Notion Tips and Tricks Every Beginner Should

• Know So you’ve heard about Notion and decided to give it a try – great choice!
• Notion is a fantastic tool, but it can feel a bit overwhelming for beginners because it’s so flexible.
• Fear not: in this guide, we’ll share the essential tips and tricks every Notion beginner should know.

Know So you’ve heard about Notion and decided to give it a try – great choice! Notion is a fantastic tool, but it can feel a bit overwhelming for beginners because it’s so flexible. Fear not: in this guide, we’ll share the essential tips and tricks every Notion beginner should know. These pointers will help you get comfortable with the interface, avoid common pitfalls, and start using Notion more efficiently from day one. Think of this as the “Notion newbie survival kit.” Let’s get started with some fundamentals and then move to specific tips.

Notion Basics in a Nutshell

Before diving into tricks, let’s cover a couple of basics about how Notion works: Everything is a Page or a Block: In Notion, your workspace is made of pages, and each page is composed of blocks. A block can be a paragraph of text, an image, a checklist item, a table row, etc. Literally “everything is a block” that you can move around . Understanding this concept is key. It means you can drag and drop content easily. Want to turn a paragraph into a to-do item? You can – just by changing the block type or adding [].

Want to nest content? Use indents or toggle blocks. Each block has a handle (six-dot icon on hover) that you can grab to drag the block up or down to reorder content. Pages within Pages: Notion pages can be nested inside other pages (like sub-pages in a folder). You can create a new page anywhere, which allows you to structure your notes hierarchically. For example, you might have a main page “Project X” and inside it separate pages for “Meeting Notes” and “Research Ideas”.

This nesting is powerful but also something to keep an eye on – as a beginner , try not to lose track of where you create pages. (Tip: the breadcrumb at the top of a page shows its location in your workspace.) Databases for Structured Info: Notion has databases (tables, boards, etc.) which are essentially collections of pages with similar properties.

If you’re brand new, you might not use databases heavily yet, but just know that a to-do list, a kanban board, or a calendar in Notion is usually a specialized database. For simple note-taking, you don’t need to start with databases – regular pages and lists might suffice. As you grow, you can explore them. Now, with those basics clear , let’s jump into the tips and tricks.

Essential Tips and Tricks for Notion Beginners

These tips will help you work smarter in Notion and avoid some newbie mistakes. We’ll break them down into bite-sized pieces:

1. Use Templates to Kickstart Your Pages

When you create a new page in Notion, you don’t have to start from scratch. Notion provides a Template Gallery with pre-made pages for common use cases (like class notes, habit tracker , to-do list, project roadmap, etc.). As a beginner , exploring templates is incredibly helpful to see how an effective Notion page is set up. For example, if you want a meeting notes page, use the meeting notes template – it will come with a nice format (Agenda, Discussion, Action Items) you can fill in.

To use a template, click on “Templates” in the sidebar or when you create a new page, and browse or search for something relevant. You can also create your own templates within databases. Let’s say you have a database for “Weekly Agenda” and every week you want the same structure – create a template for a new week page. It could include sections like “Top Priorities, Tasks, Notes” ready to go. This saves you time and ensures consistency week after week .

1. Embrace the Drag-and-Drop Organization

Rearrange with ease: One of the joys of Notion is how easily you can reorganize content. Every block (text, image, list item, etc.) can be dragged to a new spot. Hover to the left of any block to grab the handle (six dots) and then drag. This beats cutting and pasting text like in a traditional doc. If your list of to-dos has a new priority order , just drag items up or down. If a paragraph would make more sense in another section – drag it there. Don’t be afraid to restructure; Notion makes it fluid.

You can even drag pages in the sidebar to reorder them or nest them. Grab a page in the left sidebar and move it under another page to make it a sub-page (you’ll see it indent). This is how you build a hierarchy of pages for organization. Tip: Use toggles or headings to group content, then you can drag entire sections easily. For example, you might have a toggle list named “2025 Goals” containing several bullets. You can drag that toggle as one unit to move the whole section.

