Hey friend,

A few of weeks ago, I hopped on a call with a business consultant—let’s call him Alex—who was struggling with his Notion workspace.

It’s never quite worked for him, exactly the way he likes.

But he did everything you’d expect.

He signed up for a few popular Notion online courses to learn the in’s and out’s of Notion.

He downloaded every “ultimate” Notion template.

He spent hours tinkering these templates to make it “his”, only to abandon it in frustration.

Sound familiar?

During the call, he shared his frustration with his scattered note-taking system—scraps of notes on paper, Apple Notes, Google Docs and even Notion.

As a small business co-owner, he was feeling overwhelmed trying to juggle dozens of personal and work projects, and all the information that came along with that (without a simple and effective central system to manage it all).

The bottom line:

He felt stuck with a cobbled-together Notion setup that’s complex and overwhelming to use.

He was wasting more than saving using Notion.

But he knew the huge potential of Notion to help him:

• Save time.

• Optimise his productivity workflows.

• Organise his projects and information.

• Regain control over his time and workload.

If he could make it work, the way he wants it to.

Here’s the hard truth…

A Notion template, no matter how beautiful or “plug-and-play”, won’t magically solve productivity, organisation and time management struggles, if it’s not designed around your workflows.

The big mistake I see?

Trying to shoehorn your way of working into a cookie-cutter Notion template.

Instead of crafting a bespoke flexible system that focuses on your priorities, problems and processes.

Unfortunately, most of the time, copying someone else’s system without truly adjusting it to how your brain works leads to failure.

For busy consultants like Alex, it’s really important to craft systems that prioritise:

• Fast information retrieval, when he needs it.

• Quick and easy capture of new tasks, ideas, notes etc.

• An organisation system that’s low effort and low friction to maintain.

That’s when Notion helps you become more productive with your time, focus and energy.

Saving you hours each week.

Helping you regain the peace of mind you deserve when you clock off from work.

The 7 Notion starter-systems for consultants like Alex

So what should you do instead of downloading the next “perfect” Notion template?

After listening to Alex’s problems and goals with using Notion, I recommended simplifying his Notion setup to these 7 starter-systems:

• Task tracking system.

• Project management hub.

• Knowledge hub for articles, resources, videos, linked to his projects.

• Quick capture system for tasks, project, new knowledge, notes, ideas etc.

• Ideation and notetaking system, linked to his project and knowledge hubs.

• A processing hub and a simple 5-minute weekly routine to keep his Notion setup organised with little effort.

• Multi-scale planning and review system to help him ensure his daily actions aligns with his long term goals and vision.

(Want to save time and get help implementing these in Notion? Learn more about my private strategy sessions or my done-for-you custom Notion build service.)

4 more essential elements for building the right Notion setup

1. Get clarity on what’s working and what’s not in Notion

If someone has poor productivity practices and workflows, using a new tool will amplify the problem, unless we get to the bottom of what and why it’s not working.

Then building streamlined workflows that are works for Alex and are enjoyable to use is key to a successful implementation of a new system.

2. Build workflows and process that flows with your day-to-day

That includes designing the layout of a page, dashboard and database that works for Alex.

From where the quick capture button sits.

To how Alex would schedule his weekly tasks when making his weekly plans.

The beauty of Notion is that you can personalise the systems so it works exactly the way you like it to.

3. Focus on purposeful simple workflows, not complex time consuming processes

Recurring templates, complex formulas, Notion automation and many other features in Notion are fantastic.

But you only need to master the core 20% of Notion to use it effectively for productivity and organisation.

Only add more complexity to your systems if it’s going to help solve a specific problem.

Not because it’s nice to have or sounds good.

4. Get direct guidance and training on how to use the Notion Setup is a must-have if you want a system fast

Breaking old habits and adopt newer and better ways of working without some support is tough.

Getting proper training and coaching on how to use the new setup so you fully adopt Notion in managing life and business is a must have, not a nice to have.

So that Notion doesn’t become another tool that wastes your time and money.

The bottom line

Instead of forcing yourself into someone else’s cookie-cutter template, design your systems around your natural way of working.

If you’re short on time or frustrated with the lack of progress in building your own Notion setup…

Get some help to craft the right Notion setup that work for you.

It’s the fastest path to organisation, productivity and peace of mind.

That’s it!

Just one more thing.

What’s one challenge you’re facing right now with getting organised in Notion?

Reply with your situation and I’ll be happy to give you some specific recommendations (like I did for Alex).

Have a great weekend!

Janice

(Ps. If you’re ready to get a Notion setup that works for you—get started by booking a free consultation)

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