Your workspace looks great. But does it work?

An agency client came to me with a setup that looked like a tech startup’s dream. They had a section for lead generation, marketing, task management, project management. From the outside looking in, it was a good looking system.

But they’ve also told me they’ve been working on this for months and just couldn’t adapt to the workflow. After a length conversation and review of their workflows, I realized the workspace had form but no flow.

This is such a common thing when it comes to beginners coming across Notion templates. You see something that looks like a dream, but is ultimately the worst thing you could do for your productivity.

Over the month that I’ve worked with this client, we’ve identified three main elements that made their system run like a dream:

1/ Inspiration

Inspiration is the unsung hero of building workspaces.

It comes from many different sources, not just pretty Notion templates you want to replicate.

So when I talk about inspiration, I want you to be more creative. Don’t just think what’s on top of the category of products you’re trying to get into. Instead, look at non-native builds.

For me, I look at document layouts, applications — both for a horizontal screen and mobile, websites, resume layouts, posters, analog whiteboard templates. Find a visual identity that works outside a Notion dashboard and try your best to replicate that in Notion.

2/ Workflows

Workflows are the heart of any routine-based template..

If your Notion template doesn’t connect to a practice in real life, it will get lost in the digital void.

I’ve seen it happen to myself and to my clients. No one is above a beautiful template that doesn’t serve any purpose. If anything, my most useful templates are actually messy because a lot of my planning also happens in analog where I can be divorced from the seemingly endless stream of overstimulation of a screen.

Workflows are different for everyone, but I highly recommend doing an audit first before you try to adapt a system or a business consultant’s advice.

3/ Sample Data

One of the biggest issues I really had with my agency client was that they had the container but not the substance. By that I mean, they had the build but nothing to fill it with.

So in my consultations with this client, we actually worked more on improving their systems outside Notion and then finding a way to translate that into a dashboard that’s designed for their use.

Notion can be so complex quickly if you just throw everything in and hope for the best.

If another tool does the job faster and with less friction, that’s where it should live.

This might seem unusual, but my productivity system is heavily analog, and uses multiple tools.

I am moving toward a more singular workflow that solely focuses on Notion, but I’ve also accepted that this move will take time so I just figure out what works and build from there.

As an example:

• My idea inbox is in Apple Notes.

• Client data (for work) is mainly shared through the Google Suite.

• Finances (or at least the calculations) are still mostly on Google Sheets. I just use Notion to build the visualizations.

If you don't have data, you don't have anything to organize.

You might just be wasting time over the idea of something.

Most of the time, the real “system” starts showing itself the moment you dump everything out of your brain and into something visible. The audit precedes the improvement.