7 Steps to Create Comprehensive Life Areas Dashboards in Notion * bigfinish.com

In today’s fast-paced, digital world, it’s crucial to have a clear understanding of where you stand in various aspects of your life, whether personal, professional, or financial. Traditional methods of tracking progress and setting goals can be inefficient and time-consuming, which is why Notion, a leading productivity and collaboration platform, offers a powerful solution: Life Areas Dashboards.

Notion’s Life Areas Dashboards provide a centralized hub for you to visualize, track, and manage your aspirations and priorities. By creating custom dashboards tailored to specific life areas, such as Health & Wellness, Career, Relationships, and Finance, you can gain a comprehensive perspective on your overall well-being and identify areas that require attention or improvement. The dashboards offer a customizable interface, allowing you to select the widgets and data sources that are most relevant to your unique needs.

Choosing the Right Template

Selecting the right Notion template is crucial for setting up effective Life Areas dashboards. Consider the following factors:

1. Life Areas Dashboard Goals

Define the specific areas you want to track and improve in your life. These may include personal growth, health, relationships, finances, or career. Determine the key metrics and data points you need to monitor for each area.

Life Area	Key Metrics	Data Points
Personal Growth	Self-awareness, learning progress	Journal entries, book reviews
Health	Fitness, nutrition	Activity tracker data, dietary logs
Relationships	Connection, communication	Relationship check-ins, social media interactions
Finances	Income, expenses	Bank statements, budgeting trackers
Career	Progress, skill development	Performance reviews, project updates

2. Template Functionality

Choose a template that provides the necessary functionality for your dashboard. Consider features such as:

Customizable widgets for displaying metrics
Integration with external data sources (e.g., fitness trackers)
Task and goal tracking
Habit and routine management

3. Template Aesthetics

Select a template that aligns with your personal preferences. Consider the visual design, layout, and ease of navigation. A visually appealing dashboard is more likely to be used consistently.

Creating Your Dashboard Columns

Step 1: Define Your Columns

Brainstorm the key aspects of your life areas that you want to track. For instance, for your “Health” dashboard, you might include columns for diet, exercise, sleep, and overall well-being.

Step 2: Choose Relevant Metrics

Quantitative: Specific, measurable values (e.g., “Number of steps walked per day”)
Qualitative: Subjective or descriptive information (e.g., “Mood rating on a scale of 1-10”)

Step 3: Determine Column Types

Notion provides various column types to suit your data. Here’s a table with common options:

Column Type	Description
Text	Short lines of text
Number	Numeric values for calculations
Date	Specific dates or date ranges
Select	Dropdown menus with predefined options
Checkbox	Binary options (e.g., “yes” or “no”)
Formula	Calculations based on other column values

Customizing the Dashboard View

Once you have created your Life Areas Dashboard, you can customize it to fit your needs and preferences. Here are a few things you can do:

1. Choose a Background Image

You can add a background image to your dashboard by clicking on the “Customize” button and then selecting the “Background” tab. You can choose an image from your computer or from Notion’s library of free images.

2. Change the Font and Colors

You can change the font and colors of your dashboard text by clicking on the “Customize” button and then selecting the “Text” tab. You can choose from a variety of fonts and colors to create a dashboard that is both visually appealing and easy to read.

3. Add Widgets and Panels

Widgets and panels are blocks of content that you can add to your dashboard to display information from other sources. For example, you could add a widget to display your calendar events, a panel to display your to-do list, or a widget to display your social media notifications.

To add a widget or panel, simply click on the “Add Widget” or “Add Panel” button and then select the type of widget or panel you want to add. You can then drag and drop the widget or panel to the desired location on your dashboard.

The following table lists all of the available widgets and panels:

Widget/Panel	Description
Calendar Widget	Displays your calendar events.
To-Do Panel	Displays your to-do list.
Social Media Widget	Displays your social media notifications.
Weather Widget	Displays the current weather conditions.
Time Zone Panel	Displays the current time in multiple time zones.

