10 Ways to Make Notion FASTER

TL;DR

Use the Notion desktop app instead of the browser to benefit from caching and faster page loads, especially on slower machines or weaker internet.

Briefing Cornell Notes

Briefing

Notion speed often comes down to what loads first and what you make it do next: heavy media, slow input paths, and avoidable clicks. The biggest practical fix is switching from the browser to the Notion desktop app, which uses local caching to speed up page loads—especially on slower computers or weaker internet. That cache also creates a limited “pseudo offline” benefit: pages visited in advance can remain accessible without a connection, which can matter in situations like travel.

The second major performance lever is the size of cover images. Large Unsplash photos can be enormous because many images are uploaded at full camera resolution (often thousands of pixels wide, with massive file sizes). When a huge cover image sits at the top of a Notion page, it can drag down responsiveness right where users notice it most. The remedy is straightforward: resize the image to something more reasonable (for example, scaling an 8,000px-wide image down to around 2,000px or 1,500px) and, if needed, compress it further. TinyPNG is offered as a concrete example, where a roughly 1.2MB 4K image was reduced to about 349KB with little visible quality loss.

Once Notion itself feels snappy, the rest of the gains come from reducing friction while working. Several shortcuts target faster formatting and navigation. Typing “/turn” inside a block brings up a “turn into” menu, letting users convert headings, lists, and other blocks into toggles without hunting through the block menu. Keyboard shortcuts are framed as a compounding advantage: the more often a shortcut is used, the more it sticks—such as Control/Command + Backslash to toggle the sidebar, or using Home plus the forward bracket to convert list items into toggle lists.

For writing and research, multitasking is treated as a speed tool. Opening multiple Notion windows via Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) lets users place research and scripts side-by-side. On Windows, snapping windows to halves of the screen is suggested to keep both contexts visible while drafting.

Mobile access gets its own efficiency upgrade through home screen widgets. Options include a single fixed page widget, plus Favorites and Recents widgets—so frequently used pages and recently visited work can be reached quickly from a phone without digging through menus.

Input speed for images is another recurring theme. Instead of using Notion’s “/image” uploader, the transcript recommends copying images directly to the clipboard and pasting them into Notion. For cases where the content isn’t already an image, screenshot tools like ShareX (Windows) or built-in snipping tools (Windows/Mac) are positioned as faster capture methods—especially for grabbing fast-moving Zoom slides and later referencing them.

Finally, the workflow layer matters: building a “Quick Links” page keeps a favorites bar from becoming cluttered by turning many frequently visited pages into a single navigational hub. Beyond personal organization, the transcript emphasizes templates and automation. Templates can add complex systems quickly, while Notion’s API enables integrations through tools like Zapier (and alternatives like make.com). Examples include using Siri to add tasks into Todoist, then syncing them into Notion with due dates, and a more advanced speech-to-text pipeline where phone recordings are transcribed via otter.ai and then stored as notes with both the transcript and a Dropbox link. The overall message is that speed comes from controlling load weight, minimizing clicks, and automating repeat work so Notion becomes a faster “second brain,” not a bottleneck.

Cornell Notes

Notion performance improves most when users reduce heavy content and streamline how they work inside the app. Switching to the Notion desktop app leverages local caching for faster page loads and limited pseudo-offline access to previously visited pages. Cover images are a major bottleneck when they’re oversized—especially large Unsplash photos—so resizing and compressing them (e.g., with TinyPNG) can noticeably improve responsiveness. For day-to-day speed, the transcript highlights shortcuts like “/turn,” keyboard conversions into toggle lists, multi-window layouts, and faster image capture via clipboard paste and screenshot tools. Long-term productivity gains come from quick links pages, templates, and automations using Notion’s API with tools like Zapier (including Siri-to-Todoist-to-Notion task capture and speech-to-text pipelines via otter.ai).

Why does the desktop app often feel faster than using Notion in a browser?

The desktop app includes caching. After visiting pages, Notion can load them from local storage instead of repeatedly fetching everything over the network. That advantage is most noticeable on slower computers or weaker internet connections. The transcript also notes a limited “pseudo offline” effect: pages visited in the desktop app can remain accessible without Wi‑Fi (not true offline mode, but better than nothing).

