how I use notion as a graduate student | It ain't all aesthetics [2023]

✨how I use Notion as a grad student ✨
Notion is a powerful productivity and note-taking app that, when utilised to its potential (and alongside good old-fashioned self-discipline) has the ability to really help you manage your workload as a student. Grad school often comes with projects upon projects and it can be overwhelming trying to manage them all. While many "college Notion" tutorials focus on aesthetics (no hate, I'm a sucker for a color scheme as much as the next person), I hope to show you a couple ways to prioritise tasks and projects as a grad student when using this wonderful app!
Hope y'all are well. Hugs from Dublin, as always ❤️❤️❤️
Holly x
__________________________________________________________
00:00 - 03:30 : LONG WINDED INTRO (featuring obscure metaphorical editing using Swan Princess references)
03:32 - 06:52 - Brief tour of my Notion PhD set up
06:53 - 09:03 - Creating a tab bar for navigation
09:03 - 11:22 - Build your Notion upon a system of related tasks and projects
11:22 - 12:20 - TOP SECRET TIP FOR PRODUCTIVITY
12:20 - end - Conclusion, and some life updates!
Tutorials mention in this video:
Ciara, over at PhD & Productivity:
• PhD Student Notion Tem...
Danny Hatcher's "Setting up Notion from scratch"
• How To BUILD A SECOND ...
__________________________________________________________
✨ FAQ
How old are you?
I'm 29 and 13 months old.
Where are you based?
I'm Irish but have recently moved to MANHATTAN, BABY!!!!!
What type of cancer are you getting treatment for?
Stage IV oesophageal adenocarcinoma
What drug are you on?
An immunotherapy drug, called Nivolumab (Opdivo)
What type of PhD research are you carrying out?
Historical research into records of children's musical culture in Ireland
Which university are you studying at?
All Hallows, College, Dublin City University
_______________
✨ Say hi on Instagram :) or email @[e-mail]

[@HollyJaneYT]

Hey friends! Updated version of Notion for grad students now published - kzbin.info/www/bejne/hYa2p2Stnrxoq6M :)

[@bencousineau794]

Omg the first 5 minutes - you're literally describing what happened to me this week 🤣🤣

[@HollyJaneYT]

You, me…. Apparently a ton of people 🤣🤣

[@ina733]

hello holly! i'm so happy i came across your channel! i've been watching notion set up videos for a while and the templates they used are either so detailed that it's overwhelming, or too generic/or focused on the aesthetics that it doesnt get the job done. i love your set up because it's so simple yet so efficient!! and it'll help me ease in into using Notion for my tasks/daily to dos!! thank u!!!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks for studying with us tonight ina!! Catch you at another soon I hope :) xx

[@emerowens2039]

The best notion tutorial ever.. thank youuuuu!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks Emer! You’re welcome 🥰❤️

[@emmab1510]

Thank you for a great video Holly! I absolutely love the secret you reveal at the end 🤣 it’s for that reason that trying another system isn’t for me. But your video reminded me of the importance of doing the thing! I hope you’re enjoying settling in and exploring New York!!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks Emma! Hope your own research/writing is going okay 💪🏼♥️🙃

[@meaghanmcclure8719]

Holly Welcome Back!!!!! We are so glad to see you!!!!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks Meaghan!! Your comment put a smile on my face!

[@adeoluwaoladipupo8108]

This is the best notion video i’ve watched. the fact that you address the rabbit hole and aesthetic syndrome made me reevaluate how i use notion. thank you

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad it was helpful!

[@sllaveq]

Thanks a lot for the video! I just entered phd and got notion to try it, but I fell into the same rabbit hole you talk about. Kinda like this bullet journal tons of video how to draw, make it beautiful etc. You are actually helpful!

[@HollyJaneYT]

I'm so glad it helped! :)

[@nilosmitabanerjee2492]

I love your channel and your videos! I started my PhD sometime ago and have been wanting to organise my notion page a bit further! Thanks for the amazing tutorial. Love and light to you :)

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you!

[@Fawn1012]

Love your notion page, so organised and pretty.

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you so much!

[@isabellabeckett-smith1473]

This just saved my notion life! thank-you!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad to hear it!!

[@ANerdyNotioneer]

I couldn't said it better myself! Nice video Holly!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you!

[@susandollinger7965]

Thank you !!! The icon bar is brilliant and a game changer.

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad it helps! X

[@nattynoodlenutkin]

So good to see your beautiful face! Hope you're thriving! And thank you so much for making a Notion tutorial that cuts out the faff! I will watch this again when I'm at home tonight and see if I can make Notion work for me!

