How I use Notion as a Software Developer
Kayode

Kayode @zt4ff_1

About: I just want to be better

Location:
Lagos, Nigeria
Joined:
Nov 26, 2020

How I use Notion as a Software Developer

Publish Date: Dec 10 '22
238 45

I have spent a lot of time watching a lot of Notion content on Youtube and I even read a bit of the Notion API Documentation to see if there’s any way I can integrate Notion into my existing workflow. Ever since I discovered Notion, it has become a productive tool I use almost every day.

Everything in Notion is a block that can be texts, images, videos, links, headings etc. and can be transformed into another type of block or rearranged in any way that may suit your needs.

Personal Dashboard

I created a personal dashboard to manage myself, my work, my learnings, my library, etc. This is like a homepage that is shown to me whenever I open up Notion.

notion_dashboard

(Trust me, I don’t use Notion in light mode 🙂)

I used to have this dashboard open on an extra monitor so I thought it can be a bit aesthetic by showing a clock and auto-generated quote images. The clock and auto-generated quotes images are widgets created using indify.co.

Note-taking App

Notion is always my go-to app for note-taking. I find the markdown support extremely useful as a developer to write notes faster. Notion supports syntax colouring for over 60 programming languages making it a good utility for developers.

notion_code_block

It provides some features that I really find helpful for note-taking. It is cross-platform, can share notes with the public and also invite private collaboration.

Technical Writing

I manage a Notion database for articles and write my drafts using Notion. Because of my familiarity with markdown and the speed to use any block type on Notion, I am able to focus more on writing while things like formatting, link insertions, etc happen from muscle memory. Notion database is handy for project management.

This is a screenshot of how I manage my article writing workflow.

notion_article_writing

I am able to use tags to keep track of the article status and ownership and also sort the data based on the deadline, ownership and status of the article. I also had the table configured to remove published items from the table view.

I am currently researching ways to improve my blogging workflow using Notion API. I am open to recommendations and collaboration, please.

Wrap Up

That is a quick overall of how I use Notion in my workflow as a developer. I hope you are able to get new ideas from my workflow and able to find new ways to incorporate Notion into your workflow too.

Kindly share how you use Notion too so we have plenty of inspirations to choose from.

Let’s connect on Twitter, whatcha say?

Comments 45 total

  • Isaac Ayodeji Ikusika
    Isaac Ayodeji IkusikaDec 11, 2022

    Thank you for sharing this. I have not used notion, this is a big call to check it out.

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      You will find it productive

  • Kelsy Mnk
    Kelsy MnkDec 11, 2022

    I use notion but after reading this article, I feel like I’ve been using it the wrong way haha.
    Thanks for sharing this :)

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      I'd like to know how you use Notion too.
      I may be able to learn new things.

  • Krishna Agarwal
    Krishna AgarwalDec 11, 2022

    Awesome, Thanks!

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      You are welcome!

  • Milon
    MilonDec 11, 2022

    Great

  • Govind Vyas
    Govind VyasDec 11, 2022

    And I have always have a drama with Notion. I install, use that for 2-3 days, and uninstall. Repeat every couple of weeks may be.. haha.. I don't no why : (

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      You can create a dashboard like I did. It may encourage ideas on how you can integrate Notion to your daily workflow.

      • Govind Vyas
        Govind VyasDec 12, 2022

        Sure, Actually I feel distraction while working on Notion. I inspired to use that whenever I read a post like you posted. But again go back to Obsidian, my day to day tool.

  • Morokhovskyi Roman
    Morokhovskyi RomanDec 11, 2022

    Thanks for your efforts! How long have you been using Notion?

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      More than a year now.
      How long have you been using it too?

  • jwnbt
    jwnbtDec 11, 2022

    I always had trouble finding old articles or I forgot some idea I had. I started using notion today because of this post!

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      Glad you find this helpful!
      You can share how you plan to use it with me whenever you start

  • TK
    TKDec 11, 2022

    I also wrote an article on how I used it: Designing my life's System

    • Govind Vyas
      Govind VyasDec 12, 2022

      That's insightful 👍

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 12, 2022

      Very insightful. Thanks for sharing

    • z2lai
      z2laiDec 13, 2022

      Woah, that is an intense article. I really like some of the quotes you shared. I saved some of them in my notetaking tool, AmpleNote.

