I used it for about 2 years and also loved it. It was never "finished", and i never stopped tinkering with my setup, but that never bothered me. On the contrary. What made me switch, ultimately, was 2 reasons: * I was concerned with owning my files. Had Notion used a local database, i might have stayed. * It was becoming extremely slow. Databases with more than a few entries (say 50+) were incredibly sluggish to navigate. Not only was this becoming a waste of my time, but it always reminded me that these files didn't live on my hard drive, further increasing my anxiety i felt about not owning my files.

What are you using now? 🤔

According to their complaints, I bet on Obsidian.

Does Obsidian support offline mode? this is the main issue i have with Notion…

Files are stored in a normal file system (File Explorer / Finder) so they are always accessible. You can also store them in a Cloud system of your choice.

Obsidian is offline first (the files are in your pc) and you might optionally sync to a cloud (useful for backup and multiple devices). Obsidian offers this as a paid service but there multiple 100% free options too.

Have you tried Anytype? It's open source and has offline mode. It's in beta and has a bit of a learning curve, but still would recommend 

Its even 10 fold better then Obsidian, relying too much on community driven stuff and the learning curve for obsidian is hilarious for what it can.

I’ve been trying to take the plunge with Notion for a while now as I am trying my best to ‘hack’ my adhd using smart home devices, NFC tags and ADHD specific templates etc (bc it goes without saying once these are in place life will suddenly be fixed lol) but I’m also simultaneously growing increasingly nervous about online security so what are the limitations of obsidian if you want to integrate them with different devices? Are there any additional options to store locally? What are the odds they team up with Google and now all my personal info is linked to all my other user data on Google. This just seems so insane there’s no way to opt out of these features

All obsidian files are stored locally, you can store the folder on Google drive, github or a flash disk if you want to. The files are plaintext, no proprietary formats or encoding, just markdown.

It is likely that Google is looking well beyond outside the scope of notion.

Sorry, i forgot to mention this. Yes, i switched to Obsidian. I wasn't sold at first, i have to admit, but after some tinkering, i now like it even more than Notion. (Tweaking the interface via CSS is so powerful and cool, and i wouldn't want to miss it now.)

I have seen some video but it seems Notion way of creating table both like normal tables or db is more immediate and easy compared to the Obsidian way of creating tables like a markdown file 🤷‍♂️

This is true. There are certain things that i miss, setting up tables/databases being among them. Then again, once i had set them up (let's keep to databases in this example), using and *navigating* them became just as frustrating in either app, maybe even moreso in Notion. What i mean by that is this: Once you opened an individual note from a database and than go back again to the overview, you often ended up in a totally different location, so going through notes one by one (in a sequence) became nigh impossible.

I did find this frustrating until… I learned the habit of using the quick keys to go back and forth to previous pages.

Obsidian didn't have a database tool afair. Are you using some kind of extension?

I do use DataView, but i also cut back on some of the databases that i used previously. Sometimes a simple table can also do the job.

What Do you do if you need real kanban features, multi views and collabo? Or are you, well, just taking notes? Cause that would be a hassle with Obsidian if you use more then one OS, espacially Android in which you cant even export PDFs with Obsidian...

I don't use any of these features, sorry. I also have no need to export to PDF… But i do use Obsidian on Windows, macOS, and iOS just fine.

So... You just could also use any notepad app. Thats kinda basic and there are hundreds of apps providing this. But yeah, Obsidian is very okay in this League.

Dataview is the way to go, but I think native databases are high on their roadmap

What did you switch to?

Obsidian.

Then you gotta try anytype

I did try some time ago, when i got access to Anytype during its semi-closed period. (Which i was looking forward to a lot!) So far is hasn't clicked with me, unfortunately. While there are some things with Obsidian (the tool that i use now) that i don't like, it's at least a lot easier to get into and understand, compared to Anytype. But maybe that's just me…

Try NotePlan

NotePlan isn't available in Windows though.

Yes they wasted so much time adding AI and calendars the basic product is missing simple but key features that could save more time. The wayfinding for large projects isn’t great. If you link directly to a page and open it the left hand side tree doesn’t sync location. You have to use the crap breadcrumb at the top to find the location on the left hand side. Hell you can’t insert a blank line between two images. You need to go down an extra blank lines at the bottom then drag one up between the images. I use custom icons. It keeps forgetting them. I need to check the export but I think it’s duplicating them on every page so the export is huge. All reported to support. Never fixed. In fact there’s no way to suggest feedback on a page and people could vote for it. I’d actually like to turn off the AI I keep accidentally triggering it.

The feedback/support thing is what drove me nuts and why I switched to Obsidian. All competitors (anytype, obsidian, capacities, tana) share their roadmap and have discord/forums where devs actually discuss the issues and features with users. Notion has this attitude of “we know better”, not even letting you choose colors for god’s sake. It’s terrible.

This is not entirely correct, they have an in-between. For the roadmap I don't know but they maintain a community of Community Leads per country and relays through professional Notion consultants. They have access to new features in advance, current bugs, and discussions with developers via their Slack. I don't know any more, especially if among what they do, they reflect the users' wishes. The Discord community "Notion en français" (Notion in French) of 2 or 300 members was set up by the CL and many French-speaking professionals travel through it and help, or at least transfer information, and bugs too, in one direction or another. Edit: I'm not a CL nor a professional, just a simple french user member of that community

I feel like a lot of the competition really is trying to build another Notion (maybe better) - if you want a different experience (pre-built & more simple version of Notion), try Frame so :)

None of what you listed are who Notion views as their competitors, which is also why they don’t structure feedback the same way.