1. Utilize Headings, Toggles, and Dividers for Structure

A plain wall of text can become hard to navigate. Notion gives you tools to structure your pages visually: - Headings (H1, H2, H3): Just like in a Word doc or an outline, use headings to break content into sections. In Notion, you have three levels of headings. Use # for Heading 1, ## for Heading 2, ### for Heading 3 (or select from the toolbar). This creates a hierarchy and helps you (and anyone you share the page with) scan and understand the page structure .

For example, on a project page, “Overview” might be H2, and “Background, Timeline, Deliverables” could be H3 under it. Toggle Lists: A toggle list is a block that hides content under a collapsible arrow. Toggles are fantastic for hiding details that you don’t need to see all the time. As a beginner , try using toggles to hide long reference info or answers to questions (some students use toggles to quiz themselves: question on the toggle title, answer inside). It keeps pages cleaner and less overwhelming .

You could have a page of FAQs for a project with each Q/A as a toggle list. Dividers and Emojis: A simple trick to make sections stand out is adding a divider line ( ---) or using emojis in headings. For instance, a heading like “ Key Points” or “ To-Do Today” instantly catches the eye and adds personality. Dividers are great to visually separate content without creating a whole new page. Use them to break long pages into digestible parts.

By combining headings, toggles, and dividers, you’ll transform a chaotic page into a well-organized document. It’s much easier to navigate (plus, on the desktop app, you can hover the page title and click “Open Outline” to see a quick outline of all headings on the page).

1. Master the Quick Add and Editing Features

Here are some small-but-mighty tricks for faster editing in Notion: - Slash Commands: Typing / in Notion brings up a menu of everything you can do. Instead of clicking toolbar buttons, try /todo (for a checkbox23 2425

list), /h1 (for a heading1), /table (to insert a table), etc. As you type after the slash, it filters options. This is a super speed booster once you remember a few commands. Markdown Shortcuts: Notion supports many markdown-style shortcuts. For example, type - then space to start a bullet list, type [] then space to get a checkbox, type > for a quote block, or 1. to start a numbered list. You can make text bold by selecting and hitting Ctrl/Cmd+B or using ** on either side.

These little shortcuts make formatting quick once you get used to them. @ Mentions and Dates: If you type @today it will insert today’s date. Or @Tomorrow etc. You can mention a date this way, and even set reminders by typing @remind . Also, you can mention other pages or people using @. For instance, @Meeting Notes could link directly to a page titled “Meeting Notes”. This is handy for cross-linking pages so you can reference info without duplicating it.

Edit and Move Blocks with Keyboard: When a block is selected (click the six-dot or on the left of a block to select it), you can use keyboard shortcuts to move it. Press Ctrl/Cmd+Shift+Arrow Up/ Down to move the block up or down. Press Ctrl/Cmd+/ to bring up an edit menu for the block (to turn it into something else, like turn a paragraph into a toggle). These are optional advanced shortcuts, but even knowing they exist is helpful for later .

1. Keep Your Sidebar and Home Page Tidy

The sidebar is your navigation hub. In the beginning, you might have just a few pages, but soon it can get crowded. Here’s how to keep it manageable: - Favorites: You can favorite pages (click the star at the top of an open page) and they’ll show under “Favorites” in the sidebar . Use this for pages you access daily, like your “Home” page or main projects. That way, they’re one click away regardless of where they are in your workspace.

Toggle Closed Sections: The sidebar shows top-level pages and toggles open to show sub-pages. If you have a section with many pages, consider toggling it closed (click the little triangle next to the page in the sidebar) so it doesn’t clutter the view. For example, you might have a page “Archive” with dozens of old pages inside – keep that toggled closed. Home/Dashboard Page: It’s a good idea to create a “Home” page that serves as an index of your stuff.

