There is one page in my Notion workspace where I spend 90% of my time, and do the majority of my work, and that page is my “Today” page.
The Today page is a time-based dashboard that brings together nearly everything I need to complete my current day’s work. It brings together all of the universal principles behind every productivity system.
Let’s break it down:
Time-based organization
This Today dashboard is designed for the current day’s context, so I am showing only what is relevant for me to get today’s work done. I don’t need to see all of my tasks for next week, or someday/maybe. I only need to see what’s most important today.
That means my databases have filters that show what’s most important today (and up to this week).
There is a navigation at the top of the page allowing me to quickly jump to other contexts as needed.
A trusted collection system
Everything has it’s place. Content clipped from the web, books, videos etc all get stored in the Library database, which is all visible in the Knowledge capture/retrieval area. This is a linked view block which combines views of several databases including: Library, Notes + Ideas, Documentation, Inspiration, etc.
This means any recently captured notes are 1-click away. The same goes for any active courses or studies. I can quickly access company documentation via the My Docs tab.
The page is designed so that the things I access daily are quickly visible and/or 1-click away.
Since my content database is something I often need access to daily, a linked view of my content database is visible on my Today page so I can add a new piece of content in one click, or I can visualize what is scheduled to be published this week so I can assure that I’m making time for it in my calendar.
Goal-outcome alignment
The system is based on goals which are set quarterly, which then influence which projects we decide to take on for the upcoming quarter. Because this is decided in advance, I don’t need to see or think about this on a daily basis, and I don’t need to see tasks which are not part of active goals and projects.
This allows me to filter tasks to only show those that are:
- Scheduled for today (or within the next few days)
- Have a Status property of Now, In Progress, or Next (not Complete, or Later)
- Assigned to me
- Assigned to active Projects
- Completed today
To reduce overwhelm, I only show what truly needs to get done today. Everything else is hidden from view.
The default filters to help me see only what’s most important today:
Recurring practice tracking
The Journal is where most daily personal practices get tracked. Routine business tasks and shared household routine tasks are handled via the main task database as they are also visible to my partner.
Since most of my personal tracking happens at the end of the day when I’m not at my computer, I use a simple Daily Log page for quickly tracking things like exercise and health related things with buttons.
Reflection and review cycles
My master task list might be long, but today’s task list is not. It’s in the weekly and monthly review cycles that tasks get re-prioritized or scheduled as needed, but that doesn’t need to be done at the daily level where I’m getting my work done.
When I’m ready to review the day, I click on the day’s journal entry, which is dynamically updated each day, making it very easy to update the day’s reflections.
When I’m ready to do my weekly review, I click on “Week” in the navigation menu, and open up the current week entry to begin filling out my review prompts.
The page is designed to reduce friction as much as possible in getting my current day’s work done.
I give myself lots of flexibility to see tasks in different ways as needed through filtered views, but my default preference is grouped by status:
- Grouped by Status (Now, Next, Later, In Progress, Done)
- Routine daily tasks
- Blocked tasks (that need coordination or clarification with my partner)
- Grouped by project (for easy capture/assigning to projects)
- By Context/Frame (Admin, Focus, etc)
- Completed today
I often get asked for my Today page template (and I do have a pretty close approximation through my Plan Your Year template), but you can hopefully see how this page is designed for my days, and makes use of many of the databases within my workspace.
You may need to see different information at a daily level. You may have different databases and names for the different aspects of your system. You likely have entirely different preferences for how you like to see your information.
There’s no right or wrong way to approach your productivity system, and there is no perfect system that will magically help you become a more productive person. Why? Because productivity is as much an emotional challenge as it is a technical one (if not more!).
It requires understanding yourself deeply: knowing how you work, your preferences, your triggers, your distractions, how you focus best, how your environment impacts your mood, etc. You can’t successfully plug into someone else’s productivity system without understanding how you really work.
Want to know more about the universal principles behind every productivity system, and why you shouldn’t get caught up in the hunt for the perfect system? Read more here:
Leave a Reply