One of the best ways you can achieve more when taking notes is by maximizing your time spent writing down information while reducing time spent editing. There are several Notion tricks to enhance your workflow and improve your efficiency.

By learning these tricks, you’ll be able to create and edit content seamlessly and sustain momentum throughout the entirety of your work session. Here are the best Notion tricks to increase your productivity and edit notes effortlessly.

1. Organize Your Notes in Columns

Pros and Cons list in Notion

In standard text editors, writing paragraph after paragraph can make your notes look bland and clunky. Notion offers a solution to this dull approach by letting you format your notes into two or more columns.

To write notes in multiple columns, first type a forward slash (/) to access the commands list. Then, type one of the following formats:

  • Type /2 columns to create two columns.
  • Type /3 columns to create three columns.
  • Type /4 columns to create four columns.

You can split notes into up to five columns. To resize each column, hover your mouse over the intersection between two columns and drag the vertical bar. One use of this formatting trick is to make a pros and cons list. You can also use this tool to organize many other lists in Notion to boost your productivity.

2. Use Buttons to Duplicate Content

Button feature class example in Notion

If you’re a frequent Notion user, there’ll likely be times when you create similar types of content. Buttons are a special feature to duplicate large blocks of notes, so you don’t have to rewrite content from scratch.

You can duplicate notes with the click of a button. Here’s how:

  1. Type /button on any new line to create a new button.
    Creating a button in Notion
  2. Give it a title, and select Insert Blocks from the list of options.
    Insert Blocks Button Option in Notion
  3. Drag blocks from elsewhere in your notes page into the blank text box that appears and click Done.
    Adding content to a button in Notion

Alternatively, you can add new content to the template by clicking inside the text box. You’ll find options corresponding to advanced database features in Notion, so you can edit your database faster.

After creating a button, all you need to do is to click the title to instantly add the content to your page. Now you have a method to create your own templates without the fuss of using copy-and-paste tools.

3. Apply Colors and Highlight Notes Instantly

Color Formatting Options in Notion

Personalization is what makes Notion a keen choice among many note-takers. Styling your notes can help make information stand out and also help separate different types of information.

There are two options to change the color of notes in Notion: you can change the text color or the background color. To change the text color, ensure your cursor is selected on the block you want to change, then use one of the following formats:

  • /green changes the text color to green.
  • /blue changes the text color to blue.

You can also change the background color of any block:

  • /green background changes the background color to green.
  • /purple background changes the background color to purple.

If you’re using lots of the same color, Notion also offers a way to speed up formatting by applying one color multiple times. To do this, highlight the text and use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + H to apply the previously-used color.

4. Insert a Table of Contents to Navigate Your Notes Easily

Table of Contents in Notion

A little-known feature of Notion is the ability to add a table of contents to your notes page. Using this tool, you can easily navigate around your page and jump to concepts instantly.

You can find this feature under Advanced Blocks in the commands list. Alternatively, you can type /table of contents on a new line. This will generate a table of contents block that you can move around your page like a regular block.

This is a powerful tool if you’ve formatted your notes using headings. You can use this tool to navigate chapters if you’re writing a story, or separate topics in your study notes. Notion automatically indents every heading based on its size.

5. Use the Synced Block to Edit Other Blocks

Notion Synced Block on Multiple Pages

Despite being known for its impressive navigation features, Notion offers a method to edit note pages without having to visit them.

The synced block allows you to edit content dynamically between more than one page. To create a synced block, type /synced block on a new line. Now you can continue editing inside the red box that appears to sync the content inside.

When you’ve finished editing, hit the Copy and Sync button in the upper-right corner of the block:

Notion Synced Block Copy Button

Now, navigate to the destination page and use Ctrl + V to paste the synced block into your page. Any subsequent edits made in the synced block will now sync across all occurrences of the block across your workspace. This is a great time-saver that speeds up editing and saves you from jumping back and forth between pages.

6. Change a Block Type Instantly

Block Types in Notion

Notion offers a wide range of formatting options to style your notes. These include checkboxes, bullet lists, code blocks, quotes, and more. One skill to increase your productivity is the ability to change a block’s style instantly.

There are two fast shortcuts to achieving this. Firstly, you can hold Ctrl + Shift, then tap on any number corresponding to a block type. You can view which number represents each block in this extensive list of Notion shortcuts.

Method two takes a little longer but is ideal if you don’t want to remember multiple shortcuts. With your cursor anywhere within a block, type the command /turn followed by the name of the block you want to convert. For example, type /turnh1 to change a block of text into a Heading 1. This approach is useful for editing notes as you type rather than reformatting them later.

Save Time and Work Faster By Using These Notion Shortcuts

If you want to work more efficiently and cut time formatting your notes, add some of these Notion tricks to your work sessions. By using these tips, you’ll create content faster and be able to style your notes effortlessly.

These may seem like minor changes, but applying small habits on a large scale is the key to becoming more productive. Try these tricks to become a Notion pro in no time.