{"id":742,"date":"2026-07-19T12:16:56","date_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ugurkilci.com\/blog\/?p=742"},"modified":"2026-07-19T12:16:57","modified_gmt":"2026-07-19T12:16:57","slug":"why-did-i-stop-using-notion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ugurkilci.com\/blog\/why-did-i-stop-using-notion\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Did I Stop Using Notion?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>I\u2019ve been using Notion for many years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In fact, I wasn\u2019t just a user. I developed products for the Notion ecosystem. For a while, I was developing a Notion widget tool called thePlus.so. It reached thousands of users and was used hundreds of thousands of times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>So this post isn\u2019t a critique from an outsider\u2019s perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s the experience of someone on the inside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And in the end, I decided to stop using Notion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Chaos That Seems Simple<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When you first open Notion, everything looks very simple.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A blank page.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A few blocks.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Drag and drop.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The first impression is great.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>But as you start using it, you realize that you\u2019re actually facing a huge tangle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A tangle that doesn\u2019t seem complicated at first glance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even doing the simplest thing sometimes requires more learning than you\u2019d expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Should I open a page?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Should I use a database?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Should I create a relation?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Should I set up a template?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>What was a Synced Block again?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Do I really need this for this task?<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>At a certain point, while trying to be productive, you find yourself trying to learn the tool.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I think one of the biggest indicators of this is just how much the \u201ctemplate economy\u201d has grown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If people could open Notion and easily set up their own systems, would there really be such a need for thousands of ready-made templates?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe there would be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But one of the reasons templates are so popular today is that Notion isn\u2019t as intuitive as we might think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Performance was Important to Me<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another issue is performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Notion works quite well on powerful, next-generation computers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But not everyone uses the latest computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Internet connections aren\u2019t the same for everyone, either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I sometimes work in places where the internet infrastructure isn\u2019t very good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I open Notion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The page loads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Then the screen where I\u2019ll write my notes appears.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>By that time, the idea in my head has already flown away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want to start writing the moment I open the note-taking app.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even those few seconds in between can sometimes make a difference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The mobile experience has never been smooth enough for me either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In moments when I want to take quick notes, I\u2019ve often felt like it couldn\u2019t keep up with me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Community&#8217;s Perspectives Bothered Me<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>One of the main reasons I left Notion isn\u2019t technical\u2014it\u2019s cultural.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When you spend some time developing products within the Notion ecosystem, you get a closer look at certain things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Over the years, many ideas developed by the community later became Notion\u2019s own products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Notion Calendar.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Notion Sites.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>And many more features.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s only natural for a company to develop its own products.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That wasn\u2019t what bothered me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What bothered me was that I didn\u2019t feel the community where these ideas originated was given enough credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wrote this to them as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I shared my thoughts via email.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I wasn\u2019t expecting some grand gesture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Just an approach like this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019d like to thank the community that has been developing these ideas for years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, even a single \u201cthank you\u201d is enough to show respect for the hard work people have put in over the years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\u2019t see that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is entirely a personal assessment, but it became one of the reasons that gradually turned me off the product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Too Big for One Person<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In my opinion, Notion really shines when it comes to teams.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It can be particularly effective for teams working with a well-designed template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Project management,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Documentation,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Wiki,<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Internal knowledge sharing&#8230;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>I still think it performs well in these areas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But for someone working alone, it\u2019s started to feel a bit bloated over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I just want to take notes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want to write down my thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I want to get things done quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t need hundreds of features for that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What am I Using Now?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>It might sound strange, but my note-taking is a bit disorganized these days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t have a single system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But one of the tools I use most is still the classic Notepad on my computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Yes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That tiny little app that hasn\u2019t changed in years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Because I open it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I write.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I close it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I\u2019ve also tried Visual Studio Code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s a great editor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But it wasn\u2019t designed for note-taking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That\u2019s why it feels too heavy for my daily use.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Actually, I still haven\u2019t found what I\u2019m looking for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lightweight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Very fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Intuitive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Opens instantly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A note-taking app that doesn\u2019t get in the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I don\u2019t think such a tool exists yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Maybe I&#8217;ll Do It Someday<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes I find myself thinking, \u201cGo ahead, do it yourself.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe I really will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But not today.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Right now, I\u2019m working on another productivity tool, and the initial test results have me pretty excited.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For now, all my focus is on that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Who knows&#8230;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe one day I\u2019ll develop that note-taking app I\u2019ve been looking for for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final Words<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I didn\u2019t stop using Notion because it\u2019s a bad product.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I stopped using it because it no longer fits the way I work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, just because a tool is very powerful doesn\u2019t mean it\u2019s the right one for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lately, I\u2019ve been focusing more on this:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It\u2019s not about how many features an app offers me, but how much it gets out of my way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Maybe a good productivity tool is one you forget is even there.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>I used Notion for many years and developed products for the Notion ecosystem. So why did I stop? My experiences with performance, complexity.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":743,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[79,175],"class_list":["post-742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-notion","tag-notion","tag-why-did-i-stop-using-notion"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Why Did I Stop Using Notion? - Ugur KILCI Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"I used Notion for many years and developed products for the Notion ecosystem. So why did I stop? 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