Adding Widgets to Your Dashboard

Once you have created your dashboard, you can start adding widgets to it. Widgets are small blocks of content that you can use to display information, such as your tasks, notes, or calendar events. Notion offers a wide variety of widgets to choose from, including:

Tasks
Notes
Calendar events
Web bookmarks
Images
Videos

Charts

To add a widget to your dashboard, simply click on the “Add Widget” button and select the type of widget you want to add. You can then drag and drop the widget into place on your dashboard.

Customizing Widgets

Once you have added a widget to your dashboard, you can customize it to meet your needs. To do this, simply click on the widget and select the “Edit Widget” option. You can then change the widget’s title, description, and other settings.

Adding Custom Widgets

In addition to the widgets provided by Notion, you can also add custom widgets to your dashboard. To do this, you can use the “Embed” widget. The Embed widget allows you to embed any type of content into your dashboard, including HTML, JavaScript, and CSS. This gives you the flexibility to create custom widgets that are tailored to your specific needs.

Example: Creating a Custom Widget to Display Your Tasks

Here is an example of how to create a custom widget to display your tasks:

1. Create a new database to store your tasks.
2. Create a new page and embed the database into the page.
3. Customize the embedded database to display the tasks you want to see on your dashboard.
4. Add the “Embed” widget to your dashboard and embed the page you created in step 3.

You can now see your tasks on your dashboard and easily manage them from there.

Linking Databases and Views

To create a life areas dashboard, you’ll need to connect various databases and views. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

1. Create a Master Database:

Start by creating a master database that will serve as the central hub for all your life areas. This database should include properties like “Life Area,” “Priority,” and “Status.”

2. Create Sub-Databases:

For each life area, create a separate sub-database within the master database. For example, you might create a database for “Health,” “Relationships,” and “Career.”

3. Link Sub-Databases to Master Database:

Connect each sub-database to the master database by creating a relation property in the sub-database that links it to the “Life Area” property in the master database.

4. Create Rollup Formulas:

To track progress across your life areas, create rollup formulas in the master database that aggregate data from the sub-databases. For instance, you could create a formula to calculate the average priority of all tasks within a specific life area.

5. Customize Views:

Once you have linked the databases, you can create customized views to display the information you want. You can filter, sort, and group the data by properties like “Life Area,” “Priority,” or “Status.” To make your dashboard even more visually appealing, you can use widgets, charts, and graphics.

Widget	Purpose
Database	Displays data from linked databases
List	Lists items from a database
Calendar	Displays events and tasks
Kanban	Displays tasks in a visual workflow format

Building Custom Formulas

Custom formulas in Notion allow you to perform calculations and manipulations on your data.
They’re incredibly versatile, and can be used for a wide range of purposes, including:

Calculating totals and averages
Combining data from multiple sources
Creating custom property values
Automating tasks
Generating reports
Customizing your dashboards

To create a custom formula, simply type the following syntax into a formula field:

“`
prop(“PropertyName”) [Operator] [Value]
“`

For example, to calculate the total amount of money you’ve spent on groceries this month, you could use the following formula:

“`
prop(“Grocery Expenses”) + prop(“Grocery Expenses 2”) + prop(“Grocery Expenses 3”)
“`

You can also use operators to compare values, such as greater than (>), less than (<), and equal to (=). For example, to filter a list of tasks by priority, you could use the following formula:

“`
prop(“Priority”) = “High”
“`

Custom formulas are a powerful way to extend the functionality of Notion. By using them, you can create dashboards that are tailored to your specific needs and workflow.

Here are some additional tips for using custom formulas:

Use the formula documentation to learn more about the available functions and operators.
Test your formulas thoroughly to make sure they’re working correctly.
Use comments to document your formulas and make them easier to understand.

Examples of Custom Formulas

Here are some examples of custom formulas that you can use to customize your dashboards:

Formula	Description
`prop("Completed") / prop("Total")`	Calculates the percentage of completed tasks.
`prop("Start Date") + prop("Duration")`	Calculates the end date of a task.
`if(prop("Priority") = "High", "red", "green")`	Changes the color of a cell based on the priority of a task.

