___Looking to Supercharge your Productivity with Notion? Join out next cohort at[Notion.Courses]()___ If you had to go surfing on a distant island, what surfboards would you bring? There are many variables to navigate: the conditions, wave sizes, your own skill level and even how much effort you’re willing to bring to the table. Many thousands of dollars later, __you’ve got your surf quiver__ – versatile and ready to grapple with whatever Mother Nature throws at you. But what about when it’s time to surf the digital tsunami that is everyday life. What is the right “quiver” of tools, apps and services that balances functionality, intuitiveness and joy? In a (literal) sea of tools, how can you __carve out__ __and commit__ to the right mix of task, knowledge and file management? And who’s [Notion](), this new kid in town? My productivity “quiver” consists of the following apps and services: * __Omnifocus:__ My to-do list, the ballast of my quiver. I’ve been using this [$100+_ app]() for over a decade and have [taught countless folks]() how to use it. * __Evernote:__ A place for my reading notes, web clippings and idea fragments. All of my posts, talks and products originate from seeds planted in this app. I credit Tiago Forte’s [Building A Second Brain]() for this comprehensive knowledge management system. * __Google Docs:__ Where I write (and analyze), especially if I need to work with collaborators. * __Dropbox:__ File systems are becoming less relevant, but you still need a place for those pesky PDFs. While I could save files in Evernote and/or Google Drive, Dropbox’s seamless integration makes it the de facto standard. This toolkit has been stable for a while, but _winter may be coming__.___ I’ve had flings with _Trello_ and _Quip_ (see ya later) and have been flirting with _Airtable_ (powerful, but overkill) and _Coda_ (Hey, I just met ya). But there’s a fresh face in town… and people are going googoo and gaga over it. ## Meet Notion, The New Kid on the Block ![Blog post image](/images/blog/nkotb.gif) Step by step [Notion]() is a likely candidate to replace Evernote as a Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) tool, but its versatility sets it up to do __a lot more.__ And pretty much anyone using it will gush about how the clean design makes it a true joy to use. Notion’s use cases are far and wide, covering [self-improvement systems](), [book notes](), [mini-blogs](), [corporate wikis](), and [personal finance trackers](). Here are a few of mine: ## But first, some first principles But before getting caught up with the _fling du jour_ , let’s be clear that adding a new tool into any workflow comes at a steep switching cost (in the form of migration, learning curves, and habit change). Thus, it’s imperative to have an objective criteria to assess the viability of any new candidate. Here’s the criteria I use: * __Capture speed:__ When a thought or idea strikes, the app better make it easy to capture it. * __Navigation:__ How easily can ideas be organized and accessed? * __Search:__ Once the notes scale, how easily can you uncover relevant notes? * __Integrations:__ Does the app play well in the sandbox with other apps and services. * __Collaboration:__ Can other folks enter your workflow? * __Creative “juju”:__ Seemingly amorphous, but simple – ___Does this app bring out the my most creative self?___ ## What makes Notion special? Let’s start with an all too common use case: writing up a detailed report for your team. You’d start with a collection of idea fragments, possibly expressed as a list of bullets and some web clippings. Pretty straight forward for a “flat” document. However, as you start adding structure (i.e. _headings_) and substance (_paragraphs_) the document can start to become unwieldy. The creator is confronted with two un-compelling options: a __really long document__ or a bunch smaller ones __loosely inter-connected with hyper-links.__ This is where both Google Docs and Evernote break down. In Google Docs, it becomes hard to bounce around a ten page document with just scrolling (although the [table of contents]() helps); in Evernote you don’t have connectivity besides _tags_ and _notebooks_. In my experience, this is where the percolation and unfurling of the creative process comes to a grinding halt. ### The Notion “Page” Below you’ll see this concept in action. Within a simple page, you can __preserve navigation__ with other pages and can __easily embed to-dos and files.__ ![Blog post image](/images/blog/image-2.png) And you can see from the Course Outline below, each _module_ began as a series of bullet points before turning into its own page. This is a __true gift from the heavens__ , when you’re trying to organize a large set of ideas. The ability to add both hierarchy and navigation with a few clicks is a game changer IMO. What are some of the other Rad Notion features? ### Clean embeds Ever tried to paste a link into a Google Doc? Yeah, that sad blue hyper-link is a buzzkill to your creative flow. Notion powerfully embeds and unfurls all types of hyperlinks including (but not limited) to PDFs, videos, tweets and other web pages. ### Toggle lists When you’re in idea generation mode, it’s super-helpful to bounce between __big ideas__ and __details__. The toggle list feature allows you to visualize these two modes of thinking: ### Command line processing As an F9-monkey (and former programmer) I relish the rapid ability to insert elements using just key strokes. Notion embraces the command-line more than any app I’ve ever used resulting in shortcut bliss! ### Crisp UX/UI Notion is a true joy to use from a UX perspective. The interface is clean and the attention to details and small finishes are magnificent. My favorite is the ability to add a banner image and emoji for every page, giving them the right splash of personality. ![Blog post image](/images/blog/ezgif.com-resize-1.gif) ### Tables and databases Think Google Sheets on steroids – tables with the ability to tag, insert files, and link amongst other tables – which creates powerful and customized workflows. This currently is a domain ruled by Airtable (and is probably overkill for most of us) and I’ll write more about this at a later date. ## So back to our framework I’m going to use a 1-5 star (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) framework for each of our criteria: ### __Capture speed ⭐️⭐️⭐️__ The app feels a bit laggy (I suspect because not much is stored locally). A giant “add” button would also increase input speed. ### __Navigation ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️__ The page system is incredible, especially for idea development and I’ve been using it __all the time__. Why not 5-stars? It’s hard to move large groups of pages (i.e. you’ll always miss a file-management system). ### __Search ⭐️⭐️__ In addition to be slow, there’s no advanced search capabilities (by sub-page, date, or attachments). ### __Integrations ⭐️__ The lack of IFTTT, Zapier, and Email connectivity is a huge drawback. (_Note: The company is definitely adding this in the near future.)_ The [web clipper]() is _meh_ and limited to only links (versus screen shots). ### __Collaboration ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️__ When you share a page, you’re effectively sharing an entire website – clean and easy to navigate. My early foray into the embedded chat and Slack integrations have been pretty smooth. ### __Creative “juju”__ ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ While unmeasurable, I (and many other Notion _aficionados_) feel this in our core. There’s something special here – that brings out some of your most creative instincts and impulses. The team at Notion is super-focused on its users and I’m excited to see where they take this product. ## You may also enjoy * [How to Track your personal finances in Notion]() * [How to remember more of what you read]() * [The Simple Secrets of Superconnectors (CRM)]() * [Public Wiki]() * [Reading Notes Database]() * [Super-charged To-Do List]() * [Personal CRM (with reminders)]() * [Pocket/Instapaper replacement]() * [Stock investing dashboard]() * [Coaching and consulting client interface]()