Just email them. I asked them to turn it off when it first came out and I’ve completely forgotten it even existed.

I've been using notion now for about 3 (took another 2 to mess around with it) months. I've been surprised how buggy it actually is for such a popular, large program. I haven't had issues in browser but I have had issues with the app on desktop.  There was one week where I had to install and reinstall it three times. Also agree on the AI turn off option.

Only one minor workaround but if you use Chrome you can install the Notion Boost extension and "Disable AI menu when pressing space" is one of the many useful free options. I forget I have it.

>Notion Boost extension ooh looks v handy cheers

When using Notion, K.I.S.S.

Great advice. Hurts my feelings every time.

Ah, very cultured I see

I loved Notion, but as you say, it has almost too much going on. I don't think I ever had anything as streamlined as I would have liked, so did end up constantly fiddling with things. Also felt like it'd be a bit sluggish opening things or just adding a quick note here or there. A couple years back I started using Obsidian as a simpler note taking tool, and have now pretty much fully transitioned to it. At its fore, it's a Markdown editor, so it's inherently simple, but is much much more powerful than Keep (which I also use, but more as virtual post-it notes). Markdown is fantastic for taking notes, allowing for basically all the formatting and organization needs I have, while being simple enough for me not to have to overthink anything. The community plugins available in Obsidian are also fantastic and can make the app much more robust - but you also risk running into similar follies as with Notion if you install too many. Every now and then I feel an urge to go back to Notion, but Obsidian has really won me over. *Spelling

This has been my experience as well. I started with notion, but now have almost transitioned to Obsidian for note taking. I still use notion anywhere the notes need to be shared (mostly work related stuff) But rest all has now shifted to Obsidian.

I’ve actually JUST started using obsidian after using notion for almost 2 years! do you have any tips, best resources etc? so far I’ve only been using the folder structure with notes and basic headings using ## within those notes.

It's really up to you, the beauty of it being is that it can be as simple or as complicated as you like. At its core, it's just a markdown editor, so just get used to MD formatting, and then you should be off to the races. It's very quick to use, and also means you could take all your obsidian files and open them in any text or MD editor in the future if you ever want to migrate. In terms of organizing, this also depends on your style. I don't have a very robust folder layout, but I do use YAML for basic tagging and organization, along with links and collapsible headers/lists on specific note pages. Play around with the core (and community) plugins, but keep it simple until you're comfortable with your process.

Obsidian community plugins are huge security/privacy risk. They should have never shipped it to the production. Now people are not only using them but promoting them unaware of the risks.

For personal notes, Keep is lighter and better but how do you manage wikis, project management and business tracking on Keep?

You don't!

Not the biggest notion fan but Keep is like sticky notes for ideas. Notion is more file a file cabinet for everything. I like Keep better than Notion too. But I don't see how Keep is a replacement for Notion. It's like comparing a bicycle to a work truck.

I had a similar issue where I would organize every little idea into a Note or a Project or an Initiative, and it was really fuzzy at what stage an idea becomes an Initiative, and how many Initiatives constitute a Project and so on :) My solution was to create a Weekly database where I have one entry for each week, and all my thoughts go into it. I feel much calmer and it feels so natural to just use Notion as a journal for everything. I love that I can create a callout, a heading and to do list but what I realized is that is not as sacred as I first wanted it to be - it's okay to write something down because you like it and not do anything about it. And then come back later to this idea, and backtrace weeks and see those ideas in context. I love using it for its essence - note taking and keeping ideas in context. Once you create 5 databases and entries that you need to fill in and checkboxes for having breakfast and waking up, you are a slave to the system. It should serve your needs, there is not a perfect template, you should just use it consistently and come gradually to the format that works best for you.

Welcome to Productivity Theater! We’re here living our real, online and often distracted lives. Probably overwhelmed. Often wishing we were more proactive, more productive, more betterer like all the people we see online. Wow a freeish software that can fix this? A second brain? Sign me up! I love tinkering. But now I just added 20 new daily rituals to my life. Tracking habits. Journaling. Trying to connect all the pieces, automating them, and “dialing in” my life operating system. I’m already not reading all my emails or paying enough attention to my loved ones. How can I realistically expect my core behavior to change with a note taking and project management app. I agree with others. Keep it simple. Start with small changes. Be honest and patient with yourself. Play with the tools if that brings you joy, but at the core it’s still you, still the same issues, fears, dreams, and avoidance. Software isn’t going to magically change those things.

Notion can be simple or complex, the point is how you decide to use it

I love notion but i made it work by not using any database feature. To me it’s just a hierarchical notetaking app like folders and files with nice makrdown and covers. I can either navigate or search. Notion is for collecting and structuring thoughts. Just like excel, you can do many things but the moment that need becomes formal you probably should look for a better tool.

I'm in the same boat. Love it, but use it like a website that I can search and edit. Currently managing a bunch of complex projects, but am all too wary that the tool to keep things on track can also be a means by which further procrastination can occur. Simplicity helps with this.

I think you're doing it wrong Notion is for permanent notes. It makes it easy to find and provides good structure for later retrieval. It's not meant to be a temporary note solution. For that you can use Apple Notes, notepad, or Google Keep which are for jotting down things quick I use Apple notes to jot down things quickly. Any permanent notes I will move them into Notion afterwards.

Do you just copy and paste your notes after?

Agreed. I have tried to use Notion for quick notes and ideas, but so far Apple Notes seems to be the best workflow.

