If you're feeling overwhelmed by all the features and possibilities of Notion, you're not alone. Notion is an incredibly powerful tool that can be used for a variety of tasks, from managing a team to creating a personal wiki - but it's no surprise that it can be a bit intimidating at first. The good news is that Notion is quite simple, and this guide is designed to help overwhelmed beginners get started.

What I used Notion for?

I first began using Notion two years ago as a University student. Before that, I dabbled with Google Cal and wrote my notes in Word Docs. Notion allowed me to do all that in a centralised database and that was what stole the show.

The most common things I used Notion for are to:

Keep track of tasks & deadlines
Keep consistent with my goals
Plan for trips
Documenting (eg. school notes)
Brain dump

Creating your 1st Notion Page

Creating a page in Notion is simple. All you need to do is open the Notion app, click the "Create Page" button, and start typing. You can also quickly add different elements such as tables, images, and embedded content.

My biggest advice is to find a great template for a ‘Home’ Dashboard and work around it. This lets you understand the blocks & their uses that Notion has to offer.

If you decide to start from scratch or to customize an existing template, the Forward slash (/) is your best friend. Keying in ‘/’ will generate a list of commands including the to-do lists, Toggle lists and Calendar View.

Organizing Your Notion Pages

Once you have created some pages, you can start organizing them into a hierarchy. Notion allows you to create folders and subfolders, so you can easily group related pages together and make them easier to find. You can also add tags to pages so that you can quickly find them when you need them.

Once you have created some pages and organized them into a hierarchy, you can start exploring all the features Notion has to offer. Notion allows you to collaborate with others, search for content, and create automation rules. You can also customize your pages to make them look and function the way you want.

What I Wished I Knew in the Beginning

1. Figure out why and what I want to do for Notion

Quite honestly, I was really feeling lost and overwhelmed at the beginning and I wanted to give up. A great analogy would be having all these lego bricks and not knowing what I wanted to create.

An advice before you start building your pages is to figure out the reasons for the page and the objectives you’re looking to fulfil. A physical understanding will speed up the process.

2. Templates are your best friends

Working from scratch can be quite overwhelming. Luckily, there are free and affordable templates you can duplicate for your own dashboards. Notion has provided great templates like a simple budget tracker, reading list and habit tracker.

With all these features and possibilities, it's no wonder Notion can be a bit overwhelming for beginners. But with this guide, you can get started and soon be taking advantage of all that Notion has to offer.

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