Deep Dive into Notion Blocks

Notion’s power lies in its versatility to organize digital information used in your personal and professional life, but have you truly mastered the core features that make it all work? We’re talking about Notion Blocks, the fundamental elements that fuel the page editor to unlock endless possibilities. This deep dive will take you beyond the basics, exploring the different block types, their functionalities, and how to combine them to craft efficient, visually stunning, and personalized Notion pages.

In Notion, a “block” is the fundamental unit of content within a page. This feature is what gives Notion the ability to create and organize content within pages. Their versatility, modularity, and customization options are what allow us to build whatever we want in any way we want. You can create a daily habit tracker, weekly meal planner with recipes, chore tracker for your kids, or anything you can think of that needs to be captured, organized, and tracked to get things done.

Blocks can represent various types of content, such as text, images, lists, tables, files, embedded media, databasese and more. Blocks are modular and can be easily rearranged, customized, transformed, and nested within a page.

You can even interact with certain blocks. For example, you can create a to-do list with a checkbox block, embed videos with multimedia blocks, or add inline comments to text blocks. Blocks can also be nested within each other to create a hierarchical structure. This nesting capability enables users to organize content in a visually structured manner, similar to outlining.

For example, the screenshot below includes the following block types:

Image
Heading
Toggle
To-do list – with a check box
Video – from YouTube
Callout – bring attention to something important
Map – embed Google maps
Quote

More advanced blocks include database views which are a special type of block that can display structured data from linked databases. This integration allows for dynamic content display and organization of your pages within Notion.

The screen shot below shows a gallery view of my trips for Summer 2024. I filtered the database view to only show day and long trips. The cards are pages that show the cover image, icon, date of the trip, and trip category.

You can unlock the full potential of Notion’s customization with my extensive block reference guide Notion Block Types.

Now that we understand what blocks are in Notion, we can start adding them to a new page, make edits, and transform them into other types of blocks to showcase content differently.

How to add a block in Notion

You can add a block to a page in three ways:

Press the slash / key on your keyboard, this will bring a menu with all block types available. Scroll up or down, choose a block, then press Enter .

Type the slash / command followed by block name. Then press Enter . This is the quickest way.

Click the sign + to the left of an existing block to add a new one under. Choose block type, then press Enter .

Flash tip: Alt-click on the plus sign will add a block above.

How to edit a block in Notion

When you hover over a block, the block handle will show up to the left of that block. Then click the six-dotted icon to activate the menu options. However, depending on the block type, the settings menu will be slightly different.

Once the menu box options is activated, you can search for an action or click from the displayed options.

The action menu above shows the options for a Callout block.

Ask AI – to help you improve your text.
Delete
Duplicate – drag & drop and create a new section with the same styling.
Turn into – to transform the current block into another type. This is mostly useful when you want to change the heading of a title, turn a bullet list to a to-do list, and more.
Turn into page in – lets you turn the block into a page either as a new sub-page or as a new page in another location within your workspace. This is useful in case your content has grown and you need to break it up into sections (sub-pages) to avoid cluttering.
Copy link to block – extracts the link to that specific block in case you need to navigate directly to it later.
Move to – quickly move the block to another page within your workspace by using the search functionality.
Comment – collaborate with others by leaving a comment on a specific block.
Color – lets you change the text and background color of the block.

Synced blocks in Notion

Synced blocks offer a powerful way to streamline your workflow and maintain consistency across your workspace. It could be used for navigation menus, global page footers, creating reusable templates, or layouts for specific page types.You can simply type /synced block to add a synced block. This block can then be copied and pasted anywhere in your workspace. You know it is a synced block when you hover over one and the outline turns red.

Database view blocks in Notion

A database view in Notion is a block that can contain a collection of pages. These pages can then be displayed in six different views and allow you to see the same database in multiple ways. Each view can be configured by adding filters and sorts to help you organize the pages depending on your needs.You can either create a new database or link to an existing one. Just type /database to activate the menu.

Database view examples

Notion currently supports seven different types of database views, also known as layouts. The type of layout to use will depend on the data stored, user needs, and the level of granularity.

Table → Provides a high level view of large data sets such as teams, projects, and tasks.