Filtering and Sorting Data

Notion offers robust filtering and sorting capabilities to help you find and organize the data that matters most to you:

Filtering

Create custom filters to narrow down your data based on specific criteria, such as tags, properties, or dates.

Sorting

Sort your data in ascending or descending order based on any property, including title, date, or status.
Combine multiple sorting criteria to create more complex arrangements.

Custom Filters

To create a custom filter, click the “Filter” button and select “New Filter.” Enter your desired criteria using the provided fields, and hit “Apply” to narrow down your data.

View Sorting Options

To view sorting options, click the “Sort” button. Select a property from the drop-down menu to sort your data by that field.

Table Sorting

Notion also provides sorting options for tables. Simply click on a column header to sort the data in ascending or descending order.

Sort Option	Description
Click once	Sorts the data in ascending order
Click twice	Sorts the data in descending order
Click and hold	Displays a menu with additional sorting options

Collaborating on Dashboards

Notion is a highly collaborative platform that makes it easy to share and work on dashboards with others.
Here are the steps on how to collaborate on dashboards in Notion:

1. Click the “Share” button in the top-right corner of the dashboard.
2. Enter the email addresses of the people you want to share the dashboard with.
3. Choose the level of access you want to give them.

Can edit: This gives the person full control over the dashboard, including the ability to make changes to the layout, add or remove widgets, and change the data source.
Can comment: This gives the person the ability to add comments to the dashboard and view the comments of others.

Can view: This gives the person the ability to view the dashboard but not make any changes.

4. Click the “Share” button.
5. The people you shared the dashboard with will receive an email invitation.
6. Once they accept the invitation, they will be able to access the dashboard and collaborate on it.

Managing Collaborators

Once you have shared a dashboard with others, you can manage their access by clicking the “Share” button again and then clicking the “Manage access” tab.
From here, you can add or remove collaborators, change their level of access, or revoke their access altogether.

Best Practices for Collaborating on Dashboards

Here are some best practices for collaborating on dashboards in Notion:

Clearly define the roles and responsibilities of each collaborator.
Create a shared style guide to ensure that all dashboards are consistent in terms of design and formatting.
Regularly review the dashboard and make updates as needed.
Use comments to communicate with other collaborators and track changes.

By following these best practices, you can ensure that you are collaborating effectively on Notion dashboards.

Role	Responsibilities
Dashboard Owner	Creates and manages the dashboard Sets the overall vision and goals for the dashboard Invites and manages collaborators
Dashboard Editor	Makes changes to the dashboard layout and design Adds and removes widgets Changes the data source
Dashboard Commenter	Adds comments to the dashboard Views the comments of others
Dashboard Viewer	Views the dashboard Cannot make any changes

Exporting and Sharing Dashboards

Exporting Your Dashboard

To export your dashboard, click the “Share” button in the top right corner of the page. Then, select “Export” from the drop-down menu. You can choose to export your dashboard as a PDF, PNG, or HTML file.

Sharing Your Dashboard

To share your dashboard with others, click the “Share” button in the top right corner of the page. Then, select “Share with others” from the drop-down menu. You can enter the email addresses of the people you want to share the dashboard with, or you can create a shareable link.

Editing Shared Dashboards

When you share a dashboard with someone, they will be able to view and edit it. However, they will not be able to make changes to the dashboard’s template. If you want to make changes to the template, you will need to edit the dashboard yourself.

Managing Share Permissions

You can manage the share permissions for your dashboard by clicking the “Share” button in the top right corner of the page. Then, select “Manage share permissions” from the drop-down menu. You can add or remove people from the share list, and you can change their permission level.

Sharing Dashboards Via URL

You can also share your dashboard via a URL. To do this, click the “Share” button in the top right corner of the page. Then, select “Copy shareable link” from the drop-down menu. You can then share the link with anyone you want to give access to your dashboard.

Embedding Dashboards in Notion Pages

You can also embed dashboards in Notion pages. To do this, simply create a new page and then paste the embed code from the dashboard’s share menu into the page.

