Working with Notion

If you’re new to Notion, its range of features might astonish you.

This versatile platform merges the functionalities of note-taking apps, reminders, writing tools, project management solutions, and a comprehensive database system equipped with advanced features like formulas, relations, and roll-ups.

Notion is a productivity powerhouse, offering immense capabilities, albeit with a bit of complexity. Thankfully, you can tailor its use to your needs.

And best of all, Notion is free!

I've been using Notion intermittently for about two years to manage my personal notes and YouTube channels. Recently, I began organizing my Medium content in it, allowing me to write and plan my stories effectively.

I crafted a straightforward database to store my Medium articles along with various essential details. I also maintain a list of top writer tags within Notion.

Let’s explore this further!

The Content Database

My Medium content is organized within a database simply named Writing. You can create one by opening a Notion page and clicking the + icon next to the cursor or typing /tabledatabase.

My Writing database is not exclusive to Medium; it includes posts from various sources. However, it is primarily focused on Medium since that’s where I concentrate my efforts. Consequently, many of the categories in the database are related to Medium.

Here’s what the content database looks like.

It starts with the Name of the post. Each name entry acts as a Notion page, which I can click to access the text body and all relevant information.

Alongside the name, I’ve created multiple columns for relevant data points, including Status, Publishing Date, Tags, Platform, Link, and more.

Let’s delve deeper into these components!

Medium-Relevant Columns

Since this database serves as a centralized hub for all my writing, the first additional column I created besides the name was the Platform column.

The Platform column is a tag selection property that allows me to choose from a predefined set of tags (or create a new one as needed). If you opt for the Select option in Notion, only one tag can be chosen at a time.

If you require more flexibility, the Multi-select property is also available. I prefer this option since I often publish the same story on multiple platforms, such as Medium and Simily, or Medium and NewsBreak.

Next, I have a Status column, another Multiselect property that includes options like Published, Submitted, Draft, or Idea. These categories align well with the Medium structure.

Additional columns feature Publication (the Medium platform where the story is posted), a list of Tags as another Multiselect property, the Published date, the Link to the article, and a section for Medium Lists where I can note all lists the post is included in. I’m currently updating this section in my database.

Important Insights

Lastly, I want to highlight two additional columns I've established. These contain simple checkboxes, which can be used in powerful ways.

These columns are Curated and Viral.

I simply check off these boxes when a post is curated or goes viral. This approach offers various benefits, including:

1. Filtering by Curated or Viral reveals patterns in topic selection, publication choices, added tags, and more.
2. It also illustrates the relationship between Viral and Curated posts.

How I Use the Database

The images above illustrate one way I utilize my Medium database, showcasing the primary view with all pertinent information for each post entry. However, there are additional views.

The Planner View

I’ve created several views, one of which is the Content Calendar.

As the name suggests, this view displays a calendar featuring my published posts. I find that seeing a month filled with stories provides a gratifying sense of accomplishment and is an excellent way to plan future content.

The Pretty View

Another view I’ve set up is the Content Gallery. This secondary view (which I personally find more visually appealing) presents all my posts in a card layout, prominently featuring the main image of each article.

The Task View

Finally, I have a Content To-Do view. This layout displays all my drafts and ideas for new Medium articles in a Kanban board format, making it easy to move posts from one status to another, such as from Idea to Draft.

I won’t share my specific view here, but you’ll find it in the free template.

Bonus

Additionally, I maintain another highly useful database.

A comprehensive list of Top Writer Tags that includes competition rates based on stories written for each tag, as well as the number of Medium writers associated with any given tag.

This Top Writer Tag List is beneficial for several reasons:

1. You can easily track which tags you've achieved on Medium.
2. You can sort tags by competition levels, from very low to very high, to identify which are easier to obtain.
3. Before writing a new story, you can quickly reference this list to find suitable tags.

The Bottom Line

Transitioning from a casual writer who publishes occasionally to a (semi-)professional blogger who writes and schedules multiple stories daily necessitates effective management, structuring, and organization of your content.

Notion serves as an ideal and free tool for this purpose. Its powerful integration of various tools and workflows offers virtually limitless possibilities for writing, planning, and archiving your work.

Furthermore, its advanced search functionality simplifies locating specific details about one or multiple posts, far exceeding the speed of navigating through your stats and story pages on Medium. Most importantly, filtering specific aspects provides profound insights into your progress.

Get the Template

If you’re interested in trying Notion, I’m excited to offer my Medium Content Template. You can view this template and duplicate it into your Notion workspace for customization. Additionally, check out the Top Writer Tag List template.

You can find both templates in my Gumroad store here and here.

If you enjoy the templates, please leave a rating! Feel free to comment below if you have any questions. Click on the image below to access my Gumroad store.

P.S.: First, make sure to get my posts delivered to your inbox. You can do that here! Secondly, if you’re interested in experiencing Medium yourself, consider supporting me and countless other writers by signing up for a membership. It only costs $5 per month, and you have the opportunity to earn money with your writing as well. When I began, I made $3000 in six months. By signing up through this link, you’ll support me directly with a portion of your fee, at no extra cost to you. Thank you immensely if you choose to do so! Lastly, I frequently create freebies, so subscribe for more.