How To Take Notes in Notion

Are you looking for a place to easily take notes and organize them in the most efficient way possible?

Look no further than this article which will show you how to take notes in Notion.

Notion is one of the best note-taking applications for many reasons. It makes organizing and structuring your notes easy and seamless. 

It offers endless options for customization and also makes your notes visually appealing.

This article will walk you through the steps on how to efficiently take notes in Notion and set up your first note-taking workspace. You’ll also learn how to structure your notes, highlight important information, add comments, lists, images, and more.

Get ready to streamline your note-taking and maximize your productivity with Notion.

Table of Content

How To Take Notes in Notion Efficiently

Let's first start with the basics of setting up a page.

1. Setting Up a Page

Launch the Notion application. Head to the sidebar and click on the ‘+’ sign to create a new page.

How To Take Notes in Notion

Click on the option that says “Empty page with icon.” 

setting up a page in notion next step

Give a title to your note.

change cover icon in notion

Click on the icon and select any emoji or icon that you like.

selecting cover icon in notion

If you want, you can even keep a cover image. Hover over the title area and click on the “Cover image” option.

changing cover image in notion other step

A cover image will be added to your workspace.

cover image in notion

If you want to change it, hover over the cover image and click on the Change cover option. 

changing cover image in notion step 1

When you click it, a drop-down menu will appear on your screen.

chooosing cover image in notion

Scroll down until you find your desired cover image. If you want something really specific, click on the “Unsplash” option which has a wide variety of images.

type in search bar for cover image notion

Type the keyword of whatever you’re looking for, in the search bar. 

Suppose you searched “library”. You will see a range of options that match your search.

choosing cover image from unsplash in notion

Click on whichever image you prefer and it will be added as a cover image to your note.

note after adding cover image

You can even reposition the image by clicking on ‘Reposition.’ 

reposition cover image in notion

Now let’s come to the note-taking part.

2. Blocks and Formatting

Notion is a note-taking app that works using a system of blocks. Each piece of content in Notion, whether it's a text, image, or file, is housed in its block.

This allows for a high degree of flexibility and customization in organizing and structuring your information. 

To add a block, click on the ‘+’  sign and it’ll open a menu that contains different blocks. You can scroll through the list and select the block of your choice to be added to the page.

setting up block in notion

To get started, click the + sign, and select the option that says Text: “Just start writing with plain text”.

plain text notion

Then type in (or copy-paste) your notes.

example note in Notion

By clicking the six-dotted icon, you get options to delete or duplicate a block, change the background or text colors, add lists or points, and much more.

six dotted menu in notion

Here are some of the main features that will help you in your note-taking:-

Background and Text Color

You can change the background color of both the block and the text. You can read our guide on how to change the background color to know more about the topic.

For changing the color of the text, simply click on the six-dotted icon and then click on the  ‘Color’ option from the menu. 

change text color in notion

If you want to change the font, click the three-dot menu in the top right corner of your page. 

Switch between small text and full-width as well as different font styles such as Default, Serif, and Mono. 

how to change font in notion 1

Switch between small text and full-width as well as different font styles such as Default, Serif, and Mono.

different font styles in notion

If you toggle the “Small text” option, your notes will look like this.

small text toggle in notion 1

If you toggle the “Full width” option, your notes will look like this.

full width toggle in notion

Headings

Headings are an important part of note-taking as they help with hierarchy, structuring, and navigation. 

To add a heading block, open the menu by clicking on the ‘+’ sign on a new line. 

title block in notion step 1

Scroll down and click on your preferred heading level; (Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3) 

alternate heading block in notion

For the main heading, select Heading 1 and type in your heading.

title final block in notion

You can likewise, insert sub-titles in between your notes by following the same steps.
Alt-click to add a block above.

select subheading notion

Select Heading 2 or Heading 3.

select sub heading in notion

Type in your sub-heading.

subheading in notion final

 

Comment

If you want to collaborate on note-taking, comments are a useful tool for editing. They can also be used to clarify or expand on the information in the main text of your notes.

To add comments to a block, click on the six-dotted icon and then click on the “Comment” option.

how to comment in notion step 1

Type your comment in the bar that appears.

comment box in notion

You can also add comments to a specific line of text by selecting it and then choosing the Comment option from the ribbon.

insert comment box in notion

 Same as above, type your comment in the bar that appears.

insert comment box in highlighted text in notion

You can also add page-level comments by hovering your mouse over the title of the page and clicking on the “Add comment” button. 

comment under title block in notion

You can view the comments on a page by clicking on the speech bubble icon.

speech bubble icon in notion 1

When you click the speech bubble icon, your comment will appear like this. You can add additional comments to the same block.

