Why your Notion dashboard isn't working (and how to fix it)
Most Notion setups fail because they try to do too much. Here's how to strip it back and build a dashboard that actually helps.
I see the same mistake over and over: a Notion dashboard with 12 databases, 30 views, and a gallery of inspirational photos. It looks impressive, but within a week it's abandoned.
The fix is boring but effective. Start with one question: what is the one thing I need to know every day? For a Shopify store, that might be 'orders to fulfill' or 'content due this week.' Build a single view around that. Add other databases only when you actually need them.
I recently helped a store owner cut their dashboard from eight pages to three. They went from avoiding Notion to checking it daily. The difference was ruthless prioritization — every element had to earn its place.
Try this: delete every database you haven't touched in two weeks. If you panic and need it back, you can always re-create it. But odds are you won't.