[@HollyJaneYT]

HAI FRIEND! :) right back atcha, I hope your work is going okay, and all is well with you ❤️💪🏼🥰

[@nattynoodlenutkin]

@@HollyJaneYT busy, but that keeps me out of trouble! Everyone seems to want a bit of archaeology doing at the moment! Need to get myself a more rigid structure to make sure I'm getting enough done on the PhD while work is like this, so your tutorial is timely! I've been having a little stab at bullet journalling too to try and simplify how I keep a handle on things. Otherwise, I'm doing really well thanks! All good in this hood! (Should have done this on my phone to get the cool emojis lol)

[@Jubair194]

She's baaack!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Hello!!

[@Kate.Nkechi.O]

Going to definitely need to watch this again and the updated one. Thanks!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad it was helpful!

[@zhemingcai3636]

So true!!! Great tutorial!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks for watching!

[@marcin8432]

Most people create content around topic, stretching it to as much videos as possible. You've created a solution trough a video. Real life experience and knowledge can't be beaten, thanks for your work!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you for the lovely comment! X

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you for the lovely comment! X

[@gkorbut]

Thank you. Even if I do not follow through with Notion as my primary GTD app, I am thoroughly enjoying the presentation here...I think I needed to step back from the quagmire of Obsidian/Evernote/Asana/Monday land and just laugh for a moment. Your wit alleviates my productivity sorrow and despair just enough for hope to peek out and say, "Hello there..."

[@HollyJaneYT]

🤗🤗🤗

[@pooppoop3595]

i really appreciate this video and your personality

[@HollyJaneYT]

I appreciate your user name.

[@raheltd]

The Odette reference cracked me up! 😂 The best Notion tutorial so far, I totally agree with the other comments. Hope you are doing well in New York

[@HollyJaneYT]

I'm so glad! Thanks, Rahel - I hope your own research is going well ❤️

[@antanordin3692]

The opening statement about a deep notion KZbin tutorial rabbit hole hit me so hard :')

[@HollyJaneYT]

You and me both 😂😂

[@lishuindev]

I was just wondering where Holly went and then she's back! love the set up, and yay for the move!! Hope you are settling in well:)

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks pal!

[@thechristianacademic2100]

thank you Holly!!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad to have you here :)

[@darcy9077]

good luck moving to NY holly. randomly found your page and subbed within 3 secs of watching. don't usually comment but had to let you know. good luck w the phd too! xx

[@HollyJaneYT]

Oh, wow! Thank you, Darcy :) we are in New York about seven weeks now and it’s been a whirlwind - I feel very lucky to be able to explore a new city during this weird and challenging time in the world 👀❤️ I hope you get on well with Notion - it’s a great app! Have a safe and happy new year 🙋🏼‍♀️✨🙃❤️

[@julieannelovesbooks]

I love this so much! I'm chronically ill and have had to take a break from uni. I'm coming back this semester and I wanted to start using notion just as an organized list so I can actually keep track of things. Beforehand I was just using a bunch of post it notes that were stuck to my desk and sometimes smudged with tea stains and what not lololol. But every single video focussed so much on the looks that I thought to myself 'This really doesn't look more useful than what I've set up already'. I just have one main database with all my projects/homework/lectures/labs etc that I need to do, I gave them all a date, which represents the week I need to do them in, and then I linked them to a different database where I make notes. Then for every single course I integrated those two databases but filtered on the course, so I would only see everything I needed to do for that course and all the notes for that course. And on my main dashboard I have a board layout organized by status, so I can just drag and drop whatever I'm working on or just finished, but it's filtered to only show everything I need to do for that week and everything that I wasn't able to fully complete from the week before. Very simple and focussed on productivity. I love purple so all the headers have a purple background. but that's about it for making it 'look pretty'. I really love your idea of that top bar that navigates to every single page! I might steal that from you haha.

[@HollyJaneYT]

From a fellow chronic illness human, I hope you're okay and that this semester goes smoothly for you

[@julieannelovesbooks]

@@HollyJaneYT Im studying psychology with a focus on data science! I’m starting new medication soon so I’m hoping for a good semester 💪🏻

[@spolohsu]

Your explanation is so interesting and very professional!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you!