Comment box viewing in notion

You can edit a comment by hovering over your comment box till you see the three-dotted icon.

how to edit comment in notion step 1 1

When you click it, you will see a menu. Click on the “Edit comment” option.

how to edit comment in notion step 2 2

Toggle

Toggles act as accordions and are helpful when you want to declutter your notes and want to hide content inside a heading. 

There are two types of toggles in Notion: simple toggles and heading toggles. The only difference is that simple toggles appear as normal text, whereas heading toggles come in three heading levels.

To add a toggle list, click the “+” icon.

For a Basic Toggle block:-

how to add toggle in notion step 1

Scroll down in the block list, and select the Toggle list under Basic blocks or Heading toggles under Advanced blocks. You can also type /toggle and select your desired toggle.

select toggle option in notion

It will appear like this.

toggle appears in notion

Type your main point in the block. For the hidden part, click on the triangle icon.

how to open toggle list in notion

Type the part of your content you want to keep hidden from view.

hidden part of toggle in notion

To see the hidden part, click the triangle icon again.

For the Advanced Toggle heading, click on the + sign and scroll down the menu till you see the Advanced Blocks section. Scroll down further and click on the toggle heading you need.

advanced block toggle in notion

3. Structuring Your Notes

Adding Points and To-Do Lists

Notion allows you to organize the content in bullet and numbered points as well as in a to-do list. 

To add either of the blocks, click the “+” icon on a new line and select your desired block under the Basic Blocks.

how to add to do list in notion step 1

Scroll down and click on “To-do list.”

click on to do list option in notion

The to-do list should look like this.

to do list final in notion

You can also convert your existing set of paragraphs into bulleted and numbered points or even a to-do list. Select all of the paragraphs you want to convert and then click the six-dotted icon.

how to make existing paragraph into bullet points in notion

This will bring up a menu where you can hover over “Turn into” and then choose your desired list block.

how to turn block into bullet list notion

Suppose you want your notes to appear as bullet points. If you select the “Bulleted list” option, then your notes will appear like this.

bullet list in notion final

Quote

If you want to highlight an important paragraph in your note, you can turn it into a quote. 

Click the six-dotted icon and choose the Quote block or type /quote and press the Enter key.

how to turn into quote in notion step 1

Select the “Turn into” option, then click on the “Quote” block from the menu.

quotes block in notion

The text should look like this.

how quote appears in notion

To change the background color of the Quote, see our guide on how to change the background color.

If you only want a specific part highlighted, copy-paste it into a new block and repeat the above steps to make it a Quote.

Divider

Similarly, if you want to differentiate some content from others, you can make use of the Divider block. To add it to the page, select it from the blocks menu or type “/divider”.

how to add divider in notion

It will appear like this.

divider in note in notion

Drag and Drop Tool

Notion makes use of different blocks to add content to a page. This makes it easy to rearrange content. 

To change the order of your paragraphs, move your cursor over the six-dotted icon of the block you want to move and click and drag it upwards or downwards.

how to turn into quote in notion step 1 1

Click and drag it upwards or downwards.

moving block upwards in notion

That is how you can change the sequence of the paragraphs.

rearranged block in notion

You can also make your paragraphs appear side by side. Click on the six-dotted icon and drag the block to the side.

drag the block to the side in notion

It will arrange the content in columns.

arrange the content in columns notion

If you want to know how to center-align the text in your notes, read our guide on how to center-align the text in Notion.

4. Embedding Media

One of the cool features of Notion is that it allows you to embed videos, images, files, and more into your workspace.

Did you know you could save a link as a visual bookmark?

 Click on the ‘+’ sign and scroll down the menu. Click on “Web bookmark.” 

select web bookmark in notion

Or, type /web and press the Enter key.

how to enter web bookmark in notion alternate method

After you click on “Web bookmark”, you will see a box appear on the screen.

web bookmark appears on screen in notion

Paste the link in the box. Then click on “Create bookmark.” 

web bookmark paste link in the

It should appear like this. 

web bookmark final

Notion also allows you to embed a video in your notes. 

Click on the ‘+’ sign, scroll down the menu, and then click on “Video.”

(Or type/video and press Enter).

how to embed video in notion

Paste the link of the video in the box and click on “Embed video.”

embed video paste link in the box notion

 You can now view the video from your Notion workspace itself. 

view embedded video in notion

To add images, click on the ‘+’ sign, scroll down the menu, then click on “Image.”

