Remember that out-of-the-blue burst of ideas you had last week while cooking dinner? Maybe you jotted them down on a piece of paper, in a notepad, or on one of your old bill envelopes.
Now, do you remember where it is? Or better yet, maybe you do know, but now it’s covered in mystery stains.
Feeling personally attacked myself here.
As a business professional, you’re likely bursting at the seams with thoughts, plans, content, etc. The problem is that notes app (not judging, everyone does it), random paper, or outdated tool you’re using isn’t doing you any favors.
Notion is a hub for all of your juicy projects, whether they’re still in the works or have already come to fruition.
This guide will not only show you the benefits of this digital workspace but also provide you with tips on how to use Notion for business. Let’s get started!
Some of the links on this site are affiliate links, meaning if you click through and make a purchase, I might earn a small commission—at no extra cost to you. I only recommend things I genuinely love (and think you’ll love). Your support helps keep the coffee flowing around here.
More Businesses Are Switching to Notion
Think about all of the facets of your biz that have to be dealt with on a daily basis–project management, SEO, social media, SWOT Analysis, budgeting, SOPs…The list goes on.
And as you can imagine (or are experiencing right now), trying to manage all of your tasks on different platforms can lead to major missteps in your business.
Notion’s goal is to simplify your life by condensing workflows for you and your team. Your goals, calendars, projects—all in one convenient tool. However, project management tools are only as good as their ability to fit how you work.
I use Notion to help me customize projects and task lists. It helps me condense all of my big and little ideas into a super simple setup (say that three times fast.) It also helps me track blog posts and assign projects to my little team.
Notion meshes with individuals, students, teachers, and creators of all types. And we loveeee an inclusive platform!
Let’s Look at the Features & Benefits of Notion
This project management software has an impressive array of features and benefits for professionals in various sectors, from IT to marketing. Features will vary depending on the product, but, in general, here are some with noting:
The features of Notion
Organization: Pages can be organized any time you want! To change the page structure, you can drag and drop your block anywhere on the page. Notion also doesn’t restrict the page’s structure, so you can customize it to your heart’s desire.
Collapsing arrows: Having tons of information on one page is overwhelming and eye-glazing. Notion uses collapsing arrows to hide the information you don’t want to see at a given time. You can expand them only when you want to see certain info.
Notion tables: These are some of the best features Notion has to offer (and one of my personal favorites.) Besides task names and detail columns, you can also set priority levels, status, due dates, and more. You can then filter the columns based on your needs!
Multiple views: Want more ways to see your project in action? No problem. With timeline, board, and calendar, you can see how tasks are related to each other.
Templates: Don’t feel like building your stuff? There are thousands of templates on Notion to get you started.
Now, on to the perks (from my perspective.)
The benefits of Notion
- Flexibility to build exactly what I want based on each space
- Free individual or affordable team plans (ex: $5/mo)
- Visually appealing—If Google Docs and Pinterest had a love child, it would be Notion
- Collaboration abilities (view, or edit, or as a template)
- Integrate with Google, Slack, Zapier, etc.
- Includes a handy iPhone App
Honestly, there are a lot more but if I had to choose, these would be my top!
How to Use Notion for Business
Don’t believe me? Let’s look at real-world feedback to help you decide if Notion might be a great fit.
The brain
I’ve heard many freelancers and industry professionals call Notion the “brain” of their biz. Bethan Vincent, founder of Open Velocity, uses Notion as his “brain and hub.”
“We use Notion as the brain and hub for our entire business, incorporating everything from our ATS processes to our sales CRM software. We also use Notion to track client projects, which we usually run using agile processes. This is where Notion’s features, such as kanban boards and product roadmaps views, are extremely useful.”
The all-purpose tool
Reddit user, synthestar, says:
“As a freelancer, I don’t know what I’d do without it.
As soon as a prospective client messages me, I fill out my job board on Notion with it. I then add the details and prio and what not. If I have some long-term personal project, it goes on there too. Same for tracking to-do lists on my website and another board for tracking my client outreach!
It does so much!”
How to Get Started with Notion
Despite how popular and promising Notion is, many potential users find it intimidating at first. With so many powerful tools and customization, it can seem a little confusing.
While I can’t cover everything in-depth here, I can give you a short beginner’s guide.
Create an account
Can’t use the software without an account!
Visit the site and tap or click “sign up.” You can use your Google account or an email address to create your account. Use whichever you prefer.
Login and familiarize yourself with the interface
Once you login, you’ll see the Notion interface, consisting of a sidebar, top navigation bar, and workspace area.
The sidebar is home to all of your pages and gives quick access to different workspace sections.
The workspace, or the most fun area, is where you create and organize your content, like tasks, notes, and databases.
The top navigation bar gives you access to different settings, search functionality, and account-related options.
Get familiar with these sections. Once you feel like you have it down pat, you can start going deeper.
Understanding Notion
Having a flexible structure, Notion is based on databases, pages, and blocks.
Use this as a resource if you get stuck:
Quick Tricks
/page
Create a new embedded sub-page in the current page
/div OR —
Create a divider line
/turn into
Change formatting of block
command+b | command+i | shift+command+h
Format text: bold, italicize, highlight
/emoji
Search for an emoji to place inline with text
/toggle
Create a toggle to hide or show content inside
Don’t feel like you have to navigate this tool all by yourself. There are wonderful resources on the web that will help you understand how to use Notion for business. YouTube is a fantastic place to start, especially if you’re a visual learner.
Notion Makes Project Management Easy
It’s time to stop relying on obsolete apps and tools to keep track of your business.
Reaching your full potential has never been easier than it is now. With Notion’s array of tools made specifically to help you and your team grow, you can officially breathe a sigh of sweet relief.
Click here to try Notion for FREE today!