[@sage_forensics_2261]

🙏 Thank you so much for the validation, Holly! I'm starting (restarting) my second year of oniine grad school studying forensic psychology in a few weeks. The spring semester was a bust due to Covid and then long Covid. I've been determined to streamline and simplify my workflow over the summer break to prioritize and be more efficient in getting shit done. Notion seemed like a good way to go, but many of the YT tutorials were so over the top with aesthetics or detailed computer programming info. So frustrating! No, I just need a way to simply keep track of everything in one place. I don't mind if it looks pretty, but that's not the main goal. I need it to actually function and work for me. Thanks again for calling out some of the over-the-top videos that are out there. Some students may find them helpful, but they're not for me. I hope you are enjoying New York. Don't forget to check out other parts of America, too. Each state--even different parts of each state--is like its own little country. They have differences in food, accents, and landscapes. Have fun exploring!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks, friend! Hope your workflow is evolving nicely, and you have a good next semester studying! :)

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks, friend! Hope your workflow is evolving nicely, and you have a good next semester studying! :)

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks, friend! Hope your workflow is evolving nicely, and you have a good next semester studying! :)

[@missx0]

The tab idea is so clever!

[@HollyJaneYT]

I got it from Danny Hatcher - his Notion content is fab!

[@missx0]

@@HollyJaneYT I've already integrated it into my notion! Its amazing!

[@charnevonderbecke3611]

Usually I hate intros but this intro was evveerryyyytthhiiingggggg!!!! I simultaneously felt personally attacked and extremely seen and understood, it had me on the edge of my seat XD. So so loved this video, thank you!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Ohhh, thank you!!! So glad you enjoyed it :) hope it was in some way useful for you. Take what helps but leave the rest, and figure out the best system for you ❤️❤️

[@maryap8821]

This was so helpful! I definitely don't use notion to its full potential, so I'm excited to integrate your tips. (I missed your uploads! Hope you're doing well!)

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thanks Mary! X

[@georcha100]

BRAVO... Congratulations... like the way you describe things and the philosophy of life.😀

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you!

[@frcastel]

This is the best Notion tutorial I came across. After watching it I actually stopped fooling around with the aesthetics of my dashboard and started getting shit done.

[@HollyJaneYT]

Love to hear this!

[@nightshiftbyommandizon5436]

04:01 LOVED THE REFERENCE

[@HollyJaneYT]

thank you!!

[@HollyJaneYT]

It is SO GOOD to chat to you guys here and on Instagram - thank you for all the kind words. I LOVE this study community! What Notion features do you find yourself using a lot? Share below! ✨

[@marinaramarcato7615]

What's your instagram, couldn't find a link xD

[@sarahwaimea]

Your intro is so funny! That’s exactly me, days and hours setting it all up! Just upfront work hopefully 😅

[@HollyJaneYT]

It is worth it in the end!

[@disharibasu5623]

Wonderfully explained:)

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad it helped! X

[@drtonimatrisa]

Hi that was a great video. may I ask how do you color grade your videos or if you used any LUT for particularly this video? Lots of love.

[@HollyJaneYT]

Hi! Yes, I colour grade a little in FCPX, and i use a free LUT that I found online aaaages ago! Thanks for the lovely feedback

[@karybooks]

Very helpful, thank you!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad it was helpful! :)

[@shrutikpatil7364]

Glad that you focused on the actual objective of this software instead of making it look aesthetic :). Thanks for tutorial. And I feel you are INTJ!!!!!!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Mottejotte]

Great video! I was just wondering if you did your daily PhD "journal" entry you described in one of your other videos in Notion or by hand in a notebook? Just started my PhD and I've been trying to keep on top of that journal idea, it's super useful. Thanks again for the great content and hope NY is fab!

[@HollyJaneYT]

It is a great question, and I think it depends on your objective: are you keen to keep a strict daily log of your PhD activity, or are you interested more in reflecting on your project, and the direction its going in ? If its the former, I highly recommend using Notion. Make it a habit, just a few lines on what work you did each day and how its going. However, when it comes to anything reflective, I find handwriting more powerful. I do both - I try (my best but its not perfect) to keep a log (I would say daily but some days I just don't get around to my PhD) of what Ive been doing. Its quite cold, clinical. In my handwritten journal, whenever I feel overwhelmed or unsure as to what step to take next, i handwrite in my journal. Hope that helps!

[@Mottejotte]

@@HollyJaneYT Thank you so much for your reply, I completely agree about the ability of handwriting to help take a step back. I'll have a go at keeping track of both. Just managed to get my Notion 'bar' up - thanks! Can't wait for more content.

