I used to look for templates on Notion for hours, trying to replicate them for days, setting up the perfect dashboard that's ✨ aesthetically pleasing ✨ but never got to use them even once – sounds familiar? 😜

Why? Because I was using someone else's system.

A system that

• they come up with

• only works for them

• not mine

Now what I did instead is, I use Notion however I feel I like it. And yes it is messy, but it's my mess.

What's important is it works for me – whether it's an expense tracker or a to-do list.

And I keep using it until eventually, after using it multiple times, I saw a pattern. From there, I start to systematize it and came up with my own template.

I am a huge believer that in order for you to do things systematically, you need to do it messily first, then after you have done it enough, you can tidy it up.

This not only applies to Notion templates, it applies to everything.

I saw the same thing in my work when I'm coding. We don't start coding by trying to write the most efficient code first, we start by making it work – then we refactor.

Anyway, I digress.

---

Look, I'm not saying you should never look for inspiration in other people's work. What I'm saying is, you should not just blindly copy it.

In fact, I encourage people to look for inspiration and try experimenting with it and don't be afraid to customize it according to your needs.

So go do stuff first, and then you can worry about making it systematic/beautiful.