Notion Platform

If you ask anyone who has talked to me recently, you know that my current favorite productivity platform is Notion. I use it to plan my semester (template and deeper explanation here) and started a Notion series on my Design section here.  For me, the platform has enough tailoring to suit my needs where I an use it as a landing page for links, articles, even syllabi, while also being pretty.

CAPABILITIES
Part of what I love about Notion is how many things you can do in it. Essentially, the platform is about pages being built within pages - kind of like hyperlinks everywhere. But in that, you can format pages to be tables, data bases, even things like kanboards (so think of Trello) or gantt charts. I figure I could go on about this more, but it might be easier to just check out their introduction page here or their video : 

TAILORING (TO ACADEMIA)
One of the other/second parts I love about Notion is how I can tailor it for me. In that, what I mean is I'm able to use the database function to create deadines and project trackers given that some of my research projects result in 1 manuscript; others result in 3 or even 4 in the works. I'm able to link these databases together through the function "relation" and "rollup" (learn more here). 

Likewise, I'm able to use things like "filter" to help figure out upcoming conferences (which I log here), and through it, can figure out which ones I'm applying for this year, next year, etc. I also use this for keeping track of internal and external funding opportunities. Sometimes in academia, you'll come across an opportunity for which you aren't eligible now but will be in the future (e.g., needing to be a Ph.D. candidate or post-tenure), so I'm able to track those in a database and filter them out when needed. AND, here's a running list I've created (from my Notion page).

COMMUNITY-DRIVEN
The third thing I love about Notion is how community-driven it is. Much in the same ways that I make templates to share, other users also create tons and tons of templates and share ideas. So, if you're wondering what a page to keep track of your literature review might look like, you'll find template, after template, after template for different options. I've found templates for budgets, reading lists, recipes, and even travel lists for things to check out by city. I love that the platform allows for this type of resource sharing and community. 

OTHER NOTES
If you have a .edu account, Notion's Pro Plan is free, which means you have unlimited "pages." Beyond that, I'm looking forward to hearing how you use Notion, and feel free to comment below with templates you particularly like. I'll post some as well, as well as the ones I'm creating now—stay tuned!