[@HollyJaneYT]

@@Mottejotte woohoo! Good luck ❤️💪🏼🥰

[@superchargecoach]

Thanks Holly for breaking things down as you did! Do you use the Master Tasks and Master Projects on every page of Notion or just the pages that pertain to the icons on your main menu bar?

[@HollyJaneYT]

Its a good question, and thanks for the lovely comment! I use the Master Tasks and Master Projects databases wherever there is an AREA (a page of my Notion that pertains to an area of my life, like my PhD, or my Teaching Job, or my Content Creation) that requires a number of projects and tasks to be done. Its totally dependable upon what suits you and your workflow best!

[@superchargecoach]

@@HollyJaneYT Thanks for explaining this! Might you consider doing a video where you highlight this some more so we can see the flow of how you set it up? In my Notion I have set up a property that lists what a task is connected to, but I think having the projects listed allows more detail. Still getting used to how best to do it, very interested in best practices. Thanks again!

[@karybooks]

Very useful, thank you ! In your projects database, under your calendar view, how do you put all the tasks done for a projet, with some checked and some unchecked? Thank you :)

[@HollyJaneYT]

I hope the following helps: you can go to the checkbox property you want to see, and make sure it is showing in the view of the database!

[@thestayathomeworkingmama1982]

Hello! Love the Menu hack! How do you get rid of the ugly red outline on the synced block?

[@HollyJaneYT]

The red line should only be there when the mouse icon is hovering over it - the Notion app has been updated a few times since I published this video and the line doesn’t appear any more - until you want to go find it, that is!

[@debosmitasarkar7402]

0:58 😂....BTW it's still confusing for me how to navigate Notion but next year I have to use this app to track all the things I am gonna do for PhD...your videos are helpful! Thanks❤

[@HollyJaneYT]

Happy to help!

[@dianafaydysh411]

Thank you Holly for the best Notion video! I was wondering whether you share your notion set up as a template? Thank you!

[@HollyJaneYT]

You're so welcome! Its been on my to-do list FOREVER to create a template for this video. I will try to do so this week! Thanks for the reminder :)

[@debrakouda3579]

Hello! Fantastic notion template :) I am wondering if you were able to make it a template that I (we) would be able to use. This looks like it would be perfect for my EdD studies…and it would save me a ton of time so I could actually get stuff done!

[@natanlima8041]

Up!

[@AnanditaMusic]

your content is amazing, you should have more subscriberss!!! more power to you and I hope more people discover your channel!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you so much!!

[@TheDolphinD]

Hi Holly, just found your channel in my first official week as a PhD student. I think your editing is hilarious! Would love to use your template for Notion, is there any way you could share this? Thanks, hope you're doing good!

[@HollyJaneYT]

Best of luck with your PhD Katrijn - I'm sorry for the late reply, I was in a writing bubble!! Notion templates coming soon

[@rajanvk939]

are you using NOTION paid service?? because in free page there is no option for uploading PdF. When I tried to create reading there was no option to upload pdf in the reading page. Do you have any suggestion how should I organize my pdf for reading in notion ? or did I missed something?

[@HollyJaneYT]

No, its not paid! I don't upload any PDFs to Notion x

[@ehsanganjidoost7825]

Hi Holly, on 7:45, what icon set did you use?

[@HollyJaneYT]

Hey! Just the regular emoji keyboard by the looks of it. If you have a Mac you can access it by selecting Control, Command and Space simultaneously

[@ehsanganjidoost7825]

@@HollyJaneYT lovely

[@ningthoujammeenakshi1946]

Holly seriously you got me laughing all the time through your sudden unexpected jokes

[@HollyJaneYT]

Haha, thank you! I do try :)

[@judygadde8708]

Hello! Can you please share your templates?

[@HollyJaneYT]

Coming soon!

[@atanumaji1739]

just a random guy pausing your video to comment, maybe you should also make a tutorial on how to develop sense of humour like yours.

[@HollyJaneYT]

Ha! Thanks :)

[@Fawn1012]

Also, could I purchase your templates, please?

[@HollyJaneYT]

Thank you so much! Templates coming soon!

[@shailstube]

Please make a piano video.

[@HollyJaneYT]

It’s on my very long to-do list 😅

[@_brin189]

the intro makes me feel attacked

[@HollyJaneYT]

Same 🤣🤣🤣

[@danwathen4885]

Most confusing thing ever.

[@HollyJaneYT]

Check out Danny Hatcher's old Notion videos, or Red Gregory, if you're looking for alternative Notion tutorials. They might be better suited to your taste. Good luck with your studies!