When Notion came into my life two years ago, I saw it as just a note-taking app. Now it has turned into a second brain where I manage my work projects, personal goals, reading list, recipes and even my travel plans. In this post, I'll explain how you can build an efficient Notion system starting from scratch.
Warning: once you start with Notion, you can develop an addiction to building systems. In my first week, instead of sleeping, I spent my time designing templates in Notion. Don't fall into this trap; start simple.
First Step: Create a Simple Structure
The biggest mistake is trying to plan everything perfectly. Open a blank page in Notion and create just four main sections: Work, Personal, Projects and Archive. That's it.
At the start, I had set up fifteen different categories, nested subpages and complex databases. The result: two weeks later I couldn't use any of it because I couldn't figure out where to put my notes. When I tore the system down and moved to the simple four-section structure, everything fell into place.
As a tip, I drop every new note into a temporary area I call the Inbox. Once a week, I clear out this Inbox and move the notes to the right sections. That way I never have to think about note-taking; I just write and organize later.
Explore Databases
Notion's real power lies in databases. Regular pages are enough for taking notes, but if you want to track things, filter them and see them in different views, you should use a database.
My first database was a reading list. I added fields like book title, author, status, my rating and my notes. The status field has the options Reading, Finished and To Read. With different views, I can see the same data as a table, a gallery or a kanban board.
Over time this database grew. There are now more than 200 books, and under each one I have detailed notes. When a friend asks what he should read, I show him the list sorted by rating using the filter feature.
On the work side, I have a task database. Each task has a project, a due date, a priority and a status. I track my weekly plan with the calendar view and progress with the kanban view. Thanks to this system, I haven't missed a single deadline in the past two years.
Using Templates
In Notion, you can speed up repeating structures with templates. I created a template for weekly meeting notes. The template automatically brings in the date, a participants section, agenda items, decisions and action items. Before a meeting, I create a new note with one click and just start filling it in.
A project manager friend of mine uses a project template for every new project. The template comes with project goals, a timeline, risk logs, a stakeholder list and retrospective sections ready to go. When a new project starts, the structure is already there and he just starts filling it in.