Essential Principles for Project Management in Notion
Notion (the all-in-one workspace) can be a valuable tool to use for project management (whether for organizations or individuals). Its core purpose is not project management (while other tools like Trello and Click Up focus on that). Notion appears to be a generalist app, so to speak. It can serve multiple purposes at once, doing a great job at many of them.
In this article, we are going to explore pivotal principles for using Notion as a project management tool. Project management refers to the art and practice of developing, managing, iterating on, archiving projects at an organizational (or personal ) level. Projects are a series of tasks with a deadline associated with an objective. Every project has multiple tasks associated with it. Tasks are the clear steps needed to complete a project. Defining tasks needs to be a careful endeavor. Specificity breeds clarity in tasks. Clarity fosters action.
Projects and tasks are the very foundation of any project management system. However, these are necessary but not sufficient components of a solid system. Comprehensive project management systems usually also contain Areas (i.e., the "buckets" of your business/personal life) and Resources (i.e., useful information linked to specific projects or tasks). Areas, Projects, Tasks, and Resources are also at the basis of the popular PARA method.
When it comes to implementing a project management system in Notion, there are some specific features to keep in mind, due to their use in project management. One such useful feature is Kanban Boards. Those are status boards that can be used for projects and tasks to have a bird' eye view of what is going on at a broad level in the organization/personal life. Project Statuses may include In Progress, Done, On Hold, Planned. In a kanban board, each status represents a column below which cards are stacked based on their status. Selecting a card opens the relevant information that is inside it. In this way, information remains context-specific, a valuable feature for a world without email (Newport, 2021).
Example Kanban Board views of related databases for projects and tasks in Notion
Principles for a solid project management system in Notion
With the foundations laid out, we can now travel a bit deeper into the abyss of Notion systems and illustrate principles for great project management in Notion. Starting with and sticking to principles can have immense value. Principles provide a roadmap, a clear direction of where we want to go and how to get there. Principles root us to the ground and represent pillars to refer to when some things do not go as planned.
Begin by analyzing and understanding the organization
There is no universally valuable project management system if we think deeply about it. Organizations and individuals can adapt to generic project management systems, but the cost of such an investment of time and resources may go wasted due to incompatibility. Understanding the organizational operations, core processes, and core teams are at the basis of a solid project management system that sustainably works. Sustainability means adopting and utilizing the system for the long run.
If you are a design agency, your website design and development processes may be rather unique, founded on your specific design system. You may work on website design in sprints, which would require the application of a different system than one based on tasks. In such a case, timeline views may be of most utility.
What are the core areas of your organization? Which area most needs a project management system? What are the necessary steps you and your team go through when working on a project, or on a social media post? How do you approach a project? How long do tasks generally take? What is your process for gathering useful resources to succeed at a project?
2. Organize projects by Areas: achieve this by having a centralized Areas database
It seems to me that there is value in defining clear buckets for your organization or personal life. In the organizational context, splitting the business into collectively exhaustive areas can bring much clarity and a deeper understanding. In the context of project management in Notion, crafting a database composed of business Areas (including clients if you are in B2B) is a crucial principle worth following. Areas (Buckets) are the first level of resolution in project management. Each project we will create is linked to an area. This fosters deep thinking in the phase of project creation and organizes endeavors systematically. What specific part of our organization will this project advance, we can ask ourselves in the project ideation phase.
3. Craft personalized and useful projects and tasks databases (relate them, include a progress bar)
After Areas, developing a master projects database is at the core of a solid project management system in Notion (and anywhere else). Projects are the second level of resolution of the whole system. Each project is related to an Area. Here, we need to detect and depict the key properties we want to keep track of for projects. Properties may include status, project manager, start and end date of the project, progress percentage. After that, we need to define the most appropriate views of projects that can advance our understanding of the situation at any given time. In Notion specifically, the main view of projects might be a Kanban Board, as well as a Timeline, or a simple table to quickly see the properties associated with every project.
Tasks are the very next component of a solid project management system in Notion. Tasks are contained in a master database, and each of them is linked to a project. Designing the tasks Notion database requires a clear definition of the organization's processes and goals. We need to define the core properties of tasks (e.g., status, checkbox, due date, responsible) before focusing on creating dynamic views to show the relevant tasks we need to work on during a specific time frame.
4. Capture and store useful Resources in a dedicated database
Resources are a component of a well-rounded project management system in Notion (and in general). It is worth thinking about the most effective way to capture, store, and reference resources for your projects at your organization. Resources are context-and-time-dependent. You may find a how-to guide that can be very useful to understand a project you are working on. That resource can be quickly captured using Notion's web extension, and then refined in the dedicated database. A relation between the Resources and Projects databases is the quintessential part of a solid project management system.
5. Design templates around what repeats
If you have a specific type of project that seems to repeat in your business, make it a template in Notion. This can free up cognitive space and energies along the way. To create templates around repetitive activities, there must be an upfront analysis of the core processes of your organization/life (principle 1).
6. Establish clear and simple SOPs for using the Notion system
Especially if you collaborate with multiple individuals on the project management system, you must communicate transparently. The initial cognitive effort to decide on essential operating procedures (e.g., the nomenclature of projects and tasks, templates, necessary properties to fill out) is a worthwhile long-term investment. By establishing standard operating procedures, everyone is held accountable for using the system most properly, and training new team members becomes smoother.
7. Create dynamic, personalized views for team members
Building personalized dashboards for each team member is especially crucial for organizations. Having personalized views of projects and tasks allows members to focus on their endeavors while filtering out all the unnecessary noise. In Notion, this can take place with a dedicated My Dashboard page, or with specific database views. We can implement filters to isolate the essential information each individual or team needs to see, all in one place.
8. Iterate based on what you notice after using the new system
Once all the structure is built, use the system for some time (two to three weeks), pay attention and gather feedback, and iterate accordingly. It is only by using the systems that you can understand its pain points and potential for improvement. Notion allows being agile in systems design. We can take advantage of that and be agile in iterating project management.
9. Pay close attention to maintaining the system
It is easy to start on the right foot, to then forget about keeping the system relevant and properly structured. Do not let the initial euphoria for the novel dissipate into the cynicism of the repetitive. Appointing an individual who takes care of the system can be incredibly valuable. Such a choice allows knowing precisely who is accountable for the project management system. Such a responsibility can transfer down the chain to all the team members using Notion. Failing to define a responsible individual can lead to complacency and entropy, especially if Notion is a new platform you are using (representing a change).
These nine principles for project management in Notion are the foundations. Principles help us navigate life, and in this case, they help us navigate Notion cohesively and with common sense. Iteration is pivotal in effectively building systems in Notion. With all this in mind, you can build solid methods to make work and life more enjoyable, one project at a time.
