Notion isn't just a note-taking app here are 5 ways I'm using it to run my life in 2026

Date:
Sat, 03 Jan 2026 10:00:00 +0000

Description:
Notion has become an all-in-one app like no other heres why its worth a look in 2026, plus my favorite new tools.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Notion is a strange beast, even for those who use it regularly. The apps
bread and butter may once have been database management and a place to store notes, but as we head into 2026 it's now grown into something that
encompasses so much more.

Last year, I pointed out how you can use a series of tools within the free version of the app to set goals, manage tasks, and build templates. If you want a primer on some of the basic things it can do, I'd recommend reading that first.

But Notion is now able to do so much more, thanks to new tools and, yes, AI. If youve spent any time with Notion in the last few years, you may be surprised at what it can help you achieve now.

To give you an idea of how I use it, here are my five favorite new tools that could help power your creativity and productivity in equal measure in 2026.
1. Embracing the Agent (Image credit: Notion / Future)

Notion is definitely leaning further into AI than ever before, as you might expect.

While theres a whole bunch of AI tools, like being able to create charts from data and asking Notion AI to search through your workspace for something you may have referenced months ago, a more recent feature is Notion Agent.

As the name suggests, this is the companys Agentic AI. Think of it less like having a tool that can find data or analyze whats there, and more like having a handy extra pair of hands that can enter data, update pages, and much more. You can get a trial of Notion AI in the free and Plus plans, but for full access to the Agent you need the Business plan ($20 / 16.50 per month, around AU$30 per month). That's what I'm on.

You can ask your Notion Agent to build a database for just about anything, adding as much information as you can, and itll build it in seconds while explaining what it can do and the steps you may want to take next very
handy.

Not all of Notion's AI-powered features need a subscription (for example,
Mail and Calendar are free), but understanding what Notion Agent can do could be a huge boon for your organizational outlook in 2026. A good place to start is this video intro to Notion Agent . 2. Managing meetings (Image credit: Notion / Future)

One of my favorite features Notion added this year is its Meeting Notes. Real-time transcription is one of the most useful AI tools around, but with Notion you can use a backslash and then meeting to get it to listen out for calls.

Itll also trigger automatically if you want to jump on a quick call and have it take a bunch of notes, with options for a full transcript, summary notes, and an AI summary.

It gets dropped right into your workspace, too, so you can send it to your colleagues or instantly turn it into an action plan, and its all searchable with Notion AI, too.

The only downside is that you do need the Business plan ($20 / 16.50 per month, around AU$30 per month), to unlock a limited number of AI Meeting Notes. 3. Organising email (Image credit: Notion / Future) TL;DR What's new
in Notion? Notion has a new suite of AI tools, including connections to popular models like ChatGPT and Google Gemini. The standalone Calendar app
has been joined by Notion Mail for managing your email. Its enterprise tools are getting better, too, meaning you can now search on services like Slack
for key details.

Last year, Notion added a second app to its staple with Notion Calendar. In the months since, that app has gotten better with each update. Its clean,
easy to parse at a glance, and it finally removed that additional panel with keyboard shortcuts on the side.

It adjusts to time zones, and has a built-in scheduling tool, while it has access to your Notion database so you can update information there without going to a separate app.

New in 2025, though, is Notion Mail. Since it arrived, its also become more useful. Using Notion AI, you can filter incoming mail automatically, meaning it can surface documents that need signing, emails with meeting invites, and much more.

With snippet support, suggested responses, and scheduled send, its helped me get through my inbox much more quickly. 4. Connecting work tools and AI
models (Image credit: Notion / Future)

Another huge improvement that comes with Notion Agent is that it can tie into a whole bunch of non-Notion apps.

That includes dev tools like Jira and Github, storage locations like iCloud Drive and Box, and workspace solutions like Slack, Teams, and more. This
means your agent can dive deep into just about anything you give it access
to.

Asking it to find articles Ive written, as well as drafts from my Google
Drive that correspond, is more helpful than youd perhaps expect, letting me see whats live, what isnt, and much more.

If youre already using some kind of AI chatbot, you might be able to
integrate it into your Notion, too. At the time of writing, it includes
Claude Sonnet 4.5, Claude Opus 4.5, Gemini 3 Pro, and ChatGPT 5.1, with the caveat that these are in beta. 5. Building a task manager (Image credit: Notion / Future)

This isnt an AI task (and Notion Agents cant create automations yet), but you might be surprised at how much you can get done by building your own.

As an example, when I log a piece of work as having been sent to a client, it automatically marks it as done on my Kanban board. When I add an invoice
date, it marks it as invoiced, and so on, and so forth.

When you tie it with other services and tools, you can get pretty complex. My task manager can input tasks using an email trigger, so my Notion can send
the relevant data from my email, to that address, which then populates it on my to-do list with a deadline, client name, and more. The only real limits
are what you can think of.

Follow TechRadar on Google News and add us as a preferred source to get our expert news, reviews, and opinion in your feeds. Make sure to click the
Follow button!

And of course you can also follow TechRadar on TikTok for news, reviews, unboxings in video form, and get regular updates from us on WhatsApp too.



======================================================================
Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/computing/websites-apps/notion-is-now-way-more-than- a-note-taking-app-here-are-5-ways-im-using-it-to-run-my-life-in-2026


--- Mystic BBS v1.12 A49 (Linux/64)
* Origin: tqwNet Technology News (1337:1/100)