Intro to Notion

November 27, 2021

The all-in-one workspace

At its core, Notion is a note-taking tool - but that's only just the beginning.

Notion is a smart, flexible and easy-to-use knowledge management and project management system that can be used by individuals or collaborative teams. Used by homeowners, students, companies and more, Notion has changed the game with its countless features and integrations. Since Notion 2.0's initial release in 2018, it has made significant and steady strides in producing and maintaining quality features, making it my favourite thing in the whole wide world.

Getting started

In order to get Notion up and running, the only thing you'll need is an email address. Once you enter some basic personal information, you will be asked what kind of plan you'd like. After that, Notion will launch and the onboarding process will start. What's more is that Notion also supply you with some commonly used templates and examples to help break the ice.

Synced Across All Platforms

Note that Notion can be used on your web browser or can be downloaded as an app for both mobile and desktop. Working across multiple platforms, users enjoy immediately synced content - no matter what device they're using.

What's great about Notion is that the visual integrity of your content is responsive across all devices. The interface and UX is alike across the board, including Android and iOS apps.

How do I use Notion?

Intro to Blocks

Notion's minimalistic design makes it a clear and quiet space for you to scribble down your ideas, organise your thoughts or even plan your day-to-day business operations. From to-do lists and journal entries, to sprint planning and company handbooks, Notion can do it all.

In order to understand how it all works, it is best to think of Lego building blocks. Each page or database that you create in Notion is similar to a single Lego block. You can keep building on top of a single block, or you can put a new block beside your first one and start building more on top of that.

What is a block?

“Everything in a Notion page is a block. And after you get the hang of using blocks, building and customizing pages gets easier because you have a whole new set of options at your fingertips. Once you've made blocks, organizing them on a page is as simple as dragging and dropping — to make custom workflows.”

- Notion HQ

There are a multitude of block types in Notion, and they are all accessible by typing '/'. Blocks are sorted into different categories such as Basic Blocks, Inline Blocks, Database Blocks, Media Blocks, and Embed Blocks. You can also access editing commands such as Turn Into, Actions, Colours and Backgrounds when you type '/'.

Here's a list of all current block types and commands available in Notion:

Basic Blocks

  1. Text
  2. Page
  3. To-do list
  4. Heading 1
  5. Heading 2
  6. Heading 3
  7. Table
  8. Bulleted list
  9. Numbered list
  10. Toggle list
  11. Quote
  12. Divider
  13. Link to Page
  14. Callout

Inline Blocks

  1. Mention a person
  2. Mention a page
  3. Date or reminder
  4. Emoji
  5. Inline equation

Database Blocks

  1. Table database - Inline or full page
  2. Board database - Inline or full page
  3. Gallery database - Inline or full page
  4. List database - Inline or full page
  5. Calendar database - Inline or full page
  6. Timeline database - Inline or full page
  7. Create a linked database

Media Blocks

  1. Image
  2. Web bookmark
  3. Video
  4. Audio
  5. Code
  6. File

Embed Blocks

  1. Standard embed
  2. Google Drive
  3. Tweet
  4. Github Gist
  5. Google Maps
  6. Figma
  7. Abstract
  8. Invision
  9. Framer
  10. Whimsical
  11. Miro
  12. Sketch
  13. Excalidraw
  14. PDF
  15. Loom
  16. Typeform
  17. CodePen
  18. Replit

Advanced Blocks

  1. Table of contents
  2. Block equation
  3. Template button
  4. Breadcrumb
  5. Synced Block

Turn Into

  1. Text
  2. Heading 1
  3. Heading 2
  4. Heading 3
  5. Page
  6. To-do list
  7. Bulleted list
  8. Numbered list
  9. Toggle list
  10. Code
  11. Quote
  12. Callout
  13. Block equation
  14. Synced block

Actions

  1. Delete
  2. Duplicate
  3. Copy link
  4. Move to
  5. Comment

Colours

Backgrounds

Due to the sheer crazy amount of blocks available in Notion, you can create 100% customisable and personalised management systems that work for you. This is the beauty of Notion.

Real-life examples of what you can build with Notion blocks

Notion can be used to organise every aspect of your life. Through a combination of blocks, you can create Dashboards to sort your chaos. Here are some examples of Dashboards:

Personal Dashboard

Work Dashboard

DnD Dashboard

Pricing Plans

Notion's pricing plan is very reasonable, and no matter what plan you start out with, you can easily change to another. Therefore, starting out with the free Personal Plan is always a good shout. However, if you're looking to share a workspace with other people, for example family members or colleagues, you should opt for the Team Plan.

What can I really use Notion for?

Here's a quick list of what you can actually use Notion for:

  • List making
  • Note taking
  • Creating road maps
  • Landing pages
  • Briefs
  • Design systems
  • Thesis planning
  • Resumes & CVs
  • Lesson plans
  • Syllabus creation
  • Grade calculations
  • Budget planning
  • Schedules
  • Creating a wiki
  • Guideline Book
  • HR onboarding
  • HR processes
  • Company handbooks
  • Contract proposals
  • Offers
  • Habit tracking
  • Journalling
  • Recipe lists
  • Personal finances
  • Calendars and reminders

Should I Get Notion?

Yes. The only way you're going to see how Notion can upgrade your life, is if you sign up and check it out.

Learn more about Notion

Sag Hallo
Heute ist ein wunderbarer Tag um den Grundstein für deine Traum-App zu legen. Findest du nicht auch?
Erzähl uns von deiner Idee
Servitengasse 10/14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
hello@digital-snacks.at+43 664 9188301