On your home page, put links or navigational elements to your key pages. As a beginner , your Home could simply be a list of links: e.g., “ Notes, To-Do List, Projects, 🗒 Journal”. This helps because instead of hunting in the sidebar , you go to Home and click through. You can link to pages by typing [[ and the page name, or using @mention of the page. Archive or Delete Unneeded Pages: When you’re experimenting, you might create test pages or duplicate things.

It’s fine to delete those once you know you don’t need them (right-click page -> Delete, or move them into an “Archive” section for safekeeping). Keeping your workspace lean will make it less overwhelming. Remember , Notion has a trash for pages too, so if you delete something by accident, you can retrieve it within 30 days.

1. Leverage Notion Web Clipper and Attachments

One nifty tool for beginners (and everyone) is the Notion Web Clipper . It’s a browser extension (official from Notion) that lets you save web pages to your Notion workspace with a couple clicks. If you find an interesting article or a recipe, click the Notion Web Clipper , choose your workspace and a destination page or database (maybe have a “Reading List” page set up for this), and clip it. Notion will create a page with the URL and content of that article.

This is much better than bookmarking things and forgetting them. Later , you can read or summarize those clipped pages in Notion, and organize them as needed. Additionally, know that you can embed or attach files in Notion pages. Need to keep a PDF or an image with your notes? Just drag and drop it into the page. There’s a file block and an image block for these. This way, all relevant info stays together .

For example, if you’re a student writing notes, you could attach the lecture PDF or slides right on the class notes page for easy reference.

1. Collaborate (or Not) and Share Wisely

If you’re using Notion just by yourself, you can skip this, but one of Notion’s strengths is collaboration: - You can invite others to a page or workspace with their email (permissions can be view or edit). This is great if you want to share a project plan with teammates or a travel itinerary with family. Everyone will see the same updated page and can even edit together in real time (you’ll see their cursor).

Comments: On any block or page, you can add a comment (select text or block, add comment or use Ctrl+Shift+M). This is useful for collaborating – you can leave notes for others or even for yourself (“Todo: fill this section out later”). It’s like digital stickies. Public Sharing: Notion pages can be made public via a share link. This is how people create public wikis or blogs on Notion.

As a beginner , just be cautious: only enable public sharing if you’re sure you want the content visible to anyone with the link, and double-check you don’t accidentally share sensitive data. Public pages are a cool feature (you can share a reading list or resume easily), but always manage your sharing settings in the Share menu at top right of a page.

1. Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

Finally, the best way to learn Notion is to try things. Create a page, throw in some blocks, see what you can do. Notion is very forgiving; you can always undo (Ctrl/Cmd+Z works) or restore earlier versions of a page (Notion has page history for paid plans, but even free version gives some recent history). If something gets messy, you can drag it around or copy-paste content out. Check out Notion’s Help & Learning (they have an official Getting Started guide and videos). Also, the Notion community on Reddit and elsewhere is super friendly – if you have a question, someone likely has answered it. A quick creative tip: use emojis and icons to make your workspace fun and scannable. For example, prefix page names with an emoji: “🎓 University – Class Notes”, “ Work – Project Alpha”, “ Personal – Gardening Journal”. It makes the sidebar more visually navigable.

In summary , start with basic pages and lists, use the tricks above to gradually organize and speed up your workflow, and soon you’ll feel like a Notion pro. As one user put it, remember that everything in Notion is a block you can move – it’s very hard to mess up permanently, so arrange and rearrange until it feels right! Keep pages simple at first (blank page and bullet points is totally okay!) , and add structure as you need. Over time, you’ll develop a system that fits you perfectly. Now you’re equipped with the key beginner tips: go forth and build your Notion workspace with confidence. Happy noting and organizing!

Next step

If you want to turn this into a reusable workspace, save your best blocks as a page template, name your properties consistently, and test your setup on mobile. Small tweaks like clearer statuses, fewer views, and better naming make a template feel instantly premium.

Try the free tools to estimate time saved and plan your next build, or head back to the Articles page to keep learning.