Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Notion
I’ve been a Notion user for years. I genuinely love it, although it wasn’t all sunshine and rainbows from the very beginning. The learning curve is undeniably steep, and the time investment required to tailor Notion to my workflow was substantial.
However, that initial effort is arguably part of the beauty and effectiveness of Notion’s approach. After pouring so much time and energy into building my system, the mere thought of switching to a competing platform fills me with dread. And I suspect I’m not the only one who feels this way.
A steep learning curve for software like Notion is…
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It’s a feature, not a bug
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Notion has demonstrated that a steep learning curve can be a powerful retention tool. It’s basically a feature, not a bug. When a person invests significantly in something, whether it’s software or anything else — paying with money, time, energy, or all three combined — they develop a stronger commitment to using it.
Consider money management apps as an example. You’re far more likely to stick with an app if you’ve paid for a yearly subscription versus simply creating a free account. While Notion can be used for free, the time and mental energy I’ve invested feel just as valuable, if not more so, than a monetary subscription. This “sweat equity” creates a powerful incentive to stay.
Of course, time, money, and effort alone aren’t enough to keep users hooked indefinitely. The service itself has to be good, or at least good enough to meet their needs. In my case, I genuinely appreciate Notion and the intricate systems I’ve built within it. Even though I might potentially gain similar — or perhaps even slightly better — benefits from platforms like Obsidian or others, the prospect of actually making the switch and learning the ins and outs of another complex piece of software is currently slim to none.
How it all started
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
When I first created my account and dove into Notion, “confused” would be an understatement. Beyond the basic introductory tutorial, you essentially start with a blank page. While the idea that you’re only limited by your imagination is appealing, it’s also incredibly overwhelming. You need to figure out what you need, what you want, how pages should look, how many pages are necessary, and so on. Then come the databases and the various ways to link them. I frequently had to consult Notion’s help pages and online communities to figure out how everything works.
My Notion setup is my central hub for tracking everything work-related.
Today, my Notion setup is my central hub for tracking everything work-related. It’s where I capture content ideas, store meeting notes, and manage all my ongoing projects. Even this very post you’re reading was originally drafted in Notion before being transferred and published here.
Beyond work, I also use Notion to track my fitness goals and diet plan, store my favorite recipes, and manage various other aspects of my personal life. While the system I have now feels relatively simple to use, setting it up was far from simple. It took hours upon hours of tweaking to get it just right. Even then, I discovered flaws or aspects that didn’t quite fit the workflow I envisioned. Fixing those took more time, but after several iterations, I finally achieved the setup I wanted.
Why I’ll likely never ditch Notion
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
The sheer investment of hours and brainpower poured into my Notion account makes me value it more deeply. It’s why I use it daily, and usually with pleasure. As I mentioned, making the switch now, after investing so much work, simply isn’t an appealing prospect.
Yes, I know I could potentially export my data from Notion and import it into something like Obsidian, effectively moving my workflow elsewhere. But that doesn’t solve the whole problem. Other platforms, while potentially similar, rarely have the exact same features or function in precisely the same way. I might gain some capabilities but lose others. Since Notion currently offers everything I fundamentally need, the trade-off doesn’t seem worth the disruption.
Even if I discovered a platform that was 10 or 20 percent better or more aligned with my ideal software vision, I still probably wouldn’t move. Notion would have to become seriously dysfunctional or fundamentally fail to meet my needs for me to consider switching. I simply don’t have the time or mental energy to customize another complex piece of software from the ground up to this extent again.
Notion isn’t the only example
Edgar Cervantes / Android Authority
Notion isn’t unique in leveraging this high-investment, high-retention dynamic. Plenty of other apps and services operate similarly. One personal example is the finance app YNAB (You Need A Budget), which I’ve written about previously.
Not only is YNAB a paid service, but it also has a steeper learning curve than many basic money management apps. Unlike Notion’s blank canvas, YNAB provides a specific budgeting methodology to work within, but it still takes considerable time and effort to understand and implement correctly. Having used it for over a decade, I’m firmly hooked — partly because I genuinely don’t want to go through that setup and learning process again with a different tool. Besides, just like Notion, YNAB is more than good enough for my needs and goals.
I could give other examples, but I’d be interested in hearing yours. Do you use an app or service with a significant learning curve? Is that investment a major reason you’re sticking with it? Head down to the comments section and let me know.