Permission Level	Description
Can view	The user can view the dashboard, but cannot edit it.
Can edit	The user can view and edit the dashboard.
Can manage	The user can view, edit, and manage the dashboard. They can also add and remove users from the share list.

Best Practices for Life Areas Dashboard Management

1. Keep it Simple and Scalable

Life areas dashboards should be a living, breathing tool that you can easily update and manage as your life changes. Avoid creating a complex dashboard that quickly becomes overwhelming. Instead, focus on creating a simple, scalable dashboard that you can easily maintain and expand as needed.

2. Use a Consistent Structure

Use a consistent structure for all of your life areas dashboards. This will help you to quickly and easily find the information you need. For example, you can create sections for each life area, such as personal, health, career, and relationships.

3. Customize your Dashboards

Notion is a flexible tool that allows you to create life areas dashboards that are uniquely tailored to your needs. Use the building blocks provided by Notion (e.g., databases, pages, and templates) to create a dashboard that reflects your personal style, goals, and priorities.

4. Use Visuals

Visuals can help you to quickly and easily understand the information on your dashboards. Use charts, graphs, and other visuals to track your progress and identify trends. Notion offers a library of pre-built visuals (e.g., charts, tables, and graphs) that you can easily add to your dashboards.

5. Track Your Progress

One of the most important features of a life areas dashboard is the ability to track your progress over time. Use Notion databases to track your goals, tasks, and activities. This will help you to stay motivated and focused on your goals.

6. Integrate with Other Tools

Notion can be integrated with a variety of other tools, such as Google Calendar, Evernote, and Jira. This allows you to create a central dashboard that brings together all of the information you need in one place.

7. Use Automation

Automation can save you time and help you to keep your life areas dashboards up to date. Use Notion’s automation tools to create workflows that automatically update your dashboards with fresh data.

8. Sharing your Dashboards

Notion allows you to share your dashboards with others. This can be helpful if you want to collaborate with others on your goals or if you want to provide updates to your friends and family.

9. Review and Iterate your Dashboards Regularly

As your life changes, so will your life areas dashboards. Make sure to review your dashboards regularly and make changes as needed. This will help you to ensure that your dashboards are always up to date and relevant.

10. Additional Tips for Cultivating a Thriving Dashboard

Tip	Description
Use a color coding system	To easily differentiate between different life areas or categories.
Incorporate motivational quotes or images	To inspire and keep you on track.
Set up widgets for quick access to important information	Such as your daily schedule, task list, or weather forecast.
Experiment with different dashboard layouts and templates	To find the one that works best for your needs.

How to Set Up Life Areas Dashboards in Notion

Setting up life areas dashboards in Notion is a great way to organize your digital workspace and track your progress towards your goals. These dashboards can help you stay on top of your tasks, projects, and appointments, and they can also provide you with a visual representation of your progress in different areas of your life, such as work, health, and relationships.

To set up a life areas dashboard in Notion, you’ll first need to create a new database. You can do this by clicking on the “New” button in the left-hand sidebar and selecting “Database”. Then, choose a name for your database and select the “Table” view.

Once you’ve created your database, you’ll need to add some properties. Properties are the different fields of data that you can track in your database. For a life areas dashboard, you might want to add properties such as “Area of Life,” “Task,” “Due Date,” and “Status.”

Once you’ve added some properties, you can start adding items to your database. To do this, simply click on the “New” button in the top-right corner of the database and fill out the fields for each item. You can also drag and drop items from other databases into your life areas dashboard.

Once you’ve added some items to your database, you can start customizing your dashboard. You can add widgets to show you a variety of information, such as a list of upcoming tasks, a calendar of appointments, or a chart of your progress towards your goals. You can also customize the appearance of your dashboard by changing the colors, fonts, and layout.

Life areas dashboards are a great way to stay organized and track your progress in different areas of your life. By following these steps, you can create a dashboard that meets your specific needs and helps you stay on top of your goals.