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Personal projects like a professional
Managing personal projects, whether individually or collaboratively, can be a challenge if we don’t have a clear structure. For those who want to give their projects a professional focus, Notion offers a flexible and comprehensive solution. In this article, we’ll explore how to take advantage of Notion’s strengths to organize and execute personal projects, from the simplest to the most complex.
Introduction: Taking Personal Projects to a Professional Level
Personal projects often start as loose ideas that, over time, can transform into something more ambitious. However, to give them a professional structure and ensure they advance, it’s essential to have an organization system that allows us to set a direction and track the actions that need to be taken.
Clarification
In this guide, we’ll walk through the step-by-step process of structuring a project in Notion, with a practical and replicable approach. The methodology can be applied to any type of project at a general level, and you should make adjustments according to the specific needs of each project.
1. Create a Centralized Workspace for Your Project
The first step in managing a project is creating a centralized workspace. This space will be the point of reference for all activities related to the project. Here is where you’ll keep an overview of the tasks being worked on, pending items, responsibilities, dates, documents, etc.
This will help maintain a general vision of the project, facilitating quick access to the most important areas.
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Create a main project page: In Notion, start by creating a page that serves as the control center for your project. Assign a clear name and add a brief description of the project’s main objective.
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Dashboard: Design a simple dashboard where you can see key tasks, important dates, and links to other relevant project elements at a glance. For this, I recommend Chartbase.
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Work structure: Within this main page, it’s useful to divide tasks into different areas of the project (for example, Marketing, Finance, Development, etc.). This way, you’ll have dedicated sections for each aspect requiring your attention.
2. Databases to Manage Tasks and Subtasks by Work Segments
The next step is to start organizing the project’s tasks. You can create tables with databases to manage both general tasks and subtasks, organizing them by work segments.
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General task tables: Create a table-formatted database where you can list all general tasks of the project. This table should include columns such as:
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Task name
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Responsible party
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Due date
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Status (To do, In progress, Completed)
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Priority
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Work segment (for example, Marketing, Finance, Development)
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Subtasks and work breakdown: For more complex projects, break down the main tasks into subtasks. Create views or additional databases that filter these subtasks according to the work segment (Marketing, Finance, etc.), allowing detailed tracking in each area.
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Database linking: Notion allows you to link databases, enabling you to have a clear view of how each task or subtask contributes to the overall progress of the project. For example, you can create a table with all the marketing team’s subtasks and link them to the general task table to maintain a global project view.
By structuring tasks and subtasks in this way, you can centralize information and more effectively track the work being done in each project area.
3. Task Summary Boards: Keep Control of Progress
A crucial aspect of maintaining organization and focus in any project is having a clear vision of overall progress. Notion allows you to create summary boards that make this visualization easier.
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Kanban boards: An efficient way to see the status of all tasks is by using Kanban boards. Divide tasks into columns like “To do,” “In progress,” and “Completed.” This will give you a clear view of each task’s status in the project and help manage what remains to be done.
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Filtered views: In addition to general boards, you can create filtered views for each team or work area, showing only the tasks relevant to that segment. For example, you can create a summary board just for Marketing tasks, another for Finance, etc. It’s also advisable to create monthly, weekly, and daily pending tables to ensure tasks are completed within the stipulated timeframes.
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Metrics dashboard: If your project requires it, you can create panels with key metrics to measure the success of each project phase. This is particularly useful if you’re managing tasks that involve meeting specific goals or KPIs.
Summary boards are essential tools for keeping track of progress, facilitating decision-making on which areas need more attention, and ensuring that the entire team is aligned.
4. Review and Continuous Improvement: Optimize Your Workflow
Once your project is underway, it’s important to conduct periodic reviews to ensure that everything is progressing as planned. Notion facilitates this process, allowing you to adjust and optimize your workflow continuously.
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Weekly or monthly review: Schedule weekly or monthly review sessions to assess the project’s status. In Notion, you can create templates for these reviews, where you include notes on progress and challenges encountered.
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Adjust deadlines and responsibilities: If you find that some project areas are delayed or need more attention, you can use the comments in each page, which store the timestamp when they were added, allowing for more detailed tracking.
This continuous review and improvement process is key to keeping your projects moving efficiently, ensuring that you can adapt to changes and overcome obstacles.
Conclusion: Organize and Optimize Your Personal Projects
For those who are starting to work on personal projects and looking for a way to organize them professionally, Notion is the perfect tool. With its ability to centralize information, organiz