36 Notion updates from 2022, ranked by a Notion Consultant

Notion has added a huge range of updates and new features in 2022, from improved functionality and usability to completely new tools and services. David, Product Marketing Manager at Notion, recently released a comprehensive list of all the features and updates that the company has ‘shipped’ in their product this year. The list is an impressive demonstration that the company is devoted to continuously pushing the boundaries of what is possible with the Notion platform, and that the team is always looking for new ways to make the product even better for Notion lovers. With such a long list of accomplishments, it’s no wonder Notion has become the go-to platform for so many people.

What is Notion & why is everyone obsessed with it?

Notion is essentially digital LEGO. You have access to the ‘blocks’ (checkboxes, databases, media embeds etc) to build your dream digital tool/dashboard. Because of this ‘DIY’ aspect, everyone, from parents and students, to creatives and start-ups are obsessed with using it to build everything from recipe books and journals to custom dashboards & client portals. The best thing about Notion is that everything is tailored to the way you think and whatever you build will grow with you.

Screenshot from my 2023 journal

If you’ve never tried Notion, and are looking to add layers of sanity into your life/business, you can explore it here for free — for full disclosure, I’m a Notion Partner, so when you sign up with my link, you also support my work.

Between the time of the tweet and the end of 2022, Notion has already dropped more gems: setting links to open in desktop by default, resizing link views, editable list views , copying content from database views. With each new addition, Notion is becoming increasingly useful and powerful, and it’s no wonder that it’s quickly becoming the go-to choice for all of your productivity needs.

And you know what, this isn’t everything! There are so many micro-changes in the UI that it almost seems like it’s never-ending! For example, the new calendar icon — chef’s kiss — is just one of the small touches that only someone like me, who spends too much time in Notion and not enough time outside, would even notice. That’s not even mentioning all of the other community changes this year — from the new features added to the platform to the improved support for users. It’s amazing how the Notion team has managed to keep up with the ever-evolving needs of its users. The team is constantly finding new ways to improve the user experience and make Notion the go-to tool for people who need to stay organized and productive.

All of 2022s features, ranked, according to a Certified Notion Consultant

As a Certified Notion Consultant with a background in building and managing human/digital products and experiences, I personally take a heavy design-thinking approach to all of my projects. 80% of my clients in my coaching calls, workshops & custom builds come to me to ‘makeover’ their workspace i.e. build a seamless Notion experience that is nice to look at and easier to use. I use the app — a lot. Here are my rankings and ‘release notes’ , in terms of their ‘life-changingness’ (you can read Notion’s actual release notes here . I’ll put notes next to any rankings which you might find a little surprising or controversial

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1. API GA — honestly, couldn’t live without this! The API helps me manage my community annual journal template — user-submitted wellness tips and feedback automatically get sent to my Notion database, where I can easily manage what I’ve seen/not seen and uploaded, based on filters.
2. AI alpha — my editor, my translator, my bestie. We love her.
3. French/German — I can see how not being able to use an app in your native language would be super annoying
4. Native mobile stuff — mobile is a DREAM. Honestly, just as easy as Apple notes (or similar) if you set it up correctly
5. Expanded Free Plan — awesome that more people can use Notion for free — try it out with my link here #NotionPartner
6. Editable list/gallery/board views — life changing. Being able to edit information without having to click into a page? Exquisite.
7. Side peek (and honorary mention for the column blocks) — most amazing things know to human kind. Absolute staples in my workflow.
8. Status property — the ‘default’ status has reclaimed so many hours of my life
9. Better templates — automatic (default) templates are a LIFE SAVER. It makes whatever you’ve built in Notion feel like ‘an app’
10. Better relations — the new relations menu is sexy. I also wasn’t sure if I’d use one-way relations at first, but then I realised it’s basically like having auto-updating list of tags.
11. Recurring pages (tasks) — so good! I actually don’t use these for habits, as I don’t need historical records on if I meditated last Tuesday but, this is great for managing my recurring freelancer invoices
12. Teamspaces — great for companies with complicated permissions hierarchies.
13. Tabs — I suppose if you’re an avid desktop app user (I’m not) , this would be great news
14. “Can edit content” permission — solves a common client question I had of ‘how do I stop people from messing with the database’
15. Image alignment — my workspaces look infinitely better. We need text alignment next, please!
16. Better search — I love the new advanced search options — especially ‘recently visited’ options
17. Subtasks — you could technically set this up before — Notion’s just made it easier, with a nicer interface
18. Icons — everything just looks… better.
19. Request access to pages — fantastic for teams
20. “This week” filter — no more double-filtering for within the ‘last week’ and ‘next week’ at the same time
21. Dynamic @ mentions in DB templates — If you mention ‘@today’ in a template title, when it’s activated it will automatically use today’s date — fab.
22. Synced Databases — this is great for when your stuck to apps like Github — it lets you see what’s going on in those other apps, without leaving Notion, truly making it an ‘all-in-one-workspace’
23. Auto-expiring public pages — a cool feature, but I haven’t had a chance to explore it much. I guess it’s cool for course creators.
24. Dependencies — I’d truthfully be more impressed by this if they were true dependencies, not just graphic dependencies. We still can’t do the thing lots of my clients ask for: ‘if I move the date of this task, can the other tasks move too?’ This was just launched — it’s probably on the roadmap, so I’ll be patient
25. Progress bars & comment reactions — these are cute, I guess! Not life-changing, but cute
26. DB view & property custom icons — these are nice for content-only dashboards, but I’m against using them for ‘productivity dashboards’, as the lack of standardise icons is confusing for beginner Notion users
27. Open links in desktop app — that’s cool I guess! I’m not a desktop app user, so maybe I’m delusional on its impact
28. Business Plan — I don’t think this will be the last of the plan shuffles, so let’s see how this experiment goes. Really interesting that Notion are focusing on number of guests as ‘plan blocker’
29. Database redesign with quick filters — you could technically quick filter before with search & it’s easy to forget to ‘save for everyone’ if we’re being honest
30. Select text across multiple blocks — erh, this doesn’t always work correctly for me
31. Resizing link views — Not totally revolutionary, but cool
32. Copying content from database views — I just… don’t have a use case for this yet

