How to Multitask as a Product Designer using Notion

Multitasking is a key element and a must have skill for every designer working in tech industry. Stakeholders, product owners and managers request new product features and improvements and we, as designers, need to present our design solutions while we handle multiple deadlines.

A good multitasker knows how to manage their time, and unfortunately, there is no way to deliver high end results, without enough of it.

So, even though multitasking buys us some time, most companies barely train their people to work faster as they consider we already own that skill. Looking at job requirements such as “Ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time” or “Good time-management skills” recruiters consider multitasking as a prerequisite and it depends on us whether we want to invest in this area.

The good news is that there is a ton of free information and tools on how to multitask efficiently, and therefore, most product designers have created their own systems.

In the next chapters, I am going to present the way I organize my tasks and, hopefully, that information is going to have a positive impact on your workflow as well.

My system comprises five simple steps and, with no further delay, let’s dive into the first one, which is the selection of the right tool.

Step 1: Choose The Right Tool

Before you create and manage multiple tasks, you first need to choose a single tool for documenting and tracking the tasks. Some people fail into the trap of using multiple tools for documenting and tracking information, however, this can increase their execution time, since jumping from one tool to another consumes time.

To avoid all these frictions, I have been using Notion for the last 2 years and I can easily say that it’s the best tool for organising information.

Notion is incredibly flexible. It can be a writing repository, task management software, a workout calendar, a database, and so much more. In our case, we are going to take advantage of Notion’s tables and its automations.

Let’s jump to the next step and see how we create an empty list for our tasks.

Step 2: Create An Empty Tasks List

First, create a new page by clicking on “Add a page” from the left sidebar.

Once you give a name to the page (I will name it “Tasks” for our instance), create an inline database table by typing “/” and selecting the inline database table option from the drop-down menu.

In our table, each row will represent a unique task, whereas each column will correspond to one of the task characteristics.

Step 3: Add Attributes To The Task

Tasks vary based on the designer’s role and business processes.

Product designers may take over design-related tasks such as running interviews, designing wireframes, or conducting usability testings, and they are also involved in non-design related tasks such as attending meetings, onboarding a new team member or emailing HR Department.

Even though tasks can be anything, all of them comprise seven common building blocks:

Once we have defined the task’s structure, the next step is to transfer those blocks into Notion table in order to create the task page.

Step 4: Create a task page in Notion

While you place your cursor on the very first cell of your table, the “Open” button appears and, when you click on it, the tasks page pops up.

Inside the tasks page, add the following properties and the proper values:

Voila! You have just created the task template and your first task.

Are you ready for more magic?

Let’s jump into the finalwhere the automation happens!

Step 5: Add Automation To The Table

To achieve high levels of multitasking, it’s not enough to know the tasks assigned to you. You also need to prioritise them with the least amount of cognitive effort while you work on the most important one.

For that purpose, we are going to add 3 rules to our table, which will eventually reduce the number of decisions we will make along the way regarding prioritizing:

  1. Add sort filter based the ‘Deadline’ field in ascending order. In this way, the more urgent tasks will come on top while the rest will appear at the end of the list.
  2. Set only one task in ‘Running’ status. By doing that, you commit you are running one task at a time.
  3. Add the filters
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘Status’ OR
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘UX Done’, to view only the unfinished tasks.

Now we have a list with the open tasks which are prioritized automatically.

Make sure you frequently update the ‘Deadline’ and ‘State’ columns, so the list will always look correct and you will focus on the right things.

How to Multitask as a Product Designer using Notion

Multitasking is a key element and a must have skill for every designer working in tech industry. Stakeholders, product owners and managers request new product features and improvements and we, as designers, need to present our design solutions while we handle multiple deadlines.

A good multitasker knows how to manage their time, and unfortunately, there is no way to deliver high end results, without enough of it.

So, even though multitasking buys us some time, most companies barely train their people to work faster as they consider we already own that skill. Looking at job requirements such as “Ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time” or “Good time-management skills” recruiters consider multitasking as a prerequisite and it depends on us whether we want to invest in this area.

The good news is that there is a ton of free information and tools on how to multitask efficiently, and therefore, most product designers have created their own systems.

In the next chapters, I am going to present the way I organize my tasks and, hopefully, that information is going to have a positive impact on your workflow as well.

My system comprises five simple steps and, with no further delay, let’s dive into the first one, which is the selection of the right tool.

Step 1: Choose The Right Tool

Before you create and manage multiple tasks, you first need to choose a single tool for documenting and tracking the tasks. Some people fail into the trap of using multiple tools for documenting and tracking information, however, this can increase their execution time, since jumping from one tool to another consumes time.

