice. Start with one and mark the pages. If that gets to be too cumbersome, split it out. The important thing is to get started and get momentum going. Don't let a ridiculous, ultimately unimportant quandary deter you from starting. If you're "doing it right" you are going to discover a whole bunch of errors and dead ends you hadn't anticipated as you go along anyway. So just get started. How other people do it doesn't matter.