How can cover images slow down Notion, and what’s the fix?

Large cover images—especially high-resolution Unsplash photos—can be extremely heavy because many are uploaded at full camera resolution (thousands of pixels wide, with huge file sizes). When such an image sits at the top of a page, it can make the page feel sluggish right where users look first. The fix is to resize the image to a smaller width (for example, down to ~2,000px or ~1,500px) and, if needed, compress it using a tool like TinyPNG. The transcript gives an example where a ~1.2MB 4K image dropped to about 349KB with little visible quality loss.

What does the “/turn” command do, and how does it speed up formatting?

Typing “/turn” inside a block opens a “turn into” menu. From there, users can convert the current block into other block types (including toggle headings and toggle lists) without using the block menu. The transcript also highlights that typing more characters narrows the options—for example, typing “turn togg” to quickly reach toggle heading choices.

Which shortcuts help users work faster with lists and layout?

The transcript calls out several: Control/Command + Backslash toggles the sidebar to gain more writing space; Home followed by the forward bracket converts list items or bullet items into toggle lists. It also recommends opening multiple windows by Control-click (Windows) or Command-click (Mac) so research and writing can be visible at the same time, and then snapping windows to halves on Windows for a clean split-screen workflow.

How can users add images to Notion faster than using the uploader?

Instead of using the “/image” command and the standard uploader, the transcript recommends copying an image to the clipboard and pasting it into Notion. For screenshots, tools like ShareX (Windows) or built-in snipping tools (Windows/Mac) can capture a screen region and place it on the clipboard, enabling quick paste into Notion. This approach is especially useful for capturing fast-moving Zoom slides during online courses.

What kinds of automations are described as making Notion faster over time?

The transcript emphasizes using Notion’s API via integration tools like Zapier (and mentions make.com as an alternative). One example connects Todoist and Notion so Siri can add tasks that then appear in Notion’s task inbox with due dates. Another example builds a speech-to-text pipeline: phone voice recordings are transcribed by otter.ai, then a Zapier workflow writes both the audio link (stored in Dropbox) and the transcription text into a Notion note inbox.

Review Questions

Which two factors most directly affect Notion’s perceived speed, and how does each one get addressed (desktop app vs. cover images)?
How do “/turn” and the Home + forward-bracket shortcut change the way lists are converted into toggle structures?
What automation chain is used to get Siri-created tasks into Notion, and what tool handles the integration?

Key Points

1
Use the Notion desktop app instead of the browser to benefit from caching and faster page loads, especially on slower machines or weaker internet.
2
Treat cover images as a performance bottleneck: resize and compress large Unsplash photos to reduce load time at the top of pages.
3
Speed up formatting by using “/turn” to convert blocks directly into toggle headings/lists without opening the block menu.
4
Rely on keyboard shortcuts (like Control/Command + Backslash for the sidebar and Home + forward bracket for toggle lists) to reduce repetitive clicking.
5
Capture images faster by copying to clipboard and pasting into Notion, using screenshot tools when content isn’t already an image.
6
Create a Quick Links page to manage many favorites without cluttering the favorites bar.
7
Use templates and automations via Notion’s API (e.g., Zapier) to eliminate repeat work, such as Siri-to-Todoist-to-Notion task capture and speech-to-text note creation.

Highlights

Notion desktop caching can make a noticeable difference on slower setups and can provide limited pseudo-offline access to pages already visited.

Oversized cover images—often from full-resolution Unsplash photos—can slow pages down right at the top; resizing to ~2,000px or ~1,500px and compressing with TinyPNG helps.

Typing “/turn” inside a block brings up a conversion menu instantly, enabling quick creation of toggle headings and toggle lists.

Clipboard-based image pasting plus screenshot tools can be dramatically faster than uploading images through Notion’s uploader.

Automations using Notion’s API (via Zapier) can route tasks and transcriptions into Notion automatically, turning capture into a near-instant workflow.

Topics

Notion Performance
Desktop App Caching
Cover Image Optimization
Keyboard Shortcuts
Notion Automations