To avoid all these frictions, I have been using Notion for the last 2 years and I can easily say that it’s the best tool for organising information.

Notion is incredibly flexible. It can be a writing repository, task management software, a workout calendar, a database, and so much more. In our case, we are going to take advantage of Notion’s tables and its automations.

Let’s jump to the next step and see how we create an empty list for our tasks.

Step 2: Create An Empty Tasks List

First, create a new page by clicking on “Add a page” from the left sidebar.

Once you give a name to the page (I will name it “Tasks” for our instance), create an inline database table by typing “/” and selecting the inline database table option from the drop-down menu.

In our table, each row will represent a unique task, whereas each column will correspond to one of the task characteristics.

Step 3: Add Attributes To The Task

Tasks vary based on the designer’s role and business processes.

Product designers may take over design-related tasks such as running interviews, designing wireframes, or conducting usability testings, and they are also involved in non-design related tasks such as attending meetings, onboarding a new team member or emailing HR Department.

Even though tasks can be anything, all of them comprise seven common building blocks:

Once we have defined the task’s structure, the next step is to transfer those blocks into Notion table in order to create the task page.

Step 4: Create a task page in Notion

While you place your cursor on the very first cell of your table, the “Open” button appears and, when you click on it, the tasks page pops up.

Inside the tasks page, add the following properties and the proper values:

Voila! You have just created the task template and your first task.

Are you ready for more magic?

Let’s jump into the finalwhere the automation happens!

Step 5: Add Automation To The Table

To achieve high levels of multitasking, it’s not enough to know the tasks assigned to you. You also need to prioritise them with the least amount of cognitive effort while you work on the most important one.

For that purpose, we are going to add 3 rules to our table, which will eventually reduce the number of decisions we will make along the way regarding prioritizing:

  1. Add sort filter based the ‘Deadline’ field in ascending order. In this way, the more urgent tasks will come on top while the rest will appear at the end of the list.
  2. Set only one task in ‘Running’ status. By doing that, you commit you are running one task at a time.
  3. Add the filters
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘Status’ OR
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘UX Done’, to view only the unfinished tasks.

Now we have a list with the open tasks which are prioritized automatically.

Make sure you frequently update the ‘Deadline’ and ‘State’ columns, so the list will always look correct and you will focus on the right things.

How to Multitask as a Product Designer using Notion

Multitasking is a key element and a must have skill for every designer working in tech industry. Stakeholders, product owners and managers request new product features and improvements and we, as designers, need to present our design solutions while we handle multiple deadlines.

A good multitasker knows how to manage their time, and unfortunately, there is no way to deliver high end results, without enough of it.

So, even though multitasking buys us some time, most companies barely train their people to work faster as they consider we already own that skill. Looking at job requirements such as “Ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time” or “Good time-management skills” recruiters consider multitasking as a prerequisite and it depends on us whether we want to invest in this area.

The good news is that there is a ton of free information and tools on how to multitask efficiently, and therefore, most product designers have created their own systems.

In the next chapters, I am going to present the way I organize my tasks and, hopefully, that information is going to have a positive impact on your workflow as well.

My system comprises five simple steps and, with no further delay, let’s dive into the first one, which is the selection of the right tool.

Step 1: Choose The Right Tool

Before you create and manage multiple tasks, you first need to choose a single tool for documenting and tracking the tasks. Some people fail into the trap of using multiple tools for documenting and tracking information, however, this can increase their execution time, since jumping from one tool to another consumes time.

To avoid all these frictions, I have been using Notion for the last 2 years and I can easily say that it’s the best tool for organising information.

Notion is incredibly flexible. It can be a writing repository, task management software, a workout calendar, a database, and so much more. In our case, we are going to take advantage of Notion’s tables and its automations.

Let’s jump to the next step and see how we create an empty list for our tasks.

Step 2: Create An Empty Tasks List

First, create a new page by clicking on “Add a page” from the left sidebar.

Once you give a name to the page (I will name it “Tasks” for our instance), create an inline database table by typing “/” and selecting the inline database table option from the drop-down menu.

In our table, each row will represent a unique task, whereas each column will correspond to one of the task characteristics.

Step 3: Add Attributes To The Task

Tasks vary based on the designer’s role and business processes.

Product designers may take over design-related tasks such as running interviews, designing wireframes, or conducting usability testings, and they are also involved in non-design related tasks such as attending meetings, onboarding a new team member or emailing HR Department.

Even though tasks can be anything, all of them comprise seven common building blocks:

Once we have defined the task’s structure, the next step is to transfer those blocks into Notion table in order to create the task page.

