Minimalist Productivity with Notion: Do More by Doing Less
Eliminate mental clutter, focus on what matters, and build a system that actually works
✍🏼 Miguel Brfs
The Productivity Paradox: Working Harder While Achieving Less
Let's be honest: modern work is a mess. We're drowning in tools, notifications, and endless decisions. The result? We're constantly busy but rarely productive.
For years, I managed complex civil engineering projects—juggling designs, budgets, stakeholders, and deadlines. The chaos wasn't from the work itself, but from how I tried to manage it all.
My approach was what most of us do: different apps for different purposes. Task manager here, documentation there, spreadsheets everywhere. It felt productive—until I realized I was spending more time managing my system than doing actual work.
This is where minimalist productivity changed everything for me. Not just by using fewer tools, but by creating space for what actually matters: deep, focused work that moves projects forward.
And Notion, when used thoughtfully, is perfect for this approach. The key is restraint—building only what you need, not what you can.
Step 1 → Reduce Cognitive Load by Eliminating Friction
The Hidden Cost of Context Switching
Your brain is remarkable, but it has limitations. Every time you switch between apps, hunt for files, or try to remember where you put something, you're burning mental energy you could be using for real work.
This is cognitive load—the mental effort required to process information and make decisions. And it's silently killing your productivity.
Let's be clear: real work should be challenging. It involves complex problems and creative solutions. But your system for managing work shouldn't add to that challenge.
How I Cleared My Mental Workspace
First, I consolidated. Instead of jumping between five different apps, I built a single Notion workspace that contained everything I needed.
Then I applied two principles that changed everything:
1. The Two-Click Rule: Nothing Important Should Be Buried
If I have to click through multiple pages to find something I need every day, I've already failed. So I rebuilt my workspace with one rule:
Everything essential should be accessible within two clicks.
Instead of sprawling hierarchies, I created a dashboard that puts critical information at my fingertips. Projects, tasks, resources…
All visible from a central hub.
Try this today: Open your Notion workspace and count how many clicks it takes to reach your most important information. If it's more than two, it's time to restructure.
2. Progressive Disclosure: Show Only What's Needed, When It's Needed
Most workspaces overwhelm us because they show everything at once. The key is revealing complexity only when necessary.
In practice:
- Meeting notes are hidden under toggles until I need them
- Databases show only relevant items by default
- Completed work automatically archives itself
Your next step: Look at your current workspace. What information is visible that you don't need right now? Hide it, filter it, or archive it.
Step 2 → The Power of Essentialism – The One-Page System
Why Complex Systems Inevitably Fail
I've seen it countless times: beautifully designed productivity systems that are abandoned within weeks. Why? They're too complex to maintain.
The more features and pages you add, the higher the maintenance cost. Eventually, you're spending more time organizing work than doing it.
Building a Dashboard That Actually Works
Instead of creating separate pages for every aspect of work, I built a single command center that gives me everything I need at a glance.
Here's what my minimalist dashboard contains:
1. Quick Capture Zone
A simple input area for capturing thoughts, ideas, and tasks without interrupting my flow.
No categories, no tags, no overthinking. Just get it out of your head and into the system.
Once a day (not in real-time) I process these items, moving them to the right place or deleting them altogether.
2. Today's Focus
A filtered view showing only what needs attention today.
No massive backlog to overwhelm me—just the next meaningful actions.
Each task is prioritized using the Eisenhower Matrix (urgent vs. important), so I always know what deserves my attention first.
3. Active Projects
Instead of dozens of project pages, I maintain a tight list of what's actually moving forward right now.
Each project has its own streamlined page with only essential information—not an endless wiki of possibilities.
4. Meeting Notes & References
Every meeting note automatically links to its relevant project.
Instead of hunting through folders, I use a database with smart filters to find key decisions and information in seconds.
Try this experiment: Build a one-page dashboard where everything critical is visible at once. If you find yourself rarely needing to open other pages, you're on the right track.
Step 3 → Stop Managing Work and Start Doing It
The ultimate irony of productivity systems is how unproductive they can make us. We spend so much time organizing, categorizing, and managing our work that we have little energy left for the work itself.
A truly effective system should fade into the background. If you're constantly tweaking your Notion setup, you're missing the point.
Maintaining Simplicity Over Time
1. The 10-Minute Reset
Every Friday afternoon, I spend exactly 10 minutes:
- Archiving completed tasks
- Deleting unnecessary information
- Resetting my workspace for the week ahead
2. The Ruthless Utility Test
If I haven't used a page, template, or database in over a month, it gets archived or deleted. No exceptions.
3. The Feature Threshold
Before adding any new element to my system, I ask: "Does this save more time than it costs?"
If the answer isn't a clear yes, I don't add it—no matter how clever or appealing it seems.
Your challenge: Set a recurring 10-minute calendar event each Friday to clean and simplify your workspace. Be ruthless about what stays.
Simplicity Is the Ultimate Productivity Hack
We've been conditioned to believe that more is better—more tools, more features, more structure. But the truth is exactly the opposite.
Real productivity comes from:
- Less friction
- Fewer decisions
- A workspace that supports your thinking instead of demanding it
The most effective system isn't the most impressive one. It's the one that disappears, letting you focus completely on the work that actually matters.
Remember: Your productivity system should work for you, not the other way around.
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