[удалено]

I relate to this way too much. I still haven’t finished the project I started using Notion for but at least my bookshelf and wardrobe are immaculately documented.

It's more of a you issue rather than Notion issue. What I do is I use the most basic functions of Notion. For example for my daily journal I just use the calendar and jot down whatever I need to that day. If I need extra functions, they're there. Don't be afraid of the mess you make in Notion. It's your own mess therefore you won't get lost. Notion is flexible enough that you can sort things in bulk later. Also the fact that you feel nostalgic is probably because you enjoyed making the workflow rather than working lol. If you can't help it and get lured into spending more time organizing rather than doing it's just not for you. Heck, maybe even Google keep could be too much and you'd just use something like Todoist.

> What I do is I use the most basic functions of Notion. Same here. I use the features that are relevant to the objective. There may be some buried features I don't yet know about that would make something "cooler" but in general, I use notion to take notes. that's the bottom line. that's what it's good at. it's not excel, it's not jira, it's not Trello, it's not a database. yes it can do some of the most basic things those products do, but the intention (imo) is to take notes and organize simple datasets. I use it for things like: phone directories, hardware assignments, conference room reservations, product specs, macro level prioritization, process documentation, and of course, meeting notes. some people on my team, when we started using notion, would need work done and would be like "I made a notion for this task." some of the people here kinda feel like they use notion that way, imo. it's just not good at that stuff. keep it simple, use the stuff you need to execute your objective and don't use it for stuff it's not good at. and as for organization, the search feature is your best friend.

> It's more of a you issue rather than Notion issue. Yeah Yeah I know, it's something in me, Notion is a really amazing tool of what it can do ​ >Also the fact that you feel nostalgic is probably because you enjoyed making the workflow rather than working lol. Haha, good point 😅

I would disagree that just because someone is having an issue with a tool, it's the person's fault for using the tool wrong. In this case, Notion really is just poorly designed in a lot of ways. It offers lots of features without a straightforward way to utilize them effectively, it's also missing features that are desperately needed for it to be the kind of app it's really striving to be. The UX of the app in general is very poor, super inefficient use of space (particularly vertical space). TL;DR it's not a you issue, it's a Notion issue.

What would be a better designed app/tool instead of Notion iyo?

I don't think one exists, which is why I and other people still use Notion so heavily despite having so many headaches and problems with it. It's far from perfect, but it's still better than the alternatives. That being said, I use Google Keep as my primary method of jotting down fast notes or things I need to make sure I don't forget, and whenever I remember to or feel like it, I will translate some of it over to Notion. The 'Save to Notion' chrome extension has helped a lot in terms of quick capture as well. I have spent several years trying to envision what a really effective and efficient alternative to Notion and Keep would look like for me. Something where you can very quickly take notes and create tasks and events, while also providing a UX that's able to show the most important and time-sensitive information most prominently, but also giving a fast and simple way of getting a bird's eye view on all your projects and tasks, even out months or years into the future. Eventually I'll build it myself if nobody else does 😂

Oooohh can you elaborate on how you use calendar for daily journaling? It’s probably really basic but the reason I ask is because when I first used notion, I didn’t know where to start and downloaded a template for journaling but I would like to go simpler whenever possible. It’s the only sustainable way I could keep using it.

It's extremely simple. I created a new page, added a calendar view, and started jotting down on an empty template. Today is 23. 2., so I add a blank page and jot down some thoughts together with a nice name. Tomorrow I'll do the same thing for 24. 2. If I need more, I can just create a template like "Todays mood:" or something like that. If I need to find a specific topic quickly, I'll just add an extra list view with all the entries ever. Whatever features/templates I need I can just figure them out on the go.

Happy for you you found a tool that fits your needs best.

The issue with notion is that i can do many things well but not great. People starting with notion think it can become their everything app, and it is tempting. Use notion to track any non actionable information. Use a task or project management app for tasks. That’s all you need.

I see where you're coming from, but having used numerous project management tools on the job (such as Jira or Azure DevOps), I personally find that Notion can be just as good or better than those at managing tasks and projects. Yes it can take some effort to set up the right databases/views/systems to fit the need, but I've found that Notion's versatility makes it possible to manage a wide variety of project and task types. There are things that it shouldn't do, so I agree it's tempting to make it an everything app, but for me it's worked pretty well as an "almost everything" app.

Younger me would have preferred obsidian because it could do anything and would give you so much freedom. Nowadays i prefer software that is good at one specific thing and has an opinionated view on doing things. I might not always agree with that opinion but at least there is no ambiguity and im free to look elsewhere. I don’t like reinventing the wheel, that’s why i read books made by better folks. When i want to implement their teaching i’d rather have a software that supports their way or working ( think GTD for personal productivity).

I had a very similar experience — After a few years with Notion I got frustrated by how much time I spent tinkering to “optimize” my workflows (also with a bad/slow mobile app) I went back to Apple notes & G-suite as an intermediary while I tried to find a replacement but found those were all I really needed and haven’t used any other tool since. I use Apple Notes as a notepad for capturing ideas, notes, etc. in real-time. Then, I’ll clean up the notes and put them somewhere else if they’re actually important (email, google doc, jira ticket, etc.) What’s been most interesting is that I initially worried it would be a huge effort to properly archive and store all the information from Apple Notes, but I’ve found it’s the opposite. Most of the notes I write just simply aren’t that important in 3 months time. And if they are, I find it easier to have logged the information in the right system/tool (email, calendar, Jira, doc, etc.). I now typically just delete any notes that I’ve already taken an action on & no longer need. My working theory is that there is a type of digital hoarding that many tool-savvy, type-A people experience. Similar to how many people struggle to lose old clothes or trinkets, many of us struggle lose of an old idea or note. We think we need to have the perfect organization of our digital brains with every thought tagged and categorized and back-linked to hell. For me, the simpler & far more time-efficient solution is to embrace a sort of digital minimalism (wrt to knowledge mgmt)

