Notion is a great all-in-one workspace. The developers have created an app that gives us users the power to create a tool to suit our needs. Notion can be a simple text editor, a database, or an all-encompassing second brain where you store and organize your thoughts. The ideas are endless!
With that said, let’s dive into why Notion is a great note-taking app and how you can get started.
Why Should You Use Notion For Note Taking
Currently an Obsidian or Apple Notes user? If you’re looking for a new note-taking app, Notion should definitely be in contention.
Not only does Notion support Markdown shortcuts (shortcuts to format text), each notes page you create can be enriched with blocks. Instead of having walls of text in your notes, import inspiration from images, videos, or web clippings.
Staying Organised
Notion makes it very easy to organize your notes into “folders” and share them with others. By creating a database of notes, you can add properties and tags to each of your notes. This will enable you to create lists, sort and filter by topic, and add deadlines.
Additionally, Notion also plays well with other productivity apps like Google Drive and Evernote. This will allow you to create an ecosystem where you can store all your information. Like a second brain 🧠!
Interesting read – Auto Change Tag Based On Another Notion Database Property
Notion Web Clipper
Notion has also developed a Chrome addon that allows you to save any webpage to your Notion database. It’s as simple as saving it with one click.
This tool is an immense time saver and you can also treat it as a “read later” app. Once you’ve clipped and stored the page, you can then make your own summary of the article or save it for future reference on other projects and ideas.
You can download Notion Web Clipper here.
Progressive Summarization
Notion makes it easy to capture notes and information from a variety of sources. However, the value is when we summarize all that information and make use of it when we’re connecting various topics.
Tiago Forte summarizes this in his 4-stage process for knowledge management, known as CODE:
- Capture: Saving information from various data sources like webpages, social media, YouTube, podcasts, etc
- Organize: Summarizing and filing away this data and information for recall at a later point
- Distill: Synthesize information from various sources to help you support your ideas
- Express: Taking all the above and applying your own critical thinking and ideas to produce an output
Again, the Notion databases can be spliced and diced in a way that helps you make all these connections.
Related article – Supercharge Notion With Instapaper And Readwise
How To Use Notion To Take Notes
When you first load up Notion, you’re presented with a clean and simple interface that looks like any other text editor. You can get started by clicking on the “New Page” button on the bottom left of the screen and away you go.
You can stop there and just create pages for your notes, but why not take advantage of the customization options and create an interface that suits your needs? Check out Notion Foundations if you’d like to take your Notion experience to the next level.
Use A Database To Store Your Notes
One of Notion’s most powerful features is the highly customizable database properties which allow you to organize, sort, and filter your database in multiple ways.
By assigning properties to each of your notes, it allows you to quickly search, sort, or filter for specific information that you need. What’s the point of taking all your notes if it’s going to take you forever to find them?
If you’re new to Notion, check out this Introduction To Databases which will explain how to use a database. This will be very helpful in organizing, tagging, and viewing your Notion note pages.
Thanks for reading and I hope you found this helpful!
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