There are people in the world who are intimidated by tables. I don’t mean table and chairs type of tables, but like the ones that help you organize your information with Metadata. For those of you who have either not heard the term before (or are not entirely sure what it is), Metadata is defined as “Data about data.” Now that we’ve handed out the prize for the worst definition in history, let’s do better, shall we? Metadata is a tag that you can attach to documents or other information, making it searchable and sortable. In the case of Data tables, you can add different bits of information to make it easier to use. THIS is why I love Notion so much. They have fully embraced the concept of Metadata and made it so easy in every way.
1) Easy to organize – When I started making my tables in Notion, I really didn’t know what I was doing. I had an idea, sort of, of what I was looking for. Luckily, with Notion, it’s super easy to set up, and even easier to organize things precisely as you want them. The thing about Metadata in tables is that if you have a category for something that isn’t there already, you can easily add it in Notion by typing in the new category. For example, say you’ve a list of To-dos with categories for Home, Work, and Family, but nothing for the new softball team you joined in your spare time. Simply go into Notion, and when you are setting up a new task, you can go into your categories and add “Softball,” and the system will ask if you want to add the new term. You say yes, and then it will keep that term for you going forward.
2) Easy to manage – Do you need to add something to any of your current metadata columns? Need to add a whole different column entirely? Don’t like how your table looks and want to change your view or the order in which your columns are displayed? Notion is a super easy tool to manage how you view your tables, where you view them and even if you want to change how you use them.
3) Easy to maintain – I will freely admit that when I set up my tables initially, both had no clear idea of what I was doing and also didn’t have a clear vision of what I was looking for. I have been updating my tables constantly since I started using them, because the Metadata that I use sometimes (frankly, a LOT of the time) doesn’t fit what I’m looking for. If I have something on my to-do list that doesn’t have a category I want to attach to it, Notion allows me to create a new category quite easily, which I can use going forward. Similarly, I find that if I need to link one table to another (Something I’ll be discussing more in the next couple of weeks), Notion allows interlinking of various tables.
I totally understand that when you first approach building data tables, it can be a daunting task. You don’t know how to use them, you’re not sure what data you’re looking to track, and hey, you may not see the point at all. Here’s the thing for any of you who write down lists: tables are for you. I LOVE using data tables because the ability to add data and information makes it easier to find tasks, assign priority so that I only need to focus on the REALLY important stuff, and generally manage my life in a straightforward way. Certainly, when you’re first setting things up, it can be frustrating and time-consuming; however, once you get into the rhythm of using them, they become incredibly easy to use and much more effective in helping you manage your life.
How would you use tables?