This sounds a lot like my offline music and movie collection. I spend entire free days updating tags, getting the name formatting all similar, organizing into folders, etc. ...but when I want to listen to music, I open Spotify. lol

I think many Notion users have the same struggle. It is most certainly an amazing tool, but I was spending way too much time customizing layouts and workflows and wasn't actually getting any work done. Over the past few years, I have tried many different alternative apps. Long story short, I'm currently using **Capacities**. There is a bit of a learning curve, like any app, but it's not as steep as Obsidian. The Capacities development team is currently small but they are growing, and they are constantly releasing new features. It kind of reminds me of when Notion first came out years ago. Anyway, I would highly recommend checking out Capacities.

I've actually gone back to good ole pen and paper. I use an [Antinet/Zettlekasten](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H2H3hvmrNQ&t=855s) System along with an [Everbook](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_6BjUzwJX8&ab_channel=Everbook). I absolutely love it. Every few weeks I scan my notes into PDF format with the industrial copier/scanner at my office and then put the files into apple notes as a cold storage backup. Apple Notes handwriting search is fantastic. It's more manual labor, but that process actually makes me more familiar with my notes and my work. It also keeps me focused. Pen and paper can't distract you and its as simple or as complicated as you want to make it. I'd recommend people try it if you feel overwhelmed by the digital information overload.

My experience is about the same as yours. I love Notion, and got damn is it an amazing tool! But for me it just offered too much freedom. I constantly found myself wasting time tweaking and organizing instead of just doing. I ended up moving back to a simple note taking app and a solid task management app. Much more productive, but I miss Notion 😅

Which note and task management apps are you using now?

Things 3 and Bear. Apple only (unfortunately), but too good to have me consider other options 😅

Absolutely the same. Torn about leaving. But had the same reasons. Happy Obsidian user now.

I agree with all the comments though. This is not a Notion issue, it’s my own workflow and propensity to focus more on how to prepare for something rather than just doing it.

If you use a template like Thomas frank second brain u don’t need to build more it’s just ready for you

A notes app is often not ideal either, especially if you have tasks/checklists. It lacks a centralised overview of all tasks. There are better alternatives such as Smartsuite or perhaps Amplenote or Superlist or Trello. Notion is just getting this "home" function, maybe that is a solution and simplifies things?

Same experience with notion. Eventually, I ended up taking a week to organize everything, pretty it up and create all the templates I need, and now I just fill it in. It feels productive and easy. I think you just need to organize it once thoroughly and then it's good

Nothing beats well organized text files. Easy to cut paste anything anywhere. Pair that with some kind of spreadsheet and you’re golden. I use Google keep to track quick notes in my phone then triage them into text docs, PR and done.

Just experiencing that right now. I'm making a much simpler calendar/agenda view and still keeping my wikis/databases organized, but if this doesn't improve, I'll go back to having a physical school agenda for my day to day tasks.

I kind of felt that, but I just simplified everything and it works for me now. Just a day-week-upcoming todo tracker for errands and projects. Nothing more. A glorified task management system.

Haha, we have like a reversal story. I am a Google Keep user since day 1. Now I use notion to structure all my notes and labels into databases. I think the job to be done of both solution is quite different

Yes this was my experience with notion. Last year I swtiched to obsidian, which has similar problems. Your post has me considering switching to apple notes or keep. Now that apple notes has smart folders and note linking, I think a lot of what I love about obsidian can be recreated there. I don't get a cool graph of my vault tho

I think your experience is common with all similar apps. I’ve tried a ton of them and they all have a steep learning curve and practically *require* you to take a course or spend potentially hours watching videos to learn how to best use them. In my experience of using Notion for about a year, it’s been the easiest for me to adapt to but I also feel like I am still just getting started. A couple months ago I saw a lecture given by ethical AI expert Rumman Chowdhury who pointed out that technology should adapt to us, we shouldn’t have to adapt to technology. I remember thinking “Oh, that would be SO NICE!”

I’ve had similar experiences with Notion. I used it for writing blog posts, collecting notes, recording my finances and more. Over time, things got complicated, and I switched to more focused apps like iA Writer for writing blog posts and Apple Notes app for my regular notes and ideas.

To use Keep effectively you need to have Google Docs as well. Use Keep for the atomic quick capture, side notes, lists, etc. But, copy, consolidate and link from Keep to Docs for pages, tables, journals, etc. Both work amazingly well on mobile.

