Similar to how Notebooks serve as folders in Evernote, Pages double folders in Notion. So to create a folder in Notion, you’d create a Page, then use that to store all of the Pages related to it in one location. You can then use Pages within Pages to create sub-folders. It’s starting to sound a bit like the plot of Inception, we know, so we’ve made a small working mockup that shows the workflow in action.
How to Create a Folder in Notion
- Create a new Page to serve as the Folder.
- Drag and drop other Pages into the Folder.
It’s easier to understand when you think of how this relates to a topical organization structure. Say, for example, you want to store all files pertaining to finance in one location. You’d start by creating a Page called Finance. Next, think about the sub-topics. Maybe you’d have Accounts Payable and Accounts Receivable. Each of these would be Pages, and it’s within these where the relevant documents would live.
This can of course can run as deep as you need. You may want to break the Accounts Payable down by vendor or month. You’d create a Page to serve as each folder, then move the documents (also Pages or Databases) into these folders to start sectioning them off. You can use this mockup to see how we built out a similar system in our Notion Workspace — and like all of the Notion templates we feature, you can clone it.
Tips for Creating a Folder System in Notion
Believe it or not, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier to find and navigate the folders you create in your Workspace. We’ve included these recommendations below.
Use Icons to Identify Folders
Notion icons aren’t there to look aesthetic — use them to help with navigation. We recommend using a folder icon whenever you create a folder in Notion to make it distinguishable from the other Pages in your Workspace. This way you know that Page is intended to function as a folder. It also makes it easier for other people using the Workspace to find the information they’re looking for.
This will also make it a lot easier to separate the folders from the files when navigating a Page that contains both. We recommend using an in-page structure to keep these separate. What often use columns in Notion to create an inner-sidebar that houses the folders, often offset to the left, with everything else on the right. You could also use a divider to create a folders section at the top, similar to Google Drive.
Use a Dashboard to Store Folders
Instead of having a load of Pages that serve as folders listed alongside Pages that serve as documents in your sidebar, consider creating a Notion dashboard. These serve as a homescreen of sorts, and can contain links to various other sections of your Workspace. Some people choose to configure these to serve as a My Documents section. (Tip: Work in a business? Consider creating one for each department.)
Create a Folder Page Template
Following the advice above to break folders into sections? Perhaps you want a location for sub-folders and another for everything else. You can use the Sharing feature to create a template that you can then duplicate in the future when wanting to create a Page.
Create a SOP & Templatize Process
This recommendation isn’t necessarily specific to when you want to create a folder in Notion, but if you’re working in a business we recommend setting up some sort of organisational process that spans the company — or your team, at the very least. If everyone is following the same playbook when it comes to creating, storing and even organizing folders, it makes them much easier to both find and navigate.