How to Stop working FOR Notion and Start Making Notion work FOR YOU
Must read before creating your Personal Notion Dashboard!
disclaimer: this post is not sponsored.
I have been a victim of working for productivity tools when it should have been the other way around.
With Notion, I used to love it when I was juggling 6 courses in university. But when comes summer, I couldn’t figure out how to use it. It was as if Notion only bestowed its knowledge to me when school started.
Then, I had a duplicating phase where I searched for aesthetic Notion dashboards on YouTube and duplicated them. It works for a week or two, but that’s the limit of trying to convince me that the dashboard worked for me.
Fortunately, that is no longer the case because I found out why I couldn’t utilize Notion like so many other people do. So, read this before you create a personal Notion dashboard.
1. Maintain your real-life structure (or create one if you have none)
My life was always built based on school; the assignments and deadlines imposed on me. I had no idea how to live my life outside of school. I had no routines. I had no solid goals and clear plans for the next 5 years of my life.
So, you should learn from me and plan out your life to the nitty-gritty details.
For the primary anatomy of your dashboard, follow the steps below:
- Determine the different sections of your life that you wish to improve on (personal development, finance, school)
- Then, establish your priorities for each section. For example, you may want to create a 3-year emergency fund within 10 years and pay off your student loans before you turn 30.
- The next step requires some experimentation: Try which features/database type works best to store or observe your progress.
Structure your current life to have a rough idea of how your dashboard should directly reflect your life. At first, it will look super simple but don’t give up because you will build one part of your life on top of the other. Let’s move on to the next tip.
2. Define your purpose
My notion dashboard never worked for me because I used templates and never customize it to my preferences. However, when I started tweaking the initial features, I never came to a complete stop. I kept trying to change the features and visuals but never went to a point where I was satisfied with what I did.
That’s because my Notion pages had no defining purpose.
This tip is complementary to the first step. Maintaining something new requires a definite and personal purpose. Therefore, you have to create this dashboard with a constant reminder that you will open it and use it every day.
Your dashboard should be a universal hub system that helps you navigate closer to your goals. Specify your dashboard’s purpose, and you will love having a Notion dashboard in your daily life. It would automatically be a huge part of your morning and evening routine.
3. Establish your personal aesthetic
Some people use Notion for the sole purpose of its functionality and endless customizability. But I like pretty things, so I want them to be appealing because I use them every day.
As presented in the image above, I decided to use light mode despite being dark for years. I chose light mode because I start my day in the early morning, and light colours will inspire me to start the day in a good mood.
In short, choose what elements and structure suits your personality. Next, decide what tones ignite your daily morning spirit.
Main Takeaways
- The massive amount of Internet content is meant to inspire you to create, so create.
- Notion is highly customizable so that you can tailor your dashboard to be as distinctive and individualized, catering to your own needs.
- Don’t give up on Notion. It truly is a one-for almost everything. Do yourself a favour and try Notion for better life management.
- Hoped you learn something from my article. Thank you for reading, and have a great day!
