How to mimic Motion AI’s scheduling in Notion

Motion, a popular AI-powered productivity tool, organises schedules by dynamically adjusting tasks, meetings, and deadlines to maximise productivity while reducing overwhelm. I liked the style of it but wanted to use it where I was doing most of my work (in Notion).

You can replicate Motion’s system manually or with tools like Notion, Google Calendar, or Apple Calendar, following these steps:

1. Define Your priorities

   • List your tasks and rank them by urgency and importance.

   • Use categories such as "High Priority," "Medium Priority," and "Low Priority."

2. Block time for focused work

   • Dedicate uninterrupted time blocks for your most important tasks.

   • Use your peak energy hours for deep work.

3. Cluster similar activities

   • Group meetings, calls, or similar tasks together to minimize context switching.

4. Schedule breaks and downtime

   • Incorporate buffer time between tasks for rest or unexpected delays.

   • Use the Pomodoro Technique or similar time management methods to maintain focus.

5. Review and adjust regularly

   • At the end of each day, review your progress and adjust the next day’s schedule as needed.

   • If something was missed, reschedule it as soon as possible.

Build a Notion Database for Your Tasks

1. Use a Table Database to track all your tasks dynamically.

Table Properties:

• Task Name: Text column for task descriptions.

• Priority: Select column (e.g., High, Medium, Low).

• Deadline: Date column to track due dates.

• Estimated Time: Number column (in hours/minutes).

• Status: Select column (e.g., Not Started, In Progress, Complete).

• Focus Block: Formula column to calculate when to schedule tasks.

  • Formula: if(empty(prop("Deadline")), "Flexible", dateSubtract(prop("Deadline"), prop("Estimated Time"), "hours"))

• Assigned Time: Date & Time column to schedule your task manually.

• Category: Multi-select column for task types (e.g., Deep Work, Admin, Meetings).

• Daily Focus: Checkbox column to flag tasks for the current day.
  
  
  

2. Create a Daily Planner View

Filter tasks by Today and Priority.

View Filters:

1. "Today’s Tasks" View:

• Filter by:

  • Assigned Time is today.

  • OR Deadline is today.

• Sort by:

  • Priority (High → Low).

  • Assigned Time (Earliest → Latest)

2. "Overdue or High Priority" View:

• Filter by:

  • Deadline is before today.

  • OR Priority is High.
    
    
    

3. Create a Weekly Calendar View

Use a Calendar View to visualize tasks across the week.

• Assign Assigned Time as the date property for scheduling.

• Drag and drop tasks into your week dynamically.
  
  
  

4. Add a "Focus Time" Template

Create a task template to quickly add new tasks with pre-filled properties.

Template Example:

• Task Name: (empty for manual input)

• Priority: Medium

• Estimated Time: 1 hour

• Status: Not Started

• Category: Deep Work

• Deadline: (empty for manual input)

• Assigned Time: (empty for manual input)

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Do a weekly review process

Schedule time each week to:

• Review upcoming deadlines.

• Assign times for all tasks.

• Adjust priorities and goals.

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