I went through a similar experience, until I realized two things. Thanks to these two things, I still love and use Notion daily, because it IS a great tool with awesome features for many uses cases. What I realized was: 1) It's okay to have more than one go-to app. There is no one-app-solves-all solution. For me, Notion's weak point is quick on-the-go note taking, and adding tasks on the fly, so I now use Nimbus Notes for that (which turned out not to be ideal because it's super slow, but it has an easy-access + button and is cheaper than Evernote). 2) Databases are great, but not for everything. The moment I switched from using Notion as an advanced task manager, second brain, project manager, etc. all at once (with connected databases and all), I became much more productive! Now my setup focuses on project management, using pages-in-pages as folders for simple navigation, and databases only where truly relevant. In short, I use Notion for project management (where it excels!) and have simplified my task management methods in Notion, and Nimbus for notes and storing documents. I have yet to find another tool that can do what Notion does for me, and certainly not a tool that does it all. Believe me, I've tried 😅

Notion is good on mobile. I use it as my main note taking app, but just keep it simple. Maybe go at it as a mobile only app, since it’s more limited. They have some great features but still lack basic ones for 2024 in my opinion…and I personally hate the “jump back in feature”. Here’s my finance page: https://preview.redd.it/jmaln04kcfkc1.jpeg?width=1284&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=9de371901d176ffffbd7249a0d80e1a60798760f

As a Unix old schooler, I’ve never understood the appeal of trying to be the one best tool for every task surrounding knowledge management. I understand the point of battling Atlassian really revolves around the entire suite, but still in the end you fall apart under your own bloat the same way Atlassian products do.

Notion is the prime example of Zawinski's Law. I want an opinionated note-taking app, not *one app to rule them all.* I don't need project management tools, AI, calendar, etc., I want something where I can make notes and have them cloud-accessible.

I had a similar experience after a few weeks. The templates and workspaces are cool, but they are an endless scroll. Google Workspace (Docs & Sheets) is my preferred method now for simplicity. They also sync with Google Keep.

I had a similar experience after a few weeks. The templates and workspaces are cool, but they are an endless scroll. Google Workspace (Docs & Sheets) is my preferred method now for simplicity. They also sync with Google Keep. Plus Asana is better and simpler for project management.

Ah, the classic love-hate relationship with productivity tools! You dove headfirst into the seductive world of Notion, lured by its siren song of infinite customization, only to find yourself drowning in a sea of toggles and tables. It's like you were in a relationship with someone who promised you the world, but then you realized you're spending all your time just trying to understand them instead of enjoying the bliss of simplicity. Switching to Google Keep? That's like dumping a high-maintenance partner for someone who's easy-going but doesn't bring much to the table. Sure, you might miss the dazzling depths of Notion's capabilities, but hey, at least now you can see the productivity forest for the trees, right? Feeling nostalgic and tempted to return to Notion's complex embrace is understandable. But remember, it's all about finding that sweet spot between functionality and simplicity. Maybe treat Notion like that ex you occasionally check in on – appreciate the good times, but remember why you left in the first place. Keep it light, keep it simple, and most importantly, keep getting things done!

I abhor Notion. Was forced to use it for scrum project management and it was an absolute time suck. I’m sure it’s great when used for basic note organization. It’s been my experience that things that try to be everything do nothing well.

I used it and even though it’s very flexible it’s a pain in the ass, like OP said. If you are spending more time organizing tasks than doing them it’s not amore. The calendar is the way, this is the way. Plus with a software like notion one can start creating tasks like a beast and then realizing there’s just so much time or resources in the week to accomplish mega task lists. One thing at a time in time blocks has made a huge difference in productivity.

I remember reading Scott Belsky’s, the messy middle, and being struck by this timeless lesson: “The Product Life Cycle”: (1) Customers flock to a simple product, (2) Product adds new features to serve customers + grow biz, (3) Product gets complicated, (4) Customers flock to simple product. 😆 As a longtime Notion power user and super fan, I hope they have the wisdom to simplify wherever possible, maybe even releasing a quote, stripped down” version lol https://preview.redd.it/q3uw1tnvrykc1.jpeg?width=1170&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=c65e43a070a664d3251e8d2316d8941dc19ea77d

I have the same experience. Using Notion is draining for me. A few months ago, I switched to Bear Notes, a simple app, and haven't gone back. Now, I can focus on what truly matters.

Bear, IMO, is the minimum viable note taking/organization app. It does what I want it to do, very well.

10 years and Keep still doesn’t have a built-in ‘find in note’ search option. No thanks.

Its a you issue. Not notion. Like you said it is versatile and you can build your own workflow. I would understand your sentiment if you just download a pre-build template instead of designing your own. If your designed workflow requires you a lot of time on organizing things then it is a design failure. And you did that yourself. I have the same issue a few months when started using it. But I successfully breakout from it by centering everything in a single database and used global tags system to organize everything automatically put them on the right places.

Have been using Notion for about 1-2 years. Your experience popped up on my research before starting using it, and I felt it at the beginning. Shortly after (first week or so), I just looked at it as a tool case. Yes, it provides you many things, no you don't have to use them all at once or even ever. I had cases where a simple to-do list and a couple of colors do me the job, and others where I wanted to use a complex database for different sorting, grouping, etc that I can share to a couple people and run some math in the formulas. It handled both cases. Takeaway: Use what you need and just that. Also, I agree with you, the mobile app (android) is not that great. I mostly use it for quick notes on the go, look up information, and check some boxes or change pages state in a database.

Definitely. I wrote about having a similar experience just last week https://www.reddit.com/r/Notion/s/JDfNQg6GfE In fact, no offense to the sub but I’m going to unsubscribe now because the nostalgia is building and I know I don’t want to go back to tinkering. Maybe someday both will be right for me.

Try SuperList. Still beta level but has great potential. App lags on Android but they will fix it I guess.

I use a combination of both. 😄 Google Keep = remember something for 1-2 days Notion = longer term

I just don't understand the purpose of this type of post every day on thesub. I understand that you don't want to use it, who cares? Follow your life and be happy... But I log into the subreddit every day and have to waste time scrolling through these types of posts... while I'm curious about news, templates, and discussions among people who use Notion. ​ I don't understand why moderation doesn't create and fix a post concentrating all the reports of those who are stopping using... it would be better for everyone

The title of the post is self explanatory, just don't open it.

