The problem was not dramatic. It was just exhausting.
Before Notion, our projects lived in Excel files. Each PM had their own tracker on their own laptop, which meant project information lived in silos. If I needed to find something, the process was slower than it should have been: open the laptop, connect to VPN, open the right spreadsheet, and then search for the detail I needed.
That worked when the number of projects was smaller. As the portfolio grew, the process started to feel less like tracking and more like chasing. The information existed, but it was not always easy to reach, easy to share, or easy to trust as the latest version.
Nobody asked me to fix it. I started looking for tools because I needed a calmer way to manage my own work.
Most tools almost fit. Notion felt like building blocks.
I tried monday.com, ClickUp, and Notion. They all had useful parts, but most project management tools felt like they came with someone else's assumptions built in. There were too many features, too few features, or features that looked impressive but did not match how the team actually worked.
Notion felt different. It felt natural, almost like Lego for software. I could build around the workflow instead of forcing the workflow around the tool. That was the part that hooked me.
I watched YouTube videos, tested ideas after work, and spent evenings and weekends building the original version of the system. I used it for my own projects first. Then I iterated. I added things, removed things, broke things, fixed things, and kept learning by using it in real work.
It started as my tracker. Then it became the team's system.
After I had something I could actually use, I showed it to the director. He liked it, and in 2024 the system started rolling out to the other PMs. We onboarded projects slowly, then started connecting more of the surrounding workflow: intake, status tracking, task management, meeting minutes, purchase orders, contacts, logistics, and guest visibility for other teams.
Now Notion is the PM tool where the work lives. Around 15 internal users are in the system, with additional guests from different teams. Instead of hunting through a spreadsheet behind a VPN, we can search a project directly, open it from the mobile app in the field, or ask Notion AI a question and get to the information faster.
I am still the admin, still managing it, and still evolving it as the work changes. That first system was the bug I caught. It taught me that I did not have to wait for someone else to hand me the perfect tool. I could build one.
- Started as a personal workflow fix in 2023.
- Became the PM team's shared system in 2024.
- Now supports intake, project records, tasks, meeting minutes, purchase orders, contacts, logistics, and cross-team access.