Step 4: Create a task page in Notion

While you place your cursor on the very first cell of your table, the “Open” button appears and, when you click on it, the tasks page pops up.

Inside the tasks page, add the following properties and the proper values:

Voila! You have just created the task template and your first task.

Are you ready for more magic?

Let’s jump into the finalwhere the automation happens!

Step 5: Add Automation To The Table

To achieve high levels of multitasking, it’s not enough to know the tasks assigned to you. You also need to prioritise them with the least amount of cognitive effort while you work on the most important one.

For that purpose, we are going to add 3 rules to our table, which will eventually reduce the number of decisions we will make along the way regarding prioritizing:

  1. Add sort filter based the ‘Deadline’ field in ascending order. In this way, the more urgent tasks will come on top while the rest will appear at the end of the list.
  2. Set only one task in ‘Running’ status. By doing that, you commit you are running one task at a time.
  3. Add the filters
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘Status’ OR
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘UX Done’, to view only the unfinished tasks.

Now we have a list with the open tasks which are prioritized automatically.

Make sure you frequently update the ‘Deadline’ and ‘State’ columns, so the list will always look correct and you will focus on the right things.

How to Multitask as a Product Designer using Notion

Multitasking is a key element and a must have skill for every designer working in tech industry. Stakeholders, product owners and managers request new product features and improvements and we, as designers, need to present our design solutions while we handle multiple deadlines.

A good multitasker knows how to manage their time, and unfortunately, there is no way to deliver high end results, without enough of it.

So, even though multitasking buys us some time, most companies barely train their people to work faster as they consider we already own that skill. Looking at job requirements such as “Ability to manage multiple tasks at the same time” or “Good time-management skills” recruiters consider multitasking as a prerequisite and it depends on us whether we want to invest in this area.

The good news is that there is a ton of free information and tools on how to multitask efficiently, and therefore, most product designers have created their own systems.

In the next chapters, I am going to present the way I organize my tasks and, hopefully, that information is going to have a positive impact on your workflow as well.

My system comprises five simple steps and, with no further delay, let’s dive into the first one, which is the selection of the right tool.

Step 1: Choose The Right Tool

Before you create and manage multiple tasks, you first need to choose a single tool for documenting and tracking the tasks. Some people fail into the trap of using multiple tools for documenting and tracking information, however, this can increase their execution time, since jumping from one tool to another consumes time.

To avoid all these frictions, I have been using Notion for the last 2 years and I can easily say that it’s the best tool for organising information.

Notion is incredibly flexible. It can be a writing repository, task management software, a workout calendar, a database, and so much more. In our case, we are going to take advantage of Notion’s tables and its automations.

Let’s jump to the next step and see how we create an empty list for our tasks.

Step 2: Create An Empty Tasks List

First, create a new page by clicking on “Add a page” from the left sidebar.

Once you give a name to the page (I will name it “Tasks” for our instance), create an inline database table by typing “/” and selecting the inline database table option from the drop-down menu.

In our table, each row will represent a unique task, whereas each column will correspond to one of the task characteristics.

Step 3: Add Attributes To The Task

Tasks vary based on the designer’s role and business processes.

Product designers may take over design-related tasks such as running interviews, designing wireframes, or conducting usability testings, and they are also involved in non-design related tasks such as attending meetings, onboarding a new team member or emailing HR Department.

Even though tasks can be anything, all of them comprise seven common building blocks:

Once we have defined the task’s structure, the next step is to transfer those blocks into Notion table in order to create the task page.

Step 4: Create a task page in Notion

While you place your cursor on the very first cell of your table, the “Open” button appears and, when you click on it, the tasks page pops up.

Inside the tasks page, add the following properties and the proper values:

Voila! You have just created the task template and your first task.

Are you ready for more magic?

Let’s jump into the finalwhere the automation happens!

Step 5: Add Automation To The Table

To achieve high levels of multitasking, it’s not enough to know the tasks assigned to you. You also need to prioritise them with the least amount of cognitive effort while you work on the most important one.

For that purpose, we are going to add 3 rules to our table, which will eventually reduce the number of decisions we will make along the way regarding prioritizing:

  1. Add sort filter based the ‘Deadline’ field in ascending order. In this way, the more urgent tasks will come on top while the rest will appear at the end of the list.
  2. Set only one task in ‘Running’ status. By doing that, you commit you are running one task at a time.
  3. Add the filters
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘Status’ OR
    • ‘Status’ is not ‘UX Done’, to view only the unfinished tasks.

Now we have a list with the open tasks which are prioritized automatically.

Make sure you frequently update the ‘Deadline’ and ‘State’ columns, so the list will always look correct and you will focus on the right things.