Shadowing Practice: Make Your Notion Setup Aesthetic! Hidden Notion Design Tips 2023 - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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I believe in the power of a simple, beautiful workspace to improve your focus, energy and general happiness.
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I believe in the power of a simple, beautiful workspace to improve your focus, energy and general happiness.
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So, in this video, I'll show you some lesser-known Notion features and gorgeous Notion resources that will help you create your perfect aesthetic Notion workspace.
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Bliss!
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Productive bliss!
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Hi, it's Simon.
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Today we'll cover the best tips and features to organise your Notion workspace across desktop and mobile apps, how to theme and build a coherent look using the native design options.
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And most excitingly, at least for me, I'm launching a new Notion design pack.
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It's my first bit of product design.
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I've been working on it to offer you a fully custom set of icons, covers and wallpapers to create a clean, minimal design across your devices, all aimed at second brain users.
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But this video goes much further than that.
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We cover database template design ideas, great layout tips for mobile and desktop views, and stick around to the end of the video for my new approach to creating global menus for your pages that are themed into your design.
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The first thing to embrace is how to theme your workspace with icons, images and colour palettes.
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In the last year or so our options to do this in Notion have been greatly improved so they've upgraded the space to offer a theme set of native icons beyond the standard emoji options in a set of colours.
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If you click the toggle on the right you you can select a specific colour for every icon you add, meaning you can theme your workspace by that single colour or perhaps colour code areas by colour.
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This all makes sense for pages.
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I like to use a single icon choice for a specific area of the workspace.
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So my task manager dashboard and database have this icon and then the tasks can have the same.
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This is where you can also add a cover design, of course, but more on that a bit later.
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A good tip is to use matching pairs like these two folder icons for specific functions.
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I also like using call out blocks to create page sections by selecting the default background color to the block and then adding an icon for the section, the theme at all.
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Really nice.
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You can now go further and add icons to database columns and table title views.
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This is so useful for those of us that like to create linked views of databases on dashboards.
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So that's basically a mirrored view of a main database where you want to see different options.
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A good example would be creating an inbox view for your databases like this one, or maybe a set of really simple checkboxes for habits that just show an icon.
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Now I used to do this through a workaround of selecting the emoji menu on my computer and putting icons into the text title box on the database columns.
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But this is great for using a consistent symbol code through your workspace, try it out.
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Now, where we used to just use emojis to do this, I also took it further to create a global menu with matching icons across the whole workspace.
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But this doesn't work with Notion icons.
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So I've had to find a better solution for a global menu that's themed.
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We'll come back to that though at the end of this video.
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Next, let's just talk briefly about how to avoid having to redesign every single entry in a database each time and make them look good.
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So creating a database template is super easy.
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You go to this little arrow on any of the database views and add new template.
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There's one I already created.
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You'll then see it says you're editing in the template.
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I normally name it.
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So for example, I might call it new recurring task.
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You add your icon.
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In mine, I'm going to go to my custom icons and I'm going to search for recurring tasks.
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Drop it in.
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You add your cover.
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I'm going to upload one of mine.
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So anything you set within this will mean that it's populated.
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So for example, I can just put recurring in there and maybe I want to assign it to myself.
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And there you go.
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Now you can also set it to a default if you want it to be the thing that always turns up for all views.
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Great.
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So now we have a task template that we can link into the system.
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And every time we create a new one, it will take that icon design and background design on.
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These can even be turned into recurring templates for things like daily logs or habit trackers or a regular journal entry you want to make.
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Watch my video on recurring entries and tracking in Notion for more after this.
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You can find it below.
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And while you're there, it would be awesome if you click that like button and left a comment.
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So next, custom icon and cover design.
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With that in mind, you can go further and theme your workspace with a specific design language across your icons, covers and chosen color palette.
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And when it comes to page covers, Notion offers the option to upload your own or search for and insert images from its Unsplash integration.
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This is actually really great.
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They're free, royalty free, but can be cumbersome.
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And you have to be really careful when you upload them because some of the files can be much larger in size and then really slow down how quickly pages load.
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So if you're finding that, it might be because you put the wrong Unsplash image in.
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Of course, you could design or download your own set of covers and import them.
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For example, how about searching for a colour and a quality?
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Yellow wall.
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I don't know.
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This way, you can then download the covers into a folder and use them and upload them directly like that.
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And when it comes to icons, there are many ways that you can find free icons to adapt or collect for your needs.
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Places like Icon Finder and perhaps the Noun Project are great places to to check out to do this, but I decided to go the full hog and create you guys a set that is designed specifically for people using Notion as a second brain.
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Yep, today's video sponsor is definitely me.
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And well, I'm really excited about it.
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It is my first piece of product design.
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Over the last couple of months, I've been working with my friend Tom.
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He's an amazing graphic designer, a brand consultant in London, who to be honest, I've been really lucky to convince to help work on this with me.
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It means that we have together created 125 icons to start with and themed them to match Notion's own colourways for the native icons so that there is still the option to blend these with the ones you already have within the system if you want to.
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We've designed these simple cover images and wallpapers to interact with the icons in an intentional way, meaning that your workspace feels bespoke and relaxed when you look at it.
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But we set our brief to go even further than that and to create covers icons and some widgets that will seamlessly work not only in Notion but also across your mobile iOS devices.
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So if you're an iPad or iPhone user make sure to also check out my video on how to design and set up a custom look on your device using this.