List → To create a minimalist view of your data. Basically a simpler version of a table. Useful to organize tasks or documents that are all related while only showing a few properties.

Board → Very useful for projects that have several stages. If you are a content creator or a project manager, having a multi-select property for each stage will help you group the tasks.

Calendar → Get a high level view of your upcoming events and deadlines. However, the titles need to be short otherwise it starts to look crowded very quickly.

Alert: One caveat with this database view is the small window available.

Gallery → This option is my preferred database view to display properties. With this layout, each page in the database is displayed as a card. The top 1 section can display the page cover, content, or nothing. Then the bottom section 2 can display any property you want and also interact with it.

Timeline → This is a great option when you want to display projects, tasks, or events chronologically without getting overwhelmed with too many details.

Chart → Released in August 2024, Notion charts enhances your ability to display data, communicate insights, and make informed decision. There are currently four chart views: Vertical, Horizontal, Line, and Donut.

Alert: The Free plan only allows for one chart. Visit Notion’s pricing page for more information.

Alert: If you have a large database, your chart will update a bit slow. There is a display limit of 200 groups and 50 subgroups in the X-axis, for this case you might be better off using a List database view.

Notion Blocks Extensive List

Up to this point, I have only mentioned a few block types of the dozens you could use in Notion. Below you will find a list with screenshots so you can scan and visualize the end result. Some of them will be self explanatory but others have more details. I categorized each block type as it is shown in the menu after you type /.

Click the + sign to the left of an existing block to add a new one under. Choose block type, then press enter ↩.

Flash tip: To add a block above, click Alt + the plus sign +.

Basic Blocks

Text: This block will create itself as soon as you start typing. You can also type /text to activate the menu but it is not necessary. When you hit Enter, another text block will be created.

Shortcut: /text

Tip: Shift + Enter will allow you to jump to the next line while staying inside the same block. This is useful when you need to drag & drop multiple paragraphs together.

Page: This feature allows you to create a sub-page inside a page while adding a link to it.

Shortcut: /page

Tip: This will be useful when you want to create a Wiki in Notion.

To-do list: Checkboxes allow you to keep track of simple and quick tasks or items.

Shortcut: /todo

Tip: I use checkboxes to track recipe engridients when grocery shopping.

Headings: Brings structure to your content. It also works with the table of contents block and page settings to quickly navigate the page.

There are three headings available.

H1: For big section heading.
Shortcut: /h1
H2: For medium section heading.
Shortcut: /h2
H3: For small section heading.
Shortcut: /h3

Tip: To save space, toggle the table of contents page setting at the top right of the page. This will activate the hamburger menu to the right. Use this instead of the table of contents block.

Table: To highlight important information and separate content to express main points.

Shortcut: /table

Tip: Use light background colors for the first row and column to separate labels from key information.

Bulleted list: Present the reader with a series of items in a clear and concise way.

Shortcut: /bull

Tip: Use this for main points or instructions.

Numbered list: Present events or information that needs to follow a specific sequence over time.

Shortcut: /num

Tip: For blog post outlines and to structure meetings.

Toggle list: Use collapsible sections to create a hierarchical structure for complex information. Use clear and concise titles to indicate content and make navigation easier.

Shortcut: /tog

Tip: For FAQ sections, product specifications, or simply to unclutter your page while allowing access the hidden information when necessary.

Quote: To distinguish and highlight important passages or information.

Shortcut: /quo

Tip: I use it to support my ideas with snippets from articles, research papers, or books.

10.

Divider: For visual separation and content organization. It certainly improves the overall readability of your Notion pages.

Shortcut: /div

Tip: Use it under titles with two or more columns or inside callouts.

11.

Link to page: Leverage this block to create page connections and establish a web of relevant information within your workspace. A link to a page block will always have an arrow next to the page icon.

Shortcut: /link, then type the title page.

Tip: Add linked pages to a hub page, dashboard, or parent page.

12.

Callout: Provides more options to grab attention and highlight specific pieces of information within your page.

Shortcut: /call

Media

Image: Let’s you upload, embed a link or search Unsplash for images. The last option is very limitted and not useful.

