Beginner's Guide for Notion: Get Started in 2023

Notion is one of the most talked about apps out there. Maybe one of your friends or work colleagues has mention it to you and you're quietly Googling it now.

Let's go over the basics of what Notion is, what makes it special and why they might be using it for managing their productivity and daily planning.

What is Notion: The Basics?

Notion is a powerful all-in-one productivity and collaboration tool that allows individuals and teams to organise, manage, and share information in a flexible and customisable way.

It combines useful features like note-taking, task management, project planning, knowledge base creation, and more into a single no-code platform.

Notion has a visual and intuitive interface where users can create pages and subpages to organise their content. These pages can contain different types of elements, including text, tables, databases, calendars, files, images, code snippets, and embedded media. Users can customise the layout, design, and structure of their pages according to their needs.

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Notion

An all-in-one workspaces for notes, projects, tasks, documents & lots more.

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Explain Notion Even More Simply Please

Okay, that might be overwhelming for you.

Think of Notion as a software that allows you to build mini apps. A bit like Lego. You open a lego box and if you picked up the basic lego blocks, you can build anything. Like this, you could build a house, a car and maybe even a castle - this is like Notion.

Open Notion and you can learn the ways blocks and databases work and booom. You can build a project management database, or a habit tracker, or a pet food logger for the little dog you own. The options are totally endless with Notion meaning once you learn it, the power can expand onwards for you.

Practical Daily Uses for Notion

Notion has endless uses and possibilities, anyone can create a workflow inside notion to suit their individual or business needs. Here's some examples of practical daily uses of Notion for both teams and individuals:

• Personal Productivity - Notion is normally the one place to go for all productivity. You can use it, copying Notion's template gallery, for creating a calendar, notes and task list. The tool can be used for personal productivity as well as work below.
• Design Teams - Notion is a great place for design teams to store and share important information. Inside Notion you can create pages and wikis to explain different aspects of design within the business the team is working for. The team can also collaborate and share ideas here.
• Marketing Teams - Consolidate all your tools, wikis and projects into one space, perfect for marketing teams with different roles inside the business. Have everything you need in one place to keep everyone on track and connected.
• Writers - Notion is a great place for writers. You can create pages for planning, workspaces for different projects and pieces, and use some creativity in the meantime to keep creative juices flowing and burnout at bay.
• Journaling - Individuals use Notion for journaling, gratitudes, creating lists, brain dumps, focusing on goals and more. Its a really handy tools for using different pages and blocks to create exactly what you need to plan and journal.
• Project Management - Having a single place to plan, track and execute projects is really handy and time saving. Have the entire team working in one space and use databases, linked databases and specifically crafted pages to ensure all team members can stay on track and monitor their work.
• Content Planning - YouTubers often use Notion to help plan their content, followers, hashtags, and other details they need. You can find tons of YouTubers talking about their Notion templates they have created and customised to suit their needs, this is a great way to quickly get started too.

Special Features inside Notion

This wouldn't be a Notion user guide without covering a few of Notion's key features, the things that make Notion a great no-code app.

1. Pages

Notion's pages feature is at the core of its organisational power. Users can create and customise pages to structure and store any information they like. Pages act like containers for content, inside pages, you can add text, images, tables, files, links and more.

Overall, pages promote creativity, organisation and information management.

2. Blocks

Notion's blocks feature is a fundamental building block of its powerful platform.

Blocks in Notion are individual pieces of content that can be added to pages. This allows users to create and structure their information in a modular and flexible way. There are also so many different block types, for example, you can add headings, images, videos, lists, tables and more.

To customise further you can easily drag and drop Blocks to create a workflow suitable for your needs.

3. Databases

Notion's database feature is a powerful tool for organising and managing structured data within the platform.

Databases inside Notion allow users to create custom collections of information, with custom properties, filters and sorting. Users can define properties such as text, number, select, date, and more, allowing for consistent and organised data entry.

Notion's databases enable users to create relationships between different databases, providing a way to connect and link information across multiple pages and projects. Users can also leverage advanced filtering and sorting capabilities to quickly find and analyse data based on specific criteria.

4. Linked Databases

Notion's linked databases feature takes the power of databases to the next level by allowing users to establish connections and relationships between different databases.

With linked databases, users can create links between specific records in one database and records in another database.

This feature enables users to establish dependencies, associations, or references between related pieces of information. It provides a way to create a network of interconnected data, facilitating seamless navigation and cross-referencing within Notion.

How Much Does Notion Cost?

Notion has a few pricing options available to its users. This is subject to change.

• Free = Unlimited for individual use. You can get started and use Notion right away as a single user of the platform.
• Plus = $10 per month for small teams and groups to work together inside Notion.
• Business = $18 per month for larger companies using Notion to connect workspaces, teams and tools together. With this you get everything inside the Plus plan, plus extras.
• Enterprise = Request a trial or demo with this, and figure out a price to suit your enterprise.

Can Teams use Notion?

Yes, Notion is super popular with teams around San Francisco and literally around the globe. You can explore how this 90-person team uses Notion, remotely for workload.

Beginners Advice for Notion

When you first start using Notion it can seem very overwhelming. You have tons of blank space and no idea where to start. Here are some little top tips:

• Don't rush into it - It takes a lot of time and a lot of learning to get your head around Notion, so don't overwhelm yourself from the get-go. You can find some good Notion tutorials on Youtube and online to help get started.
• Dream up your workspaces - Think about what you want to use Notion for, and what workspaces you need. Sometimes people even draw this out to get a better idea before going in and creating a space.
• Use templates - Notion templates are the perfect way to get started with Notion. You can choose from a wide range of free simple templates to help you learn the ropes, or buy templates created by Notion experts.