The sidebar menu is easier, always available, and doesn't require an extra click to get to it. I have a pretty dashboard but never actually use it. Am I missing some advantage of a "dashboard" page?
Posted Mar 4, 2020, 1:25 PM UTC
I created a dashboard page ages ago (because i felt like i should) and i've never found myself actually using it. For me I exclusively use the sidebar and 'cmd + p' to bring up the search bar.
I use a dashboard for at-a-glance info. I use Notion as a wiki for my writing team, and with multiple inline lists, tables and boards all on one page I can see the status of different units of work without clicking anything at all. It's not just for navigation!
Good answer - I see so many that are just sets of links. I'll have to think about how I could better use a dashboard.
I would be willing to integrate more link databases in a dashboard if there was only a way you could duplicate a view. I understand that you can create a linked database inside a dashboard - but normally I've already created the view filter and sort somewhere else and it's a pain in the butt to have to recreate those.
Edit: Not sure why I never tried this
before - you can literally go to the "master" database view, select all, copy, and then paste the desired view into the dashboard. That's easy enough.
I create all my databases as inline lists on my dashboard, so all the views are in one place. The dashboard is locked and treated as read-only - if you want to make changes, you open the database you're trying to edit as a page and edit from there.
I agree it's not super functional. But I think it's more to do with people's mental model of how their information is laid out.
That's highly functional! As much as I personally see these link lists as useless, if they are working to help you mentally model your info better then by all means use them. That is the most important function of Notion!
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Dashboards are exciting to people who have been using notion for a week or two. You can tell that they are all the same from the thumbnails.
Workflows are much more interesting.
I skipped the dashboard phase, workflows and how you can manage them is something I am also interested in.
I use a database called "unplanned work", by default it's a calendar view, when someone calls me, emails me or messages me about an issue I log the task on calendar view. I then progress the task using a status tag (select field) and keep notes within the page itself.
At the end of a week I get an overview (board view) of what requests came in, I can see busy days (calendar view) and how many got resolved with a config tweak, turned into bugs, features (board view) etc ...
It's really powerful and I have not found any other tool which gives me such great versatility out the box with practically no configuration.
I have individual project dashboards which are far more data driven and useful, but an overall dashboard for me, is just a zen garden. It's 70% for the calm feeling when looking at your life at a glance, and 30% useful. I use cmd+p to jump to individual project dashboards far more often then I use my dashboard.
I hide my sidebar so that I can have a fuller screen, so it’s not useful to me.
I agree completely tbh. Always been like "what is the point of this" whenever I see a page with just a bunch of links to pages.
My "Dashboard" is just one long page of all my top level databases. I usually just scroll down to access stuff (realistically most commonly just accessing stuff above the fold) but sometimes I use the sidebar to get there quicker.
I rarely use links to pages at all, really. I use databases for most everything. I might use links to pages a little more if you could make them prettier -- closer to what an item in a gallery looks like for example. But, even then, databases are just so powerful in Notion, it's almost always better to have a database.
Yes, there's more going on on the page with this method, but it gets me to where I'm going faster, which to me is more in the spirit of minimalism.
Actually, between your post and u/wiltix response... I think I'm going to try my hand at creating an "actual" dashboard that just links to my most important databases to get all the most recent/urgent info in one view above the fold.
My "dashboard" is basically a weather forecast for the next 24, my most recent email on a column and a link to the mail database, a task list for today sorted by time (a dabase view) and a some views with filters and sorting so I can see or add info with some parameters, and a quick note view, for stuff I add on mobile (I can add stuff receiving a text that says notion or using a notification shortcut. I think it's useful, easy access to relevant and organized information,
I kind of agree. I have not been using my dashboard much these days. I use it to quick enter tasks, calendar items, or entries into my daily log, but that's about it.
I agree that most people don't use "dashboards" in the typical sense to summarize data. Dashboards are more commonly used as a splash page or list of shortcuts. I have several nested pages which makes it difficult to quickly find certain pages. I like having a page of shortcuts favorited to easily get to.
My "dashboard" replaces my daily page in my bullet journal. It has that day in my mood tracker and that day in my habit tracker. Upcoming birthdays and trips in the next month. Also the meals I have prepared at home for that day. After all the little things I have my personal and work to do databases.
I treat this as my homepage for my life. It is always up on my work screen to help keep me on task and ensure nothing is forgotten. It was the single best thing for me when switching from a physical bullet journal. Most of my bujo has been replaced with databases and using filters.
They way most of these dashboards are made, they are just a overview. My dashboard is the most used page beacuse I have set up a workflow of reviewing goals, projects and tasks. Additionaly there will "pop up" contracts which are runnig out and gift cards which are going to expire.
Dashboards are great for teams and new staff members. It gives an overview of the company. Much like the index page to a handbook. But with Notion, it’s ever evolving. On my personal dashboard, it’s a mix of filtered databases of tasks, links, journal entries and weather widget. Marie P has a pretty info-heavy, impressive dashboard use. https://superorganizers.substack.com/p/how-to-run-your-life-inside-of-notion
I use my dashboard mostly to display events and tasks from my master task database that are due either today or very soon.
A lot of "dashboards" that get posted are just a set of links, and to me that's not really a dashboard as it does not give you an overview of anything. It's a contents page.
How much use you get from a dashboard depends entirely if you can structure your data to be useful at a glance.
That makes sense. If I think about a dashboard as more than just a set of links, or as quick views of relevant or timely content, then it makes more sense.