Shortcut: /image, then select image source.

Web bookmark: I love this feature! It allows you to include a link with as a visual bookmark which includes one image, a title and a description. Very useful to refresh your memory.

Shortcut: /web

Tip: You can also just copy and paste the URL. This feature will show you four options.

Video: Let’s you embed a link from YouTube and Vimeo, or upload your own.

Shortcut: /video

Alert: The maximum size per file to upload is 5 MB in the free plan. A paid plan would allow you to upload a file up to 5GB.

Audio: Let’s you embed a link from SoundCloud and Spotify, or upload your own.

Shortcut: /audio

Alert: The maximum size per file to upload is 5 MB in the free plan. A paid plan would allow you to upload a file up to 5GB.

Code: Useful for programmers who need to share programming concepts, code or a library of code snippets. When your code is ready to be used, just copy and paste.

Shortcut: /code

Tip: To color and format your code, follow these instructions:

Choose your coding lanague at the top left.
Format and wrap code at the top right by clicking the three dots ***.

File: To store and share files. You can either upload a file or embed with a link.

Short cut: /file

Alert: The embed link has limitations.

Database Views and Charts

Table view: Provides a high level view of large data sets such as teams, projects, and tasks. Also known as the classic database view.

Shortcut: /tablevi

Tip: This is the go-to database view if you want to get detailed information with the most customization. When dealing with a large database, leverage filters and sorts to narrow down what’s being displayed.

Board view – Kanban: For projects, tasks, or items that have several stages and can be grouped by property. This database view allows for calculations such as Sum, Min, and Max just to mention a few examples.

Shortcut: /boardview

Tip: Project managers can leverage this view. Sales teams can track leads, revenue, and total revenue.

Gallery view: My favorite view. Best way to display databases with visual components such as images.

Shortcut: /gallery

Tip: Great for directories, recipes, or places.Your imagination is the limit.

List view: To create a minimalist view of your data. Basically a simpler version of a table view with the advantage to quickly add sub-items.

Shortcut: /listv

Tip: If you have rapid-turnaround parent pages or projects, use this view to add new tasks or sub-items with minimal initial information. Use database templates to further automate the process.

Calendar view: Get a high level view of your upcoming events or deadlines. The only caveat of this database view is the small window you have to show information.

Shortcut: /calendar

Tip: Use it for launch products, project deadlines, inteviews, podcasts, and more. Start with keywords in the page title while keeping it short.

Timeline view: To display projects, tasks, or events chronologically without getting overwhelmed with too many details. Great to display important events in one place, dependencies, and see if they overlap.

Shortcut: /time

Tip: Track school vacation, work vacation, holidays, tasks with dependencies, app development, or planning a wedding.

Vertical bar chart: Used to show trends over time or compare few categories.

Shortcut: /vertical bar

Tip: To compare bug fix stages, and tasks by priority.

Horizontal bar chart: Used to show trends over time or compare many categories.

Shortcut: /horizontal bar

Tip: Use horizontal chart when having many catergories. This way you are not limitted by width or having the need to scroll sideways.

Line chart: Used to show continuous changes over time and a clear trend.

Shortcut: /line chart

Tip: To compare active and completed projects, total clients and revenue, etc.

10.

Donut chart: Like a pie chart, it is used to compare categories within a whole. When dealing with many catergories, use the line chart instead.

Shortcut: /donut

Tip: To show tasks, spending by team, or revenue per region.

11.

Database – Inline: Useful to create a database inside a page.

Shortcut: /inlinedb

Tip: If inline database gets too big, turn it into a full page database to save space.

12.

Database – Full page: This will crate a new database as a sub-page and include a link to it.

Shortcut: /full

Tip: Remember to include an icon for the database page to easily remember its purpose.

13.

Linked view of database: To add a new view of an existing database.

Shortcut: /linkeddb

Tip: Make sure to name the databases with distinct keywords to avoid confusion. When linking a database, Notion will search your entire workspace and could be confusing if the database names a very similar.

Advanced Blocks

Table of contents: Add an outline of your content. This features is a little redundant since you already have it on the right section of your page. If you don’t see it, you need to activate it on your page settings.

