Take it from me—whether you’re super-organized or a little messy, you can find something about Notion that’ll make you wonder how you managed without it before.
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“Why are you using Notion? Google Calendar is better.” The amount of times I’ve heard variations of this statement from classmates, friends, and coworkers is plenty, and I always try to “sell” the utility of Notion to them because they just don’t understand—yet. Do I prefer GCal as a calendar app? Yes. Are there other apps, sites, and platforms that perform the same way as Notion? Absolutely. Are people still pretty much unaware of the capabilities of it? From my observation, yes.
Notion is an all-around web app that you can use for almost everything in your life that could need noting down or organization. You can use it for free, but it does have premium tiers with more features for a price.
First things first, databases are going to be your best friend. They’re simple tables that you can customize as you see fit. You can make them to keep track of homework or projects, check your progress, take note of your schedule, and so much more.
Exploring Notion involves a learning curve, but it’s not like you have to take courses or devote so much time just to learn the ropes. There are pre-made templates made both by Notion and other people that you can use. I personally don’t use it much for aesthetics, and I’m not the most organized person, but I find it to be one of the most helpful apps that not a lot of people know about. Here are a few ways (among many) you can make the most out of it.
DOCUMENTS AND WRITING
Take it from a writer—Notion is great for writing drafts. While I agree Microsoft Word or Google Docs are better for school papers and official documents, but for rough outlines, discussion board answers, blog posts, or even stories, the basic blank page of the platform is perfect. Like on Google Docs, Notion auto-saves your work and makes it accessible wherever you access the site or app.
AS A STUDY HUB
Take a scroll through the hashtag #notiontwt on X or Tumblr and see all the creative ways people set up their Notion dashboards. Some people thrive on aesthetically-pleasing dashboards where they can access everything they need for studying or working. Even if you’re not into the aesthetic, Notion is a good place to centralize everything you need for school or work from class readings to to-do lists, notes to video lectures, Figma or Miro boards, and more.
GROUP PROJECTS
In the same vein, as the platform allows you to share pages and workspaces with other people, you can centralize groupwork on Notion—especially those that need a lot of work and time. You can input tasks, deadlines, timelines, and the work itself in the databases.
READING/WATCHING GOALS
If you’re like me and you want to keep track of the books or movies that you’ve read or watched, the databases are also a great way to do that—and in a cute way. It’s your own personal Goodreads or Letterboxd!
FOR TRAVEL
If you make a database and choose “Gallery” view, you can have a cute way to list, organize, and even journal your trips! Inside each city or country card, you can plan everything from your itinerary to your outfits. You can keep copies of your travel e-tickets, take note of travel sites and sights to see, or make checklists of what you want to do on your trip.
All images from Notion’s website or author’s personal Notion.
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