Notion is where you can keep everything—contacts, important events, goals, projects, tasks, every part of your life. But until when is it really worth it?

If you regularly use Notion, you've probably noticed how great it is for boosting productivity and organizing different parts of your life, whether it's personal tasks or work projects. Notion is super versatile, but it's important to find the right balance to avoid making it too complicated.

It's easy to want to store everything in Notion—contacts, events, and all your life's details—but it's important to think about how much time you're spending updating it every day. Notion is great for managing projects and tasks, but don't overcomplicate your setup. If it takes you five minutes just to find the right place to add a quick reminder, and then you forget where you saved it because your Notion is too cluttered, it's time to simplify things.

It's important to distinguish between making Notion more advanced and making it complicated. Customize Notion to fit your needs, but avoid overcomplicating your workflow. After all, you don't want managing the tool itself to become a chore, right?

The key to using Notion effectively is balancing consistency with simplicity. If your setup is overloaded with too many tags, tables, and links, it can slow you down and hurt your productivity. Be honest with yourself and regularly review how you’re using Notion. If it’s becoming a hassle, it’s time to simplify. Yes, Notion is powerful, but it shouldn’t be your only tool for managing your life.

I've put together some tips for using Notion effectively, making it both advanced and easy, so you can benefit from it without being bogged down by constant updates.

Keep it minimal

When setting up your Notion, start with the essentials. Don't get too caught up in creating fancy templates and elaborate databases right away. Instead, focus on the most important parts of your life that you want to organize and manage through Notion.

Think about your goals and priorities – what do you want to achieve by using Notion? This will help you determine which features are essential for your setup. Start with just a handful of categories or pages, and add more as needed. Keeping things simple from the beginning will make it easier to maintain and use in the long run.

Keeping things minimal means you can collect all types of data, but not everything is useful. If you have to fill out a long list of fields every time you add a new record, it can be time-consuming and exhausting. Focus on what's necessary, and keep your approach simple.

Avoid redundant data

It can be tempting to create separate databases for every part of your life, but that can get overwhelming fast. If you’re using another app as a task manager that works well, there’s no need to duplicate it in Notion. Instead, use Notion for what it’s best at—bringing all your important information together, not rebuilding everything from scratch.

You can also integrate other tools into Notion for a smoother workflow. This way, you can access everything you need without constantly switching between apps. Keep it streamlined and avoid redundant information.

Be flexible

Notion is a powerful tool, but that doesn’t mean you need to use every feature or function. Be open to experimenting with different layouts, databases, and templates until you find what works best for you.

Your needs and goals may change over time, so don't be afraid to adjust your setup accordingly. Don't feel like you have to stick to one specific way of using Notion – adapt it to fit your evolving needs and preferences.

Keep it organized

As with any organization system, consistency is key in Notion. Decide on a naming convention and stick to it throughout your setup. This will make it easier to find what you need and maintain order within your databases.

You can also use tags, filters, and cross-linking to connect related information and keep things organized.

Regularly declutter and archive outdated or unnecessary information to keep your Notion workspace clean and efficient.

Set a maintenance schedule

Instead of reorganising and refacing your Notion every time you complete a task or have a new idea, set specific times for this. Perhaps at the start or end of the day, dedicate 10–15 minutes to update your tasks, notes, and projects. This way, Notion doesn’t become a time sink and stays a useful tool rather than a distraction.

Having a maintenance schedule also helps you stay on top of your tasks and projects. You can review and prioritize your to-do list, add new ideas or tasks, and make any necessary changes. This will keep your Notion organized and up-to-date without overwhelming you.

Don’t get lost in aesthetics

Customizing Notion's look with icons, headers, and colors is a fun way to make your workspace feel uniquely yours, but remember to keep things balanced. If you're spending more time tweaking the aesthetics than actually using Notion, you might be missing the point.

A clean and functional workspace is often more effective than one that's just visually appealing but overly complex. The main goal should be to focus on the content and functionality of Notion. A well-organized system can really boost productivity and help you get the most out of the platform.