Shortcut: /toc

Tip: If you are using Notion as a public website you can add a TOC at the top of the page to help your visitor navigate.

Block equation: Let’s you add complex math equations and display them beautifully formatted. Can be handy for note taking or creating technical documentation.

Shortcut: /equa

Alert: To use this block, you need to know KaTeX formating in order to render proper math equations. This could be daunting. You can use this KaTeX support table which provides a list of supported expressions here to get started.

Button: My favorite block! Let’s you automate repetitive tasks. This is the best time saver feature in Notion.

Shortcut: /but

Tip: If you have any workflow that is repetitive or has many steps, use this feature to save you time. It can be added in database templates, in a database as a property or simply in a page.

Breadcrumb: To display the location of your page within your workspace structure. It can also help you navigate back to the parent page. This feature is redundant since you already have it at the top of the page.

Shortcut: /brea

Synced block: A very useful block when you have information that needs to be updated and placed in different locations accross your workspace. A Notion time saver feature to help you update content at the same time.

Shortcut: /syncedblo

Tip: If using Notion as a website, use this block for the menu or contact information. It can also be useful in database templates that provide instructions.

Toggle heading 1, 2, and 3: To help you hide the content inside a large, medium, or small heading.

Shortcuts: /toggle h1 /toggle h2 /toggle h3

Tip: This block helps to keep organized long documents that contain important sections.

2, 3, 4, and 5 columns: This block helps to keep content organized and vizually appealing.

Shortcuts: /2col /3col /4col /5col

Tip: Use this block to display similar page links for a section or category. Include a callout block with a title, divider, and links.

Code – Mermaid: A diagramming and charting tool that allows you to create various types of diagrams and charts within Notion pages. This block is mostly used by hardcore coders. The main benefit of this is to create easily modifiable diagrams.

Shortcut: /merma

Alert: To use this block, you need to know Markdown or JavaScript. Or you can use the Mermaid Live Editor, copy the code and paste it in Notion.

Notion AI

Notion AI content blocks has many features. The ones mostly used are Writer, Autofill, and Ask which can help speed up your workflow. It can write a summary of your meeting notes, find action items, brainstorm ideas, create an outline, or edit existing content to improve it.

Note: Notion AI is an add-on subscription with a monthly cost of $8 per member when billed anually. You can find more information in their pricing page.

Below is a list of starter prompts currently available:

Shortcut: /ai

Notion AI

Continue writing
Translate
Improve writing
Ask a question
Ask a question about this page
Fix speeling & grammar
See more
Add a Custom AI Block

Write

Add a summar
Add action items
Make a flowchart
Make a table
Write anything

Think, ask, chat

Brainstorm ideas
Get help with code

Find, search

Ask a question
Ask about this page

Draft

Draft an outline
Draft an email
Draft a meeting agenda

Alert: Always double check the facts and critical content generated by Notion AI.

Inline

Inline blocks can be inserted between text.

Mention a person: This option can be used when you have an action item for another member.

Shortcut: /men

Tip: Useful when proofreading or a To-do list.

Mention a page: Helps to redirect the user to a page or a place in the text.

Shortcut: /men

Tip: For a research document that links to supporting content within your workspace.

Date or reminder: Notifications is a powerful feature to help your tasks or action items get done. After selecting the block, choose Today, then click on the link to customize the reminder.

Shortcuts: /date /rem

Tip: Instead of creating a database for small random tasks, creaet a To-do list and include a date/remider next to each.

Emoji: Emojis can be used in Notion to add personality, visual appeal, and meaning to your content.

Shortcut: /emo

Tip: Use it to categorize notes, break up text, or highlight keypoints.

Alert: Use them sparingly and appropriately.

Inline equation: Similar to block equations, this block allows you to add an equation between the text.

Shortcut: /inline eq

Embeds

Remeber, Notion’s goal is to be your go-to place to centralize all your digital information. This block allows you to embed any online media type (e.g. Video, PDF, Sound, File, Image) and external apps directly into your pages (e.g. Google Maps & Drive, YouTube, Loom, X, URL data). For the second option, you might need to provide access permissions which can later be removed inside “My connections” tab when you click “Settings & members”.

