Why Notion Templates Aren’t a Long-Term Solution

Notion Templates Are Great for Getting Started, But That’s All

If you’ve just started using Notion, templates can feel like a revelation. You download one, open it up, and suddenly your workspace is filled with pages, databases, and dashboards that look like they were built by a productivity guru. I started with the Life OS Template created by Thomas Frank.

It was one of the first steps into what felt like an endlessly customisable system.

Notion Templates offer a shortcut to building out complex structures whether it’s task management, content planning, goal tracking, or project oversight. And they help beginners understand how **Notion can manage tasks and projects *LINK** especially when you’re still wrapping your head around databases, filters, and relations.

But that initial excitement fades quickly. What starts as a productivity boost often turns into a productivity bottleneck. These templates are rarely designed with you in mind. They’re based on someone else’s workflow, priorities, and way of thinking. They make assumptions about how you plan, how you prioritise, and how you execute projects. And while that can be helpful at the start, over time it becomes a limitation.

Most Templates Don’t Align With How You Actually Work

One of the core problems with using Notion templates is that they assume too much. They make assumptions about how you define a project. They assume the kinds of tasks you’ll create. They assume how you’ll want to view and interact with your data. But your workflow is unique, and so are your needs.

You might work in weekly sprints, or manage long-term client retainers. Maybe you use time-blocking, or maybe your work is driven by energy levels and task complexity. Templates can’t predict these things, and they almost never adapt to them.

Taking my example of Thomas Frank template. While it’s visually impressive and packed with features, it didn’t (and maybe still doesn’t) leverage Notion’s built-in “Projects” and “Tasks” architecture in a dynamic way.

It looks great at first glance, but as you begin to customise it for your own use, you realise it’s not built for the flexibility I wanted.

I found this particularly frustrating when I built a Business Operating System for a client in the finance sector. The template I’d used had Projects and Tasks built in. I’d made some serious customisations for the clients needs and gave them a prototype to try and to gather feedback.

The following day, Notion introduced the in-built Tasks and Projects functionality. I wasted two days unpicking the functionality from the template and integrating Notion’s version.

Now this is not to say these templates don’t include some serious effort, some parts are fantastic and I’ve learnt so much from Thomas Frank, August Bradley and others.

But.. if you’re trying to link your personal and professional tasks into a single database, or you want project-level views that adapt to different contexts, you’ll find yourself bumping into the limitations of a rigid structure that was designed for someone else.

The More You Customise, the More You Break the Template

Here’s the reality: every template works… until it doesn’t. You begin with small tweaks; renaming tags, adjusting filters, hiding unnecessary views. But soon you’re duplicating databases, breaking formulas, and trying to retrofit your unique workflow into a system that was never built for it. What started as a shortcut becomes a Frankenstein of patched-together fixes. This is where most Notion users hit a wall. They feel like they’re constantly working around the system instead of with it.

This is when clients contact me. “Chris I just want it to work !”, they say.

In many cases, you’ll end up undoing half of the template just to make it usable. And by the time you’re done, you might as well have started from scratch. That’s the fundamental issue with relying on Notion project templates: they don’t evolve with you. Your business grows. Your routines change. Your priorities shift. A static template can’t accommodate that level of evolution. And let’s be honest, no one works exactly like the person who built the template. That’s why, eventually, every serious Notion user ends up building their own system, intentionally or not.

Building Your Own System Is the Long-Term Solution

The power of Notion doesn’t come from templates—it comes from the ability to design a workspace that mirrors the way you think. When you build your own **custom Notion project and task management system**, you’re creating a tool that reflects your goals, your workflow, and your mental models. You’re not trying to force your tasks into a predefined structure. You’re designing a structure that supports your tasks. That’s where productivity happens.

I’m forever ‘preaching’ to my clients (irrespective of which system they are using); your software and workflow should make your life easier, not have you constantly jumping through hoops to keep it updated.

For example, I use one central task database that’s filtered differently depending on the context: daily focus, content creation, project planning, or client delivery. Every project gets its own page, connected dynamically to the master database.

Automations, such as integrations with my Pipedrive CRM, allow new projects to trigger task creation automatically. This creates a system where nothing falls through the cracks, and everything is in one place, without the clutter or complexity that comes from bloated templates. Yes, it takes a bit more time to set up. But the return on that investment is massive: clarity, control, and complete alignment with how you actually work.

Final Thoughts: Ditch the Templates and Design for You

Templates are a great place to start, but they’re not where you should stop. The more complex your work becomes, the more essential it is to have a system that’s built for you, by you. If you’re constantly modifying templates, struggling to make things “fit,” or finding yourself stuck in someone else’s idea of productivity, it’s time to move on. Build a system that evolves with you. Notion isn’t meant to be used in a one-size-fits-all way. Its strength lies in its flexibility, and the best use of that power is to build something truly custom.

If you love the idea of having a fully tailored Notion workspace but don’t want to start from scratch, that’s exactly what I do for clients. I help individuals and teams design custom Notion workspaces that support their real-world workflows, without relying on pre-built templates that eventually break.

If you’re ready to ditch the one-size-fits-all approach and build something that actually works, get in touch here or check out my Notion Consulting services.