What’s the best way to learn Notion & keep up?

With all these updates, you might think — “how am I supposed to keep up?”. It’s all about learning to ‘think’ in Notion.

If you’re looking to build a great Notion workspace, you need to approach it like you would approach building a house. Remember the LEGO block analogy? The first thing you need to know about Notion is that it is literally blocks. Learn the blocks, then learn how and when to use each block. There are a ton of YouTube videos/blogs out there — I have a list of resources on my site. Start with a blueprint (empathise with end user(s) and goals), then choose the best blocks/techniques to achieve what you need.

As a Certified Notion Consultant with a background in building and managing human/digital products and experiences, I personally take a heavy design-thinking approach to all of my projects. 80% of my clients in my coaching calls, workshops & custom builds come to me to ‘makeover’ their workspace i.e. build a seamless Notion experience that is nice to look at and easier to use.

Taken from the #MyNotionSpace course

If you’d rather not torture yourself watching 1000s of productivity YouTube videos (cough, Notion isn’t a productivity tool, it’s a possibility tool, I’ve literally built a Beyonce template that was loved by Sequoia Capital), and want a more creative approach to learning Notion, driven by design thinking, you’re free to explore my super-popular and affordable MySpace-themed course, ‘#MyNotionSpace’.

Yes millennials, if you remember spending hours customising your profile page on MySpace/Bebo/Tumblr etc. , now you can recreate that joy. After learning advanced Notion tips (including how to make it pretty), you’ll practice your new skills by building your own shareable ‘profile page’ while becoming a Notion wizard. Not only can this double up as a portfolio/resume to give you an edge for your dream job, after completing the course (it’s about 3 hours of videos), you’ll earn a certificate which you can post on your LinkedIn profile/website as a shiny ‘hire-me’ flag. Even if you don’t want to use it for work purposes, you can still make a cute profile page that would probably go viral on TikTok, because you know, ‘Y2K’.

What’s Next?

Dear Notion Team — thank you for all the hard work and dedication you have put into developing this amazing product! We can’t wait for 2023, but we also understand that it is important to maintain a steady pace of development, so that we don’t overload ourselves with too many releases, like Destiny’s Child trying to keep up with their hectic schedule. We appreciate the effort and care that goes into developing Notion and can’t wait to see what else you have in store for us!

What was your favourite Notion release this year? Do you agree with the list? Drop a comment. If you’re curious about any of the above, remember, you can try Notion here for free with my #NotionPartner link and also see how people are flexing their Notion skills in the course

Quick note, this was originally a hot take from an issue of my newsletter, The Notion Zeitgeist, that I’ve developed into this article. This is not your productivity bro’s Notion newsletter. 1.3k+ of you are reading weekly-ish spicy hot takes on Notion, profuntivity and pop culture. Musings by me, Frances Odera Matthews: resident zillennial, Certified Notion Consultant + Founder of The Notion Bar.

Thanks for sticking with me — I can’t wait for you to dive in and start working on your Notion pages.

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