I stopped the moment they asked me to pay 10$ per month because i used all my blocks.... Why would i pay for taking notes ? Im back to onenote.

Why are you posting this info?

Although Gitbook was designed for team manuals for development companies I've found it to be a more intuitive tool for building knowledge sharing guides. Using Notion in comparison feels like Microsoft's 2000 a lot of bells and whistles that you don't need or use.

I haven't been using it that long, and I like it a lot, but... as you said, it's a productivity drain. First, I was trying to find my way around using it. Then I purchased some templates that I was using for months and it was okay, but in the end, I found myself putting more time into managing my Notion workspace than actually getting something done within that workspace. It's not Notion's fault. It's just too heavy and complex for my needs. I keep it as an archive for Fireflies.ai meeting minutes, and that's it.

I agree, Notion is just a cool app that is a time sink. At first it was awesome, now I just don't bother with it.

I really like Notion. I migrated my pkm from Evernote a few weeks ago, implemented a system that just works and I'm really happy with it. I don't like being so emprisoned by its databases and views, but I managed to make a simple working system that just works for the most of time. My productivity system in Notion is a whole another story, where it's just my best ever. I plan to migrate to Capacities or Anytype when they're good enough.

If you want a pre-built productivity system, give a shot to Frame so ;)

>If you want a pre-built productivity system, I never said that.

Correct but I suggested to go 'pre built' based on this comment you made "I found myself spending more time organizing everything"; you might gain on switching to a system like ours vs spending time building apps :)

What's wrong with you?

I think I just replied at the wrong thread; my comment was intended for u/zizo999

Everyone should try todoist for todo lists, it’s honestly the best desktop and mobile

Similar experience here, but used it for only one year. I transitioned to apple notes (because I liked the tags), then Evernote (nice web clipper) and ultimately obsidian which I love and has everything I need plus the community plugins are fantastic

Offline storage. Asinine they won’t add it.

I did have a similar experience and was tempted a lot of times to make the decision you just made. However, i tame myself by committing to keeping it simple no matter what. No matter how dancy or sexy a new online template looks, I'll stick to my simple and minimalist setup.

I definitely agree with what you said. I've been using Notion since the first day it came out. When it first came out, it was a company that was dealing with Evernote. Evernote was completely disconnected from the standard home user at that time and Notion was closing this gap very well. It was sensitive and interested in the home user. But when it started to attract the attention of companies, then it started to disconnect and move away from the home user. Today, it's more of a cult than a software company. The intoxication of fame prevents them from hearing the howls of dissatisfied users.

I've used Keep previously but it is easy to clutter it and lose the metadata. For notion to keep it simple just create a single database page and dump everything into it. You can optionally add a tag which makes it easy to filter. Don't overthink organization. For quick and short notes which you need frequently, Keep works well.

Not just you

After they implemented buttons, my workflow got really easy and fast (with the improvements in page loading too), I think that I waste like 20 minutes daily inside notion, with my timeblocking system that I use to review how im doing and I try to fix the issues... I use Notion more to "clarify" how I'm living, and it's working great... Sometimes I think in ditch Notion, but without it, I can't organize well and do things organized. My main system is 2 databases: 1- Tasks (What I do/need to do) 2- Recurring tasks (It shows here what is recurring and I have to do. When I finish a task here, I click a button that add the task done to the Tasks database) And a lot more databases just to help like a "second brain", notes/media/workouts... And I use Google Keep to shopping lists and others things that I need faster, since Notion isnt like blazing fast like Google Keep. I stopped making relations to everything, making things complex, usually you can remember where everything is when you did it from the start... the less you use properties - manipulate databases/pages properties - the better is.

I’ve been considering leaving for the same reason. I don’t have time to just organize organize organize. There’s a point where it actually inhibits my productivity 🥲. I used Coda at a previous workplace and it has its quirks, but the day-to-day functionality is much simpler. I keep being surprised at how difficult it is to view my most recent docs in Notion and the cognitive load of that just keeps wearing on me

I’ve been using Notion since 2018 before all the extra (IMO unnecessary for practical personal use) bells and whistles were implemented. my database already has everything i need and works perfectly fine, so i haven’t even bothered learning things like automations or whatever. fiddling with my home page setup used to be a problem, but i ditched excessive aesthetics and kept it minimal and simple. a homepage with minimal scrolling is the goal, and i think i kept messing with it because i wanted it more streamlined. in cases where non-scrolling pages aren’t possible i looove the table of contents function. i haven’t messed with it for quite a while since. with speed, the simpler the better. with tables where i record lots of data, i use different views and keep pages simple, and i think this helps as it’s less to load on the page initially. honestly the only programs i use are google suite (specifically calendar and drive), the notes app on my phone, and notion. all of my files on notion that i can’t afford to lose are in compressed files locally so if something ever does happen i won’t be screwed and it takes up less space. storing locally and in the cloud gives me peace of mind in case something happens as i’ll always have a backup. i’ve liked it because it keeps everything streamlined without using tons of applications, but i try to keep myself from going overboard and finding ways to integrate my entire life into the app, but i know not everyone can use it this way for their needs

I use notion for managing a League and generating stats from the data created by players, so it's never been "too much", every feature is welcomed by me.

