Capturing Thoughts with Notion and Apple Shortcuts

Introduction

• Tutorial by Victor on capturing thoughts using Notion and Apple Shortcuts
• Addressing common problem of forgetting important thoughts when on the go
• Traditional method: using note-taking apps on phones can be cumbersome

Problem with Traditional Note-Taking

• Notifications and distractions can cause you to lose thoughts
• Apps may take long to load
• Sometimes no appropriate place to save the thought in the app

Solution with Apple Shortcuts

• Using an Apple Shortcut to capture thoughts with one button press into Notion
• Introduction to Victor's personal system: Task Manager in Notion
• Focus on the Inbox table for capturing thoughts

Setting Up Notion Integration

1. Create an Integration in Notion
   • Go to Notion's My Integrations page
   • Create a new integration (Example: YouTube demo integration)
   • Retrieve and save the secret key
2. Add Integration to Database
   • Refresh the database page
   • Use 'Add Connections' to link the created integration
   • Copy the Database ID from the URL link

Creating the Apple Shortcut

1. Open Apple Shortcuts
   • Create a new shortcut: YouTube demo capture shortcut
2. Create the Input Step
   • Add 'Ask for Input' step (Text format)
   • Prompt: "What would you like to capture?"
3. Structure the Input Data
   • Add a 'Text' step to format the data (Template provided by Victor)
   • Replace database_id and insert provided input
4. Configure the URL
   • Create a 'URL' step
   • Use the provided Notion API endpoint URL
5. Send Data to Notion
   • Add 'Get contents of URL' step
   • Set method to 'POST' and configure request body
   • Add headers: Authorization, Content-Type, Notion-Version
   • Insert secret_key and other values

Testing the Shortcut

• Play the shortcut and provide input
• Confirm permission requests
• Verify the new entry in the Notion database

Conclusion

• Easy way to capture and organize thoughts without losing them
• Encourage feedback and interaction