When you copy and paste a URL, Notion will recognize the domain name and provide options to paste the link as Mention, Embed, Bookmark, or URL.

You could use the shortcut below to activate the Embeds block but pasting the URL is enough and faster.

Shortcut: /embed

Notion uses the Iframely services which let’s you to seamlessly embed content from thousands of sources. What is the benefit of this? You can access all your content inside your workspace, no need to click in and out of other apps. This is not only a time saver, it also helps you to minimize distractions and stay focus.

Alert: Due to security and privacy practices, Notion will not embed any external site until you login.

Below is a short list of commonly used apps you can embed:

Google Drive
Tweet
GitHub Gist
Google Maps
Figma
Abastract
Invision
Mixpanel
Framer
Whimsical
Miro
Sketch
Excalidraw
PDF
Loom
Typeform

CodePen
Replit
Hex
Deepnote
GitLab
GRID
Jira
Trello
Asana
Slack
GitHub
Pitch
Dropbox
Zoom
OneDrive
Amplitude

Claap
Box
Linear
Lucidchart
Lucidspark
Eraser
PagerDuty
ClickUp
Adobe XD
Plus
Dovetail
Streak Share
Shortcut
SendOwl
Amplitude – EU
Zendesk

Synced Databases

The synced database feature let’s you pull data from 3rd party cloud-based platforms and it’s mainly used for engineering projects. Database syncs happen in realtime and they flow from the original platform to a page in Notion.

Shortcut: /synced

Alert: Data or information changes have to be done in the original platform.

Platforms currently supported:

GitLab
Jira
Asana
GitHub
Jira Sync

Import

This block lets your import data, documents and notes. Notion is most successful importing data when it is structured in a way that is easy to read, edit, and import such as in the case of a CSV file.

After the import, Notion creates a new page for the uploaded file and a database of pages with a title that matches the text found in each row of the first column in the file. Then creates the properties that best match the type of data found in each column and autofills the property description with what’s in the header row.

Shortcut: /import

Below is an example of a CSV import. As you can see, the property description matches what’s in the CSV file header row. For the second column, Notion recognized the link and created a URL property.

However, when importing content such as HTML, Notion removes the CSS styling, turns the content into basic blocks and images are not imported. The same happens if you import content from Evernote with the difference that images are copied to a server in Notion.

Alert: You might need to do a few tests to see the end result of your import. I recomend importing data only when it’s structured or only importing a few pages. But if you have dozens of pages to import you might be better off using the help of a virtual assistant in Upwork to bring that content into Notion.

Imports currently supported:

CSV
HTML
Text and Markdown
Asana
Confluence
Google Docs
Trello
Dropbox Paper
Evernote
Workflowy
Word
Monday
Quip
ZIP
PDF in Beta as of November 2024. Avoid for now.

Now that we have a great foundation on how to navigate Notion’s interface and what Notion Blocks are, it is time to effectively create a page in Notion for your personal or professional life.

This lesson is part of the Notion Essentials Fast Track course. To continue your journey towards mastering Notion, in the next lesson you will learn how to create a personal Dashboard that reflects your current interests and goals to keep you organized and motivated.

Key takeaways from this deep dive lesson into Notion Blocks:

Notion Blocks are the building blocks of your Notion workspace.
They offer versatility, modularity, and customization options.
Blocks can represent various types of content, from text to databases.
You can nest blocks to create hierarchical structures and organize your information effectively.
Database views allow you to display structured data from linked databases within your pages.

Wasn’t this lesson great? Do you feel more excited in leveraging all blocks available in Notion? Join my email list for exclusive access to future lessons, tips, resources, and templates.

I encourage you to check out my other courses to help you become a Notion expert. Your dedication will payoff.

The Notion Databases Mastery is a comprehensive guide to help you harness the full potential of Notion’s powerful database functionality.

The Notion Formulas 2.0 course explores the formula components, terminology used, and how the formula editor works. You will learn how to write your own formulas to perform calculations and manipulate data.

You can also take action and accelerate your Notion learning journey with my free Mastering Notion: From Zero to Heroe complete course.