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You can download a copy of the pack at bettercreating.com and thanks in advance if you choose to download you'll be supporting me to continue making Notion content and tutorials this year.
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It really does mean a lot and it's worth adding that my latest 2023 second brain templates also will have the option within them to add the kit pre-installed as well as a full folder of icons and covers so that you can edit to your heart's content.
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Next up my three most powerful layout tips.
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Number one has got to be using dividers and columns to order your pages.
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This is a really great trick when it comes to laying your workspace out and thinking about how it will look both in a desktop view and a mobile view.
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I'm using a combination of columns and full width blocks.
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Now on your mobile the order of the blocks will go down a column and then on to the next column.
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So if you organize your pages into two columns but put your two most important elements at the top of those columns the second would be buried halfway down the page on mobile.
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Instead use forward slash column to select a column view for what you want at the top of your page or But alternatively, on desktop, you can drag one block next to another to create it.
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That doesn't work with tables, just use a text block.
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Then by dropping a full width block, like a divider or a heading under it, or just a block, you can then create a second section in the view to keep things in the order you want on mobile.
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I really like using dividers like this, and triple dash creates one.
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The next one is pretty clever, I think.
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You use a toggle heading with a synced block to create a mobile-friendly view.
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So this is a great trick for managing something like your homepage dashboard.
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I put my database views inside a toggle so that I can easily view them on desktop and hide them away when I need to.
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However, it's really fiddly and annoying on a mobile, and it's not very useful.
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So for example, I can place my task manager view in a sync block, and then I can create a new page called task manager mobile view.
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You can use Command L to copy the page link.
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You go back to the title of the toggle and paste the link into the page and then you select Mention and this creates a linked view to that mobile view page.
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Now all you need to do is select and copy the synced block, click through to the mobile page and paste it in there.
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There you go.
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Now you have a title which you can click for a mobile view or toggle you can tap so you can see it on your desktop.
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Nice.
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Okay, let's do it.
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Last but not least, how to create a synced global menu using call-outs, emojis, or mentions.
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Creating a global menu for your workspace is super powerful.
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Here's how I've been updating my LifeOS templates this year to complete that themed look.
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I think the advantage of this above the standard Notion sidebar is that you can be more customized in how you lay out your navigation and what you include.
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Number one, we create a synced block at the top of the main homepage.
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Next, insert a column block based on how many columns you will want to have at the top of your desktop view.
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I'm gonna do these.
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From here, you can add either a call out or you can add a mention.
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I love call outs.
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Simply put, a call out is a highlighted text box with an icon box next to it.
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Perfect for a global menu.
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Now, I add the title of the page, database, or dashboard I want to reference.
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If you're doing it as a mention, you do at, and if you just want to write it turn it into a link you can click on it and then add the page link there so it matches
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select the text and turn it into a link you could also simply do this with emojis you just select them turn them into links and link
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the pages now all you need to do is copy that sync block to all of your main pages and there you go a global menu
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for your workspace fantastic hopefully these are inspiring you to get your notion set up customized definitely go and check out my new design packs and templates over on bettercreating.com.
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And if you want to build your own second brain and learn Notion fundamentals as you go, definitely go and check out my Notion from scratch series up here.
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Sign up to the mailing list on the website or one of these videos for more tech and beautiful productivity systems I think you'll enjoy.
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It would be great if you subscribed.
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I'll see you on the next one.
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Bye.
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Why practice speaking with this video?
Practicing speaking English using this video can significantly enhance your language skills. The speaker, Simon, articulates key concepts with clarity, making it easier for listeners to mimic the rhythm and tone of his speech. Engaging with such content allows learners to improve their English pronunciation through a technique known as shadowspeak. This method encourages you to "shadow" the speaker's voice in real-time, which is effective for developing natural intonation and fluency.
Moreover, by focusing on the aesthetic setup of digital workspaces, you can relate the language practice to a relevant context, boosting your motivation. The combination of design tips and vocabulary related to organization not only enriches your spoken English but also helps you understand and describe visual concepts effectively.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
In this video, the speaker uses several grammatical structures and expressions that you might find useful in everyday conversation:
- Imperatives: "Embrace how to theme your workspace." This command encourages action, a frequent stylistic choice in tutorial videos.
- Present continuous tense: "I’m launching a new Notion design pack." This tense indicates ongoing actions, helping learners express current events succinctly.
- Examples of modal verbs: "You can select a specific colour." Using modal verbs adds nuance, showing possibilities and permissions, which are key for effective communication.
- Descriptive phrases: "A fully custom set of icons, covers, and wallpapers." This phrase illustrates effective noun phrases that enhance descriptive language skills.
Common Pronunciation Traps
When practicing with this video, you may encounter certain pronunciation challenges:
- Aesthetic: Be careful with the pronunciation of "aesthetic." It consists of three syllables: /æsˈθɛt.ɪk/.
- Workspace: This word can be tricky; focus on the division between the two parts: /ˈwɜːrk.speɪs/.
- Icons: Pay attention to the short vowel sound in "icons" versus the long vowel sound in "icons." They are pronounced as /ˈaɪ.kɒn/.
- Templates: The pronunciation of "templates" can be confusing; remember to stress the first syllable: /ˈtɛm.pleɪts/.
Using methods like shadow speech or a dedicated shadowing app can assist you in tackling these pronunciation challenges effectively. By mimicking the video speaker, you'll gain confidence and clarity in your spoken English.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.
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