Project Management in Notion: A Dutch Team's Workflow

Discover how a Dutch team leverages Notion for project management with a structured workflow, integrating tools like Slack and Google Calendar to boost productivity and collaboration.

Notion has emerged as a versatile workspace for teams worldwide, but its true power lies in how it adapts to specific workflows. For a Dutch team based in Amsterdam, managing projects across multiple time zones and disciplines requires a system that combines clarity, flexibility, and integration. This article details the exact workflow used by a small design and development studio, Studio Krom, which employs 12 people and manages up to 15 concurrent projects. Their approach relies on a customized Notion setup that integrates with Slack, Google Calendar, and a Notion dashboard template designed for agile project management.

The Core Structure: Databases and Relations

The foundation of the workflow is a set of interconnected databases. Studio Krom uses four primary databases: Projects, Tasks, Team Members, and Clients. Each database has specific properties that enable filtering, sorting, and cross-referencing.

Projects Database: Contains fields for Project Name, Status (Not Started, In Progress, Review, Done, Archived), Priority (Low, Medium, High, Critical), Deadline, Client (relation to Clients database), and Lead (relation to Team Members).
Tasks Database: Includes Task Name, Assignee (relation to Team Members), Project (relation to Projects), Due Date, Status (To Do, In Progress, Blocked, Done), Estimated Hours, and Tags (e.g., Design, Development, Admin).
Team Members Database: Stores Name, Role, Email, Slack Handle, Hourly Rate (in EUR), and Availability (a select field: Full-time, Part-time, Freelance).
Clients Database: Holds Company Name, Contact Person, Email, Phone, and Billing Rate.

Relations are established via Notion's relation property. For example, each task is linked to a project, and each project is linked to a client. This allows for rollup summaries, such as total estimated hours per project or total invoiced amount per client.

Daily Stand-up in Notion

Every morning at 09:00 CET, the team gathers for a 15-minute stand-up. Instead of a typical meeting, they use a dedicated Notion page titled "Daily Stand-up" with a template that includes three sections: What I did yesterday, What I will do today, and Blockers. Each team member fills in their update by 09:30. The page is structured using a Notion dashboard template that aggregates updates via linked databases.

The stand-up page uses a synced block that pulls tasks assigned to the current user with status "In Progress" or "Blocked." This gives an instant overview. Blockers are flagged with a red tag and automatically notify the project lead via Slack using Zapier integration.

Sprint Planning and Backlog Management

Studio Krom operates on two-week sprints. Sprint planning occurs every other Monday at 10:00. The team uses a Sprint view in the Tasks database, filtered by a Sprint property (a select field with values like "Sprint 23" or "Sprint 24"). During planning, they estimate tasks using a combination of hours and story points (1-5).

The backlog is maintained in a separate view within the Tasks database, filtered by Status: To Do and no sprint assigned. Priorities are set by the product owner (the studio's creative director). Tasks are ordered by priority and then by estimated hours. The team uses a formula property to calculate a priority score: (Priority * 10) + (Story Points * 2). This helps in ordering the backlog.

Time Tracking and Budgeting

Time tracking is essential for billing clients. Each team member logs hours directly in Notion using a Time Entries database. Properties include Date, Task (relation to Tasks), Hours (number), and Description (text). The hourly rate is rolled up from the Team Members database via the task's assignee.

To stay within budget, each project has a Budget property (number, in EUR) and a formula that calculates the sum of all time entries linked to tasks in that project, multiplied by the average hourly rate. A progress bar (using a formula with a div and span) shows percentage of budget used. If a project exceeds 80% of budget, a warning is sent to the project lead via Slack.

Integration with External Tools

Notion alone cannot cover all needs. Studio Krom integrates with several tools:

Slack: Using Zapier, when a task is marked as "Blocked," a message is sent to a dedicated #blockers channel. Also, when a task is completed, the assignee gets a congratulatory message in a #wins channel.
Google Calendar: Using Notion's built-in calendar view, team members can see deadlines and scheduled meetings. However, they also sync project milestones to a shared Google Calendar using a third-party tool like Two-way Sync for Notion (€9/month).
GitHub: For development tasks, each task has a property for GitHub issue number. Developers link the issue directly, and when a pull request is merged, the task status automatically updates via a webhook.

These integrations reduce manual updates and ensure information flows seamlessly.

Reporting and Client Communication

At the end of each sprint, the team generates a report using Notion's export to PDF feature. The report includes:

Tasks completed vs. planned
Hours logged per project
Budget consumption
Blockers encountered and resolutions

This report is sent to clients via email. For internal use, a dashboard page (again using the Notion dashboard template) displays key metrics via linked databases and rollups. The dashboard shows:

Number of active projects
Tasks due this week
Overdue tasks
Team workload (hours assigned vs. available)

The dashboard is the first page team members see when they open Notion.

Lessons Learned and Adaptations

After six months of using this workflow, Studio Krom identified several improvements:

Simplify properties: Initially, they had too many custom fields, which slowed down data entry. They reduced properties to only essential ones.
Use templates: They created project templates for recurring project types (e.g., website redesign, branding) to speed up setup.
Regular cleanup: Archived projects and tasks are moved to a separate archive database to keep the main database performant.
Training: New team members receive a 30-minute Notion onboarding session, covering the workflow and how to log time correctly.

For teams looking to implement a similar system, the key is to start simple and iterate. Notion's flexibility allows for gradual complexity. A great starting point is the Notion dashboard template, which can be customized to fit any team's needs.

In conclusion, this Dutch team's Notion workflow demonstrates how a structured yet adaptable system can streamline project management. By combining databases, relations, integrations, and a daily stand-up routine, Studio Krom maintains high productivity and client satisfaction. Whether you're a small studio or a larger agency, these principles can be applied to your own Notion setup.

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