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Whether you’re managing a project, taking notes, or organizing your life in Notion, productivity hacks are always a welcome addition to the workflow. The notion is powerful, but these lesser-known hacks take productivity to the next level.
1
Learn to use commands
In Notion, you can quickly add content to a page using commands. To do that, press the button / (forward slash) key on your keyboard and follow with the type of content you want to add. This is faster than pressing the button plus icon next to a block and looking for the content.
The command would look something like:
/[content_to_add]
In the above syntax, content_to_add it can be Text, Page, Title, To do list, Image, Videoand Tweet. So, if I wanted to add a second level header to the content, I would write the following and then hit the enter key:
/heading 2
Pressing / by itself it will list all the content you can enter, allowing you to select the one you want.
2
Formatted with Markdown
Many note-taking apps use Markdown for formatting, and Notion is one of them. Markdown can be faster in some situations, especially when you need to quickly format text without taking your hands off the keyboard. Markdown syntax will be rendered in the text area in Notion as you type the syntax, allowing you to see the results instantly.
3
Use templates for repetitive tasks
Notion has an impressive library of free templates, from meeting notes and project plans to daily logs and vacation planners. They not only save time and effort, but also ensure uniformity in everything you create.
To use a template in Notion, click Templates in the left sidebar – you will have to scroll to the bottom.
Click on the search bar in the upper right corner, enter the type of model you are looking for, and hit enter key to search. You can click preview to see if the model has everything you need. Then, go back to the previous page and click Add.
You can find it in your list of pages in the left sidebar once it has been created, ready for you to edit.
4
Filter tasks with connected databases
Linked databases allow you to create different views of the same activities on multiple pages, making it easier to focus on specific priorities or projects without duplicating information.
Let’s say you’re part of a wedding planning committee, and you want to be able to see your tasks alone. Instead of filtering the database directly, you can create a separate page and add a linked database.
To add a linked database to a page, type it / tied and press the enter key to make a list of Database concepts in the workspace. Select the one with the jobs you want to filter.
Then, filter the database based on the assignee, which you are in this scenario. You will then see a filtered database with only your tasks displayed. You can apply as many filters and views as you want.
5
Sync your Google calendars
Notion has a handy calendar that you can use to create, plan and organize all your activities and events in your Notion workspace. It also allows you to sync your Google calendars so you can manage them all with Notion.
To connect your Google Calendars to Notion Calendar, scroll to the bottom of the left sidebar in Notion and click Calendar. This will open a separate browser window where you must sign in to Notion Calendar with your Google account. Then, click Add a calendar account in the left sidebar.
In the Accounts of the calendar section, click connect.
Follow the steps to sign in to your Google account with the calendar you want to connect to Notion. Next, you’ll see all the calendars you’ve added in the left sidebar.
6
Use the Web Clipper
You can save web pages, articles and other online content directly to your Notion workspace with the Notion Web Clipper. It’s a quick way to keep all your research, inspiration and reference materials organized in one place without having to manually copy and paste. You can install the extension from the Notion Web Clipper download page– Supports Chrome, Firefox and Safari.
To save a web page, click on it Icon Concept Web Clipper in the toolbar, select your workspace and the page you want to send the content to, and then click Save the page.
7
Extend Functionality with Integrations
Notion can connect to multiple apps to extend its functionality. This can simplify and enhance your productivity by allowing you to create different workflows using your existing tools.
I will demonstrate this by showing how to create an automation between Notion and Slack. For this purpose, I want Notion to send a Slack notification whenever someone changes something in a project database. That way, people don’t need to notify each other manually.
To do this, click on the name of your Notion workspace in the upper left corner and select it Settings in the pop-up.
Select My connections in the left sidebar to see the list of integrations and click connect in the Slack paper
From there, follow the instructions in the browser to connect Notion to your Slack workspace.
To create an automation, click on it three dots icon in the upper right corner of the database and select it Automation in the menu.
This gives you a pop-up with everything you need to create an automation.
In the By the time section, click New Trigger and select an event (eg Any edited property o Added page). In the To do section, click New action and select Send a Slack notification to in the menu.
In the To do section back, click on the Select the Slack channel dropdown menu in the action you created and choose a Slack channel from the list – this is where the notification will go. Then, click Create to finish the automation installation.
Now, when someone edits a property or adds a page to the database, a notification will be sent to Slack.
There are many Notion productivity hacks I can cover, but these are the most effective ones I’ve used. With these tips, you are one step closer to becoming a Notion power user. They will help you do more in the long run, especially if you have a overwhelming list of tasks to manage in Notion.