(Or type /image and press Enter).

select image option in notion

You can either upload an image from your desktop to your workspace.

upload file in notion

Or, you can upload an image from Unsplash. 

upload image from unsplash in notion

Type the keyword of whatever you’re looking for, in the search bar.  Suppose you searched “pen”. You will see a range of options that match your search.

unsplash image options in notion

Click on whichever image you prefer and it will be added as an image to your note.

pen image in notion

 

Under the free version of Notion, you can upload media files up to 5 MB. 

Click on the ‘+’ sign, scroll down the menu, then click on “File.”

(Or type /file and press Enter).

select file option in notion

There are two ways to add a file to your workspace; you can either upload it from your desktop or paste the link from other sources.

Click on the “Choose a file” option and upload the file from your desktop to your workspace.

upload file in notion 1

After you choose your file, it should appear like this in your workspace.

uploaded file in notion final

The Plus and Business plans remove the 5MB limit and allow you to upload an unlimited size of files.

5. Linking Other Pages From the Workspace

You can also add links to other pages within your Notion workspace.
For this, either select the “Link to page” option in the menu that pops up when you click on the ‘+’ sign. Or type “/link to page” and press the Enter key.

link to page in notion step 1

A menu of all the pages in your Notion workspace will appear on the screen. Click on the page you need.

link to page in notion step 2

A link to that page will be created in your workspace.

link to page final step notion

If there’s a database you want to link in your notes, you can read our article on how to link databases in Notion. 

6. Add Sub Pages

You can add sub-pages within a note. 

To do this, head to the sidebar on the left side of your Notion workspace. Hover your cursor over the bar of your existing note and click on the + sign. 

how to add sub page in notion step 1

You will see this on your screen. 

how to add subpages in notion step 2

As shown in the screenshot, you can either press the Enter key to continue with an empty page or select one of the available templates.

adding subpages in notion step 3

Same as before, you can add an icon, and a cover image and format this page as you did the first one. This way, you can add as many pages as you need.

You can view the additional pages by clicking on the little arrow icon to the left of the note title in the sidebar.

how to view subpages notion step 1

When you click it, a menu of all the pages inside your note will appear on the sidebar.

how to view subpages in notion final step

That’s it about how to take notes in Notion and utilize it as a note-taking app.

Let’s now look at some of the best note-taking templates available for how to take notes in Notion.

7. Best Notion Note-Taking Templates

By this point, you probably want to get started with your note-taking. 

To get you started on your note-taking journey, here are three of the most user-friendly Notion note-taking templates.

These will make it easy for you to understand how to take notes in Notion efficiently. 

1. Thomas Frank's Note-Taking Template

Notion notes first template ss 1

This template is one of the most popular ones out there. It incorporates features found in other note-taking apps into the Notion experience.

Key Features

  • Status Dashboard
  • Inline box table within the main dashboard that makes it easy for you to take notes even when you’re on the move. 
  • Notebook List
  • Sub-notebooks are accessible from the sidebar

Get Thomas Frank's Note-Taking Template 

2. Ultimate Notebook System Template

Notion notes second template ss 1

This is the ideal template for students, as it includes numerous options to keep track of your learning.

Key Features

  • Subjects database
  • Each notebook can be tagged for further organizing.
  • Databases for Terms, Concepts, Fun Words, Quotes, Flash Cards, and more.
  • Quick Navigation Bar

Get the Ultimate Notebook System Template

3. Class Notes Template

Notion notes third template

If you are a student, a reader, or a working professional who needs to jot down your meeting notes in one spot, then this is the template for you. 

This template allows you to capture and view all your notes in one place. 

Key Features

  • Keep a record of what you've read.
  • Notes get automatically dated when you create them.
  • To add unlimited notes, bookmarks, images, videos, and even a table of contents, click on any item.
  • Label your notes with the course name and number.

Get the Class Notes Template

We hope this article will help you take your notes to the next level!

Wrapping Up:

In a nutshell, we have given you the basics on how to take notes in Notion and set up a note-taking workspace.

 Let us know in the comments below, which template you will use.

Don't forget to have a look at some of the best Notion templates available.

Also, if you have any questions about how to take notes in Notion (or anything else), please leave a comment below. We’d love to answer your queries. 

Disclosure: Our content is reader-supported. This means if you click on some of our links, then we may earn a commission.

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