Why I love Notion and How I Use It To Stay Organised
Notion came into my life in 2022 after I’d heard Holisticism rave about how amazing it is for staying organised as a creative business owner, especially for non-linear thinkers.*
*A non-linear thinker could mean neurodivergent, creative, or someone who tends to think differently from most people.
The reason I love and advocate for Notion as a tool for staying organised is its simplicity. I avoided tools like this for a long time for fear that they would be over-complicated and hard to actually use day to day, but Notion is simply amazing.
THE TOOLS I TRIED (AND DIDN’T LOVE):
Trello (7/10) - this was just far too simple for me - even though I love the minimalistic design and approaches for organising, this tool felt too restrictive
ClickUp (5/10) - I tried this on a recommendation from a peer and it was not for me. It is highly complex and complicated - making it great for big businesses and bigger teams, but for solopreneur me, it’s a no
Asana (6/10) - arguably the OG for project management - I used this for a few years right when I started out as a way to house client info and offer them access to a dashboard for me to share their work with them. It’s fine, but ultimately the user interface was boring and it felt convoluted
Airtable (4/10) - I don’t understand the hype. If your business is automation-heavy or needs to house complex funnels it’s great for you, but for the average small business owner, similar to ClickUp, it’s way too complicated
Notion is an online tool for project management, organising, content creation, goal setting, and just generally organising your life and business. You can use it natively within it’s URL or you can download the app direct to your device - which is what I do.
I use it for my own business, my side business At Dawn, and for my client work.
Here’s how I use my Notion:
1. TO HOUSE MY BUSINESS, BRAND, AND OFFERS
I have a template - you can buy it here - called the Aligned Business Planner. I use it as the basis for all my work, and it’s the place I check in to every day before I do any other tasks. You can see a snippet in the image above, but essentially it houses 6 main areas:
Home Board - An aesthetically pleasing home front cover for your work. You can set monthly intentions and think about key projects and tasks for the month ahead.
Vision / Mood / Vibes - this is a space for me to visually map out my goals and creative ideas for the coming season. I use this space to add images, create mood boards, and bring to life any creative visions for my business.
Brand Hub - I keep all my brand elements and documents in here for easy access. Colour codes, logos, and images, along with messaging documents, customer profiles, mission statements, and anything that makes up the details of my brand. (Need help uncovering your brand? Check out Brand Foundations Course here)
Offer Suite - I love a spreadsheet, but only when it’s functional and aesthetic. In this section, I have a clear sheet to lay out all the info about any current products and offers I’m selling or creating. It’s a really good birds eye view of my current offer suite.
Planning Hub - I like having a dedicated space to plan out all my ideas and goals, without overwhelming myself. This area keeps a hold on my revolving to-do list and makes it easy to check in on my progress.
Journalling - Writing and reflecting on my week and month past always helps me set new intentions. I like to have a dedicated area for this in my Notion dash.
2. TO PLAN OUT MARKETING MATERIALS
I recently left Instagram, so the majority of my content now revolves around blogging, SEO, newsletters, and Pinterest. I write down all my ideas and plans for creating content within this space.
I believe your content and ability to speak in a connected way to your audience is what helps you sell. When you can build a content-rich space that helps your customers know they’re in the right place, it takes a lot of pressure off with regard to selling. Your content has the ability to speak deeply to your audience, especially in long-form content like blogs.
When I’m planning my content, I tend to work in seasons and I also link all my marketing back to whatever I’m selling. So whether it’s updating my content pillars, or writing out new blog ideas, I can do this all in Notion.
3. TO CREATE TEMPLATES AS PASSIVE INCOME
Passive income simply means to create a product once and sell it an infinate number of times. Because your time isn’t equaling money, it becomes passive income. You earn money without doing anything.
You still need to set everything up, and potentially pay monthly subscriptions for platforms and tech etc. but in essence, once something is passive, it is truly passive.
I sell lots of passive products every year - from templates to courses. And my most recent Notion template: Aligned Business Planner - has been doing really well.
Creating a space on Notion to turn into a template and sell is relatively simple. It requires some tech knowledge and an understanding of how to use Notion. You also need to know how to set up your email automations and payment systems, but it can be a great source of extra income.
So there you go, the ways in which I use Notion to stay organised. It’s a simple, achievable approach anyone can use - and the best part about it is that Notion is free! You can upgrade to a paid version, but I find the free one to be more than adequate for my needs.
I hope you enjoyed reading this - if you have questions about Notion or the Aligned Business Planner let me know in the comments or drop me an email here.
Em xo