      Also, really nice blog and microblog. One suggestion I have for your blog is to make a light mode (light background, dark font). The white text on black background was a little harsh for my eyes. But I am willing to sacrifice because you have some interesting articles!

      • TK
        TKDec 14, 2022

        Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it! Implementing the light mode is in my "backlog" of things I need to do for my website. I hope I can get it done soon, a lot of people are like you who likes to read in light mode.

        And that's nice you keep reading it even tho it's hard for you, thanks!

      • TK
        TKDec 31, 2022

        Hi @z2lai, I had some time to work on the light mode version. Still experimenting that before deploying to production. Let me know if you have some time to test it.

        • z2lai
          z2laiDec 31, 2022

          Hey, the light mode is much easier on the eyes than the dark mode. I think the other main thing was the high contrast between black and white. I've seen UX tips about using grey instead of black on white background to make the text easier on the eyes. Try using #333333 instead of black, here's an example: adhamdannaway.com/about

          • TK
            TKJan 2, 2023

            Applied the #333. It's in production now. Happy "light mode" reading!

            • z2lai
              z2laiJan 3, 2023

              It's beautiful!

    • WD School
      WD SchoolDec 14, 2022

      Increases your knowlage

    • Abdur Rehman Khalid
      Abdur Rehman KhalidDec 16, 2022

      That article looks very strong and motivational and I am sure that it will help me to build a certain habit. You have done some extraordinary work, while writing this article.

  • amykhar
    amykharDec 11, 2022

    I ended up bailing on Notion and moving to Obsidian. The markdown files just seem to work better for me.

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 11, 2022

      I find the mind map feature in Obsidian very interesting too.
      I used Obsidian initially when it launched. I'd check it out someday to see how far it's gotten better. Especially the community plugins.

  • Naman Garg
    Naman GargDec 11, 2022

    Awesome Bro

  • Bervianto Leo Pratama
    Bervianto Leo PratamaDec 11, 2022

    I wonder where you publish the article and how you publish it. If it publishes in dev.to, I wonder if the markdown is compatible. I never try it before.

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 12, 2022

      I publish to Hashnode and Dev.to.
      The markdown is compatible but I have to manually copy between platforms. I am currently looking for ways to automate this process.

      • Bervianto Leo Pratama
        Bervianto Leo PratamaDec 13, 2022

        Cool. I think I will try your blogging workflow. Interesting way.

        For automating the process, I think we will need to use the notion API and dev.to API. Also, will need a scheduled job to take the blog data from the notion.

        • Kayode
          KayodeDec 13, 2022

          Great! I look for to hearing how the workflow works for you.

          • Kayode
            KayodeDec 13, 2022

            Do you plan to work on connecting notion API to Dev.to API?

  • Santosh Bhandari
    Santosh BhandariDec 12, 2022

    I have started using Notion recently as well.
    I am still in the exploration zone, but I surely can tell that it's gonna be useful for me in the long run.

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 12, 2022

      Have fun exploring Notion!

  • John(gwei)
    John(gwei)Dec 12, 2022

    Check out Potion.so for bloggers looking to quickly turn Notion to blog website! Great post!

  • Snezhi
    SnezhiDec 12, 2022

    I love Notion! If you ever decide to dive into the world of Notion API integrations, I strongly recommend Pipedream – it's open-source, a LOT less restrictive than the other options I've found, and you can write your custom API calls straight into their deployed flows.

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 12, 2022

      Bookmarked the documentation. I'll check it out later ❤️

  • Pandeyashish17
    Pandeyashish17Dec 12, 2022

    I am a beginner.. so thank u for introducing me to notion

  • Håvard Bartnes
    Håvard BartnesDec 14, 2022

    I remember using Notion at a previous workplace. Back then I always found coda.io more intriguing. Is Notion notably better than other such tools today?

    • Kayode
      KayodeDec 14, 2022

      I have not tried coda.io before but I think every tools have their pros and cons over different use case.

      Obsidian.md graph view feaure is awesome to many but really requires extra effort from me which acts like a distraction sometimes.

  • WD School
    WD SchoolDec 14, 2022

    Increases your knowlage

  • Abdur Rehman Khalid
    Abdur Rehman KhalidDec 16, 2022

    That is a good and motivational article to get started seriously with the Notion. I have used Notion for the notes taking for the lectures but I could not keep up with the Habit to continuously use Notion for the productivity thing. I have to pay attention to make the use of it habit.

    Once again it is a great article for the motivational purpose.

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