Complicated colour schemes are attractive, especially when we look at some "pros" Bible on YouTube, Pinterest or Instagram that's COVERED in every colour under the sun.

But they aren't easy to adopt and can be distracting. We end up struggling to remember which colour matches which theme or end up debating minute differences.

So start small.

Pick only. a few themes that you can easily remember.

You can always add more later.

While it's fine to use someone else's colour scheme, designing your own scheme will be more memorable for you. There are two aspects to this.

The themes & the themes.

When you select a theme, you can pick the topics that are on your mind, or relevant to you. For example, a topic of parenting is more relevant to me, a father, than someone who's single.

By selecting personal themes, it's also easier to apply. You don't have to try and recall topics that you "ought" to look for, or remind yourself what they are. Instead you support the topics you are naturally looking for.

Sometimes, you will choose a confusing or tricky topic, but it's your choice and that will also assist you.

It's tempting to think that you should pick one colour code to use forever. But that's not the best idea.

Firstly, as we already said, you should start small and then expand (if you want).

Secondly, you may discover that your chosen theme, wasn't a great choice (perhaps it's too similar to another topic). There's no point being bound by that past decision.

Finally, your interests, needs and what God wants to speak to you about will change overtime. You should not stick to what you needed in the past.

The difficulty comes in understanding an old colour code if you have changed colour codes. The simplest solution is to add a key at the front of a physical Bible and use that code for as long as you use that Bible. If you do change colour code, mark the page to show which code is being used.

Some people like colour codes with different shades of blue, red, orange and green for individual topics. That provides more options but makes it more difficult to see and understand what your note or highlight is about.

You might mistake your light blue for a dark blue. Or your turquoise for blue or green!

Using distinct colours make it clear what you are looking at, when you are looking at it.

This means fewer colours, but it helps keep a theme clear.