Notion has quickly become a go-to tool for productivity enthusiasts, taking the world by storm thanks to its versatility. Notion functions are not confined to just project management. It turns out that Notion can serve as an amazing platform for journaling, especially for beginners, and take the traditional journaling experience to a new dimension.
This detailed guide will help you set up your first Notion Journal, starting with the fundamental features, the initial set-up, and concluding with more advanced functionalities. This comprehensive guide is perfect for beginners, requiring no prior experience with Notion or any other type of digital journaling platform.
Being a beginner, you may find Notion’s interface a bit overwhelming initially. However, it is only about getting your bearings initially, then the possibilities are limitless. Creating a database is the first and one of the simplest tasks in Notion. To kickstart your journaling experience, go to your workspace, then click on “+ Add a page,” give it a name and choose a pretty icon for it. Click on “+ New page in,” choose “Table” (your safest bet for a daily journal), and this will create your first journal database.
Every journal entry is important, and you may want to easily track your thoughts. This can be done by creating unique properties for your journal entries. While in your table, a title property is auto-created for every new entry. You can create additional properties like date, tags, mood, or more depending on your preferences. To add properties, click on “+ Add a property,” give it a name and define its type.
One of the biggest advantages of Notion over traditional journals is its effortless customization. Structure your journal entries your own way. A basic aesthetic entry can include things like objective of the day, reading list, gratitude, affirmations and so on. You can also add images, videos, or links, thanks to Notion’s rich text support.
For avid readers, Notion provides the functionality to create a reading list in your journal. Click on “+ Add a property” and type “Books” or “Reading List.” Change the property type to “Multi-select” and add the names of books as you read them.
For gratitude journaling, add another “Text” type property and name it “Gratitude.” Every day, write down what you are grateful for, helping develop a deep appreciation for the little things in life.
One of the unique features of Notion is the use of templates. Templates in Notion can optimize the process of journaling by creating reusable structures for your entries. You can make a framework of questions or prompts, which you can simply fill in each day. To create a template, click on the down arrow icon next to “New” (on top of your journal database). Name it “Daily Entry” (or something else) and design your entry.
Arranging your entries in chronological order makes it even easier to browse through entries. Click on the three-dot menu icon on the Journal title bar and select “Sort.” Organize your entries by dates, in descending order for the latest entries to appear at the top.
Notion also gives the ability to apply filters on your database to show you only those entries that fit certain criteria. Click “Filter,” then “Add a filter.” Define rules according to your requirements and it will only display matching content. For example, you can filter for only those entries that contain a specific tag.
You can also create a mood tracker. To add one, create a “Single select” type property with options like Happy, Sad, Angry, Neutral etc. This way, you can see at a glance how your mood fluctuates over different periods giving you insights into what triggers specific moods.
Keeping up with a daily journaling habit can be challenging. Therefore, it can be helpful to create a habit tracker in Notion which will remind you to journal daily. For this, you can create a “Checkbox” type property named “Did I journal today?” Every day, after making an entry, you can check the box off.
To make your journaling experience seamless, you can integrate Notion with other tools like Google Calendar or Evernote. You can also use automation tools, like IFTTT or Zapier, to automatically create a new daily entry in your Notion Journal.
Although getting started with Notion can feel overwhelming due to its vast array of functionalities, once accustomed to it, you’ll enjoy a greatly enhanced journaling experience. Remember that Notion is designed to adapt to your needs, and you can customize it as you see fit. Essential features and functions mentioned above can help you begin your journaling journey with Notion. As you become more comfortable, you can further experiment with its expansive features, making Notion an essential part of your daily routine.
