Applying UX Thinking: How I Designed a Notion Template to Solve My Note Organization Problem

“Write to Think” is my secret weapon

Too much chatter in your head?

I can relate - that’s my status quo.

A few years ago, I discovered the science of “write to think” and have not looked back since.

Research in cognitive psychology shows that externalizing thoughts through writing reduces cognitive load, enhances clarity, and improves problem-solving

Whenever my brain gets cluttered, I start free-form writing (typing). Off loading random thoughts onto the screen has 2 immediate effects - lightening the cognitive load and inserting some distance between me and my thoughts.

The result? A clearer mind, more organized thinking, and at times answers to the most tricky questions.

Problem = messy and long notes

At first, it was simple enough - opened a fresh page on Notion and typed away. The white space and the tap-tap-tap on the keyboard was truly soothing.

But over time, my notes piled up. I had pages and pages of thoughts, but no structure to find, track, or reflect on them. Reviewing old insights became overwhelming.

That’s when I realized I needed a better system - a way to keep writing freely while ensuring my notes remained searchable and useful.

Well, that sounds like an opportunity to innovate!

User requirements and Problem statement

As always, let’s start with the target users, their requirements and, a well-framed problem statement.

Target Users

People who “write to think” on a daily or regular basis.

User requirements

✅ To write free-form notes on Notion

✅ To easily create a new note

✅ To have a collection of organized notes

✅ To easily review and find what they have written

✅ To clearly date-stamp each note

✅ To enjoy a pleasant Notion experience

Problem Statement

Users want to write free-form long notes without ending up with an unmanageable, disorganized collection.

The Path to the best solution

There are various ways to meet the user requirements on Notion.

I started with the most demanding requirement i.e. the ability to sort through old notes.

A Notion database is the best (and only) way to achieve this because it allows custom property fields. This approach is fully scalable and places no limits on how I (or any user) may want to organize the notes in the future.

Then I attended to the rest of the user requirements by mapping out the User Flow

1️⃣ Create a new note

2️⃣ Write a note

3️⃣ Add dates

4️⃣ Add tags

5️⃣ Search through notes

While I designed the page, I asked myself:

❓What is the easiest way for a user to accomplish each step?

❓What does a novice user do/need?

❓What could have gone wrong (and how to prevent it)?

❓Can I make the UI visually appealing in addition to being truly functional?

The resulting Notion Template

The final product is a truly minimalist design.

🟡 User clicks on a button that immediately opens a new note page with today’s date.

🟡 User clicks on a built-in AI function to summarize the note.

🟡 By default, notes are displayed as Cards with a visually-pleasing cover image.

🟡 Each card shows the summary so users can scan without opening the full page.

🟡 Filters allow users to quickly find what they want.

🟡 Users can also view the info in a table view.

🟡 Users can further customize the database by adding one or more properties in the table.

Now, User test - by you!

Having a good process in place is the key to good innovation. I certainly had fun solving this problem of mine.

If you love the idea of “write to think” or want to try it, I’d love your feedback!

This Notion template is available on Gumroad — download it, experiment with it, and let me know how it works for you.

Look forward to your feedback and comments!