Behind the Scenes: How I Design a Notion Template
From messy paper notes to a finished template — the unglamorous process behind every product in the shop.
People often ask if I design templates in Notion itself. The answer is no — at least not at first. Every template starts as a mess of paper notes and voice memos. I'll be walking my dog and suddenly think, "What if the budget page had a weekly check-in instead of a monthly one?" That goes into a note before I lose it.
Once I have a rough shape, I build a really ugly version in Notion. I mean ugly — no colors, no icons, no pretty headers. Just the bare structure. I use it for a week. If I stop opening it by day four, I know the concept is wrong, not the design. That's saved me from shipping a lot of templates that looked nice but didn't work.
The design phase is actually the shortest part. I add soft colors, a few gentle prompts, and maybe a quote or two. But the real work is in the testing — using it during a busy week, a sick week, a "I don't want to look at my computer" week. If it survives those, it's ready.
The last step is writing the setup guide. I record myself walking through it like I'm talking to a friend who's never opened Notion. That's the energy I want. Not a manual. A conversation.