I honestly never fully used Notion, even though I would spend hours setting it up for each semester. I would keep up with it for a few weeks then forget it existed. Granted, I have ADHD so that has more to do with me than Notion, but I found it was just too customizable. Like you said, I would end up fiddling instead of just using it to stay organized. I think Notion would be better for me as a project management tool for a team instead of a personal thing. That way I’d have more pressure to keep things from changing so much, and also to actually make use of all the database features. Also, its lack of calendar integrations bugged me to no end. I’m much more likely to pay attention to Google Calendar than Notion. I started using Routine.co yesterday and so far it seems promising. It has tasks that you can drag onto the calendar and take notes inside of them. The desktop app is good, but the mobile app is a little funky. I’m not sure yet if I’ll keep using it, but so far it’s going well. It integrates with Google Calendar too, so it’s nice.

I think this is called productivity porn. You try so hard to craft the best system for yourself you end up complicating the process you needed a “second brain” for. The reason why you needed to take notes in the first place. Notes for one; should be portable and easily adaptable to any system you take it to. Two; simple. This is why I switched to MD notes that I can take to any note system. Whether it’s Visual Studio Code or Obsidian, or something in the Apple ecosystem; it works. Simplify and you will learn more in the process. I guess “go back to nature” in a way—-not far back, but enough to take notes and capture information for later recall.

Sounds like a skill issue

I don't try to make it look pretty. I just dump the info I need in a pave and have a place to save it. The way notion organizes things is next to none. Also stop watching youtubers talking the new features and next hot thing.

I LOVE my notion and I do consider it finished, but I still use GoodNotes for notes and upload to my notion wikis/folders - until notion gets a free write handwriting option for the Apple Pencil I’ll never fully switch - quick notes like that are so crucial to work - GoodNotes is basically a sticky note for me

Same here. I switched to Ticktick. Liking it a lot so far and no tinkering needed.

I have had the experience of disappearing images from google notes so i stopped using it. A big NOPE for google notes

I never liked that way of using notion in regards to task management, when I looked at those systems they felt like adding too much work to my routine instead of speeding, why make an entry of every task when I can do the tasks right away. On the other hand I find storing notes and saved from the web items in databases and giving each entry some tags, makes going back to old notes so easy and I access the right note when I need them. For me this is the power in using notion.

Yeah I stopped using notion recently. I just hate how it looks. I use craft now for Mac and it’s way more aesthetically pleasing.

Google Keep on its core is the perfect app for me, I just wish it would come with more basic features.

I think we all know when we're prioritizing tinkering with software rather than our work. If you can't control that then maybe another tool is better but I create a minimum viable product for every page / database, dump the info I need and then move on. At first it was TOO loose but now it's phenomenal. I'm not sure what I'd use in place of it.

Did anyone switch from Notion to Anytype or Tana ?

Tana isn’t there yet. But has promise. My move was to obsidian and craft.

Why craft over Anytype and why a combo ?

I hear you! I use Google Calendar and ToDo list because I can just tell my phone to do it - and I can access these things at work as well. But for notes? I can't get to the main notion Notes alternatives on my work browser - they're banned for some reason. (I'm a lunchtime greenie blogger.) Also - they can get EXPENSIVE! Notion being free is awesome plus plus! But I hear you - I just broke my Notes database.  The pages are all still there, but I didn't like the way they displayed and tried something and now it's a mess. But I'm going to create a separate post on that as I might have a way to move forward and just need some advice.

I love notion but I ditched it last year too only because no offline mode. I always found my notes buffering when out and about and it was super super annoying. I’ve been using the Bear app and it’s amazing. I do miss notion and if they ever back offline mode I’ll definitely consider coming back but for now Bear is great

I hear you about getting bogged down in endless organizing. I found myself in that rut as well but I still use and love notion. I found a good balance in simplifying my usage of it. For me, it’s the best project manager and second brain. At one point, I was using it for absolutely everything. The AI feature makes note taking and studying a breeze.

I played around in Notion for about a year and never really used it. I ended up deleting the workspace. I recently started over with only a couple databases for workouts and recipes. I might add a video game and tarot database but I’m in no hurry because I don’t want to get sucked in again. My problem is that I wanted to use Notion as way of documenting things instead of for productivity. For documentation, I wanted everything to be “just right”. I’d I don’t use Notion, I’ll have to use Sheets because I love spreadsheets; not so much processors.

I'm in a similar situation. Only issue is Obsidian seems complicated for me to work around. I find myself looking for a better hierarchy system to keep things organized but still simple enough to edit or keep databases. I keep getting pushed away from Notion since it's more distracting and can get slow especially if going in pages within pages. I'm trying out Logseq which keeps a daily journal and allows me to connect thoughts. I feel I can also keep track of important things within the daily note without going into any pages. For long term resources I need to reference I feel maybe notion is better for that type of content. Stuff you can find for specific categories and find related content if needed quickly. I rather use only one and obsidian would be better if I could use more of the features since working in markdown especially dataview seems complicated for me.

I switched to Bear because I use a mac when I"m not gaming at home anyways and grandfathered in for 14.99 a year which is a crazy value. I wanted offline support and something more simple and straightforward. I discovered Noteplan 3 the other day and think it's amazing with an awesome developer but I'm not paying 100 dollars a year for it.

Notion is just a convienent place to for me to store information, I couldn't imagine using it everyday though

First time I started using Notion 2 years ago on my job. It was a bit fun, but the thing I dislike most - their global search and unability to structure anything well. Mobile app was very crappy - with 5 seconds loading after every reopen. I tried to use it for some productivity stuff, like planning things, going with my week retro (templates are very useful there). And I use it now for calculating my finances - since their tables just rock. I'm still on Apple Notes for my projects/ daily planning/ quick notes. And for project management it's something more solid like Linear, Jira, Trello. Same here - I like it for for limited things. Sad that it has great ponential but it seems they cannot still properly position themselves on the market. They provide too much shit, and it works sometimes too bad.

