Notion: an overview of the capabilities of a universal tool for organising information

How Notion came to be

The startup Notion Labs Inc. was founded in 2013 in the United States by young entrepreneurs Ivan Zhao and Simon Loud. The idea to create a product like Notion arose from their desire to combine the best elements of notes, tasks, databases, and project management in one app. They noticed that there were many different tools for each of these tasks, but none of them combined all of these features in a convenient and flexible way. And in 2016, after Notion was published on the Product Hunt app search site, it became the most popular Silicon Valley startup in just a few weeks.

In 2018, Notion made a major breakthrough, becoming popular among technical users and beginning to attract a wider audience. At this time, the company released a large number of new features, including the ability to create blocks, embed tables and databases.

Throughout 2019-2020, Notion's functionality was actively developed. At that time, Notion became popular among freelancers, start-ups and small businesses, as well as among people who wanted to organise their personal information.

By 2021, Notion was already being used by about a million people worldwide. The app became the main tool for managing personal projects and tasks, as well as for teamwork. At this stage, Notion began to integrate with other popular platforms and programmes, such as Google Calendar and Slack, which made it even more useful for individual and collaborative use.

Today, Notion is one of the most popular tools for organising information, suitable for personal, educational, professional, and team tasks.

Advantages of Notion as a digital tool

Notion brings all your notes, tasks, projects, shopping lists, and even your plans for the year together in one place. And not in the form of a pile of chaotic pieces of paper or numerous browser tabs, but as a clear and convenient system that you can customise to suit your needs. That's what Notion is — a digital space that flexibly adapts to your lifestyle and work style. Everything is in its place, and you decide what your ideal order looks like.

This online builder can store absolutely everything — from your dinner shopping list to business ideas: organise tasks, plan trips, create projects and, ultimately, bring order to your mind, where chaos may currently reign.

• Block structure

  In Notion, everything works like a construction set, where each element is a separate block: text, headings, to-do lists, images, tables or files. You can move these blocks around, change them or even insert one into another — i.e. absolutely any part can be edited as you wish. Just imagine creating your ideal workspace, where there are no limitations — only your imagination.

• Unlimited number of pages

  In a regular notebook, space is always limited, but in Notion, you have no such limitations. You can create as many pages as you want and switch between them instantly. What's more, you can nest one page inside another, giving you even more options for organisation. This is ideal if you need to separate your personal affairs, work, studies or hobbies. This structure makes it easy to stay organised without wasting time searching for the information you need.

• Easy start

  To avoid confusion at the beginning, we recommend creating a few basic pages: «Tasks», «Projects», «Notes», and «Archive». These steps will be enough in the first stage to get used to the interface. Once you feel confident, you can always add new pages and customise them to suit your needs.

• Ready-made templates

  Notion offers hundreds of free templates that can be easily adapted to your needs. These are ready-made pages with customised lists, calendars, statuses, tags, and explanations. They are ideal for those who want to save time and not start from scratch.
  
  

  Popular templates include habit tracker, idea database, travel planner, content calendar, wish list, and many others. Each template is a ready-made page that you add to your Notion and then customize to suit your needs by removing unnecessary elements, changing colours, or adding new elements.
  
  

• Organised system

  Notion allows you to create a structure that suits you, not one that suits everyone else. You can have everything on one page, or you can have dozens of categories and nested sections. Here, you don't adapt to the system; the system adapts to you. Just open Notion, where everything is clear: one page is for work, another is for home, and another is for holiday plans.

And importantly, it's free. Notion offers a basic plan with unlimited pages, blocks and space, as well as the ability to save files, insert videos and embed Google spreadsheets. More extensive functionality is available in paid plans, but beginners working individually won't need it.

Useful Notion features for business

Notion is not just a builder, but your reliable assistant in planning, organising, and collaborating. Imagine a simple and convenient platform where you can take notes, create tables, plan projects, and even work with your team in real time.

Here's why you should try Notion:

1. Easy and convenient creation of materials and content management.

   Notion allows you to create notes, lists, and other materials from scratch or based on ready-made templates. You can work with any type of information, whether it's text, images, videos, or tables. All of this is arranged in a convenient block system: you can move elements, edit them, and even change the formatting with a single click. This way, you can create your own templates with a unique structure for databases or pages. You can even earn money from their sales by offering them to a large audience on marketplaces.

2. Collaborative work and synchronisation.

   Notion is ideal for teamwork. Here you can create documents, edit them simultaneously with colleagues and discuss the process. The same tables, tasks, and notes that you create can be instantly shared and worked on together — everything is synchronised in real time. This is ideal for remote teams or projects with a large number of participants.

3. Block editing system.

   What makes Notion unique is its block system. Each element in a document is a separate block, whether it's text, a list, a table, an image, or a video. This makes it easy to quickly change the structure of your page. Simply drag and drop blocks and change their type — for example, turn a list into a table or text into a quote.

4. Tasks and project management.

   Notion allows you not only to create tasks, but also to organise them efficiently. A to-do list is suitable for simple tasks, while kanban boards, similar to the popular Trello, are ideal for more complex projects. This is the perfect tool for tracking task progress, planning deadlines, and monitoring project stages. With roadmaps and calendars, you can build a comprehensive strategy for your project's development.
   
   

5. Creating knowledge bases.

   You can create your own knowledge bases where you can collect important information, links, and materials. Create one main page, add other pages to it, and easily link between them. This is convenient for maintaining reference documentation or an archive for your team.

6. Flexibility in working with tables.

   Notion allows you to create tables that can be used to manage data or simply to organise information conveniently. Although these tables do not have all the features of Excel, they are perfect for performing simple tasks, such as planning a budget or tracking progress.

7. Import and export files.

   Even if you work with tables in Excel or other applications, Notion allows you to import and export these files without any problems. For example, you can easily insert a table from Excel into Notion or import from Notion into other programmes, which is very convenient when working with different data formats.

Notion is a versatile tool for creating notes, organising projects, and collaborating with others. If you need a simple yet powerful service for organising ideas, data, and tasks, Notion will be your best assistant.

What Notion is for and who it is suitable for

The Notion digital space is suitable for various areas of activity:

• Work.

  Notion has long been an indispensable tool for many professionals. Designers, programmers, marketers, editors — everyone finds it useful for organising their work. It is an excellent replacement for corporate portals, especially for freelancers or teams working remotely. With its help, you can organise projects, create task lists, plan social media posts, save important files, and coordinate teamwork, even if everyone is located in different parts of the world.
  
  

• Education.

  Notion is a real lifesaver for students and teachers. Teachers can create tasks, add teaching materials, and students can save notes, lesson summaries, and plans. Everything is conveniently organised in one place. For schoolchildren, it is the perfect tool for creating tables, weekly plans, or saving ideas for projects.
  
  

• Personal affairs.

  Want to keep everything under control? Notion is your personal organiser. With it, you can create pages for finances, keep track of your family budget, plan trips or renovations. You can organise your to-do list for the day, week or month, record your workouts, keep a food diary, and add ideas for holidays or other important events.
  
  

How to use Notion

The Notion platform can be used in several ways:

1. Via a browser.

   The programme allows you to work online via a browser.

2. On a PC.

   A desktop version is also available for download (for both Mac and Windows).

3. On a smartphone.

   Notion for iPhone can be downloaded from the App Store, and Notion for Android can be downloaded from the Play Market.

Choose the option that suits you best and use the service to your advantage. Thanks to its simple interface, this planning programme is suitable for almost any user.