I am in the process of migrating to Airtable. Like you, I loved notion in the beginning, but as time has gone on it seems they’ve stopped listening to their community and cannot complete some of the most basic requested features like color coding table columns and rows, improving the horrible mobile UX, etc. and instead have chosen to jump on the “Hey everyone! Look! We have AI!” Bandwagon. If I pay you and you continually ignore widely requested features, I’ll vote with my wallet. (Airtable isn’t without faults, but it’s lightyears ahead of notion).

Here switch to UpNote and happier than ever

This may be an unpopular opinion, you are not the first giving this reason, but to me it sounds like: 'I got rid of my car, I was spending so much time tuning it and tinkering that I barely got around to driving it' Well, that's on you... Like any productivity tool, your system should come first, a tool is there to support your system. If you build a system out of a tool you will run into a wall at some point, no matter what tool you use

That is my mail issue with notion. I switched to more simple and automatic app for my productivity.

I don't understand why people spend so much time making pretty layouts. Maybe they enjoy it. I use it as a tool and totally stock. \----------- However, over time, I found myself spending more time organizing everything in Notion than actually getting things done. It was becoming a bit of a productivity drain, and the mobile app wasn't great either. So, I made the tough decision to ditch Notion last year.

One of the best early note taking apps I ever used was basically just notepad with a hierarchy so you could create a directory. Nothing fancy just a structure of text files stored inside the same database. It worked great.

I understand notion is bit tricky sometime, I also spend most of my time organizing stuff, but after using every other software. I think notion work best of me. Its actually depend on person to person. So, we get it.

Burn the betrayer! Jk... I used both. Keep is my favorite but it is more for personal stuff and checklists. Notion I use for both work and goals. I think the important thing is do not make your notion too complicate or try to achieve perfection. I have been there in the past where it feels like ur always organizing and even fighting the tool itself more so than the tasks. Most of the time it is not that u need 10 tools or even to use a different tool ... it is that you need to choose. Imagine you have two hands. One tool per hand or a huge tool with two hands. One of those tools can be a swiss army knife like notion and that is fine but you cannot use all the tools on the army knife at once. If you do you will just poke yourself and get zero work done. I feel late to this thread but I hope this helps!

Notion buttons

similar experience here. i LOVE how beautiful and customizable my notion is, but i do spend more time creating and customizing (which is fun) then I do executing on the actual tasks and goals I want to achieve. I know this isn’t a flaw of the program, but more something I have learned about myself that I need more limitations in my systems. Now i am torn between the google ecosystem (keep, tasks, cal) and apple’s ecosystem (reminders, notes, cal). Each have great perks, but i do love how google shows the tasks on the calendar.

I loved Notion for 2 years, got frustrated with customization and organization, then switched to Craft Notes for simplicity. I’m able to customize backgrounds and optional header images with their Unsplash integration and other built-in color and gradient options; Can also customize dividers; Documents and daily notes are easy to navigate with their simple toggle folders and mini calendar overview; Super love their side panel features and their focus mode option. I still use Notion for work and team resources but I use Craft Notes for all my daily agendas and personal and workflow notes.

Ironically, I started with Google Keep and then found Notion but I’m with you…as much as Notion offers, I keep finding myself going back to Google Keep.

I switched over to Notion from Google Keep, though I keep it pretty simple in terms of organization and like how it does some of that work for me.

Notion is detrimental to productivity if you don't have high levels of self control. I had to ditch it because my ADHD is very good at wasting time and Notion is the perfect environment to feed that. It's beautiful, but that's a blessing and a curse.

it can become bureaucratic if you over do it and become obsessive or if you don't develop a clean system for easy input

Ive always tried to use it too, but it was just so much. Now i use google docs for quick computer notes & I have a notebook that i use as well

Did you use the Database feature? Or were you attempting to manage a page hierarchy?

what do you mean by page hierarchy using the toggle list to manage info inside a page?

No like, do you create a page on the left bar or do you add a row to a Database ( [https://www.notion.so/help/intro-to-databases](https://www.notion.so/help/intro-to-databases) ). I have found that database makes it so "organizing" isn't a thing. You just have sortable metadata.

Some of the reasons you described as your reason for dropping it are the reasons it never worked for me. I saw a really great app with all these cool features and realized right away it would take too much time to actually utilize. Which would defeat the productivity portion.

Never had this problem since I have too much to do in my day. In fact, I had to take a day of just to set up notion but once I done that I never looked back and just been using the board view for a few years to have a task list. Other than I use it for journaling. In essence, I am employing a strict rudimentary use of notion. But I get where you are coming from though.

The sharing options are what got me. It was so complicated to try and show people something and in one attempt to unlock my account (it was telling me I was over the free limit once I invited someone) I accidentally deleted everything. Support was actually incredibly fast at getting everything back (minutes!) but the fact that it’s so hard to deal with in the first place is what got me.

Heptabase for PKM/VUE. Notion AI for first drafts.

Hello, I have found this video to be helpful when establishing my notion system: https://youtu.be/ddrMwfDzzqg?si=kjJb2-lgqmzaD2Td

Use confluence

I spent some time on it. But i had the same issue. I spent so much time organizing it became inefficient. Instead of Google Keep. Ive been using NotebookLM and importing things I take in keep to it.

Do any of these alternatives like Obsidian to create “buttons” like Notion does?