Devanshi Brower

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About me

Building a note taking system with Claude connector and Notion

Assumed audience:
Productivity enthusiasts familiar with or interested in the PARA method and/or the Zettelkasten system; anyone exploring AI-assisted note-taking workflows; users of Notion and Claude

I recently created this note-taking system and workflow for myself that combines Tiago Forte’s PARA method from How to Build a Second Brain and the Zettelkasten system, mostly influenced by Sönke Ahrens’ book, How to take Smart Notes, using Notion and Claude connectors.

A little about the PARA and Zettelkasten methods: The PARA method is an easy organizational system that divides all information into four categories: Projects, Areas, Resources and Archive. The Zettelkasten system is a way to strengthen our thinking, based on the principle that writing or note-taking IS thinking. Two key rules in this system that stood out to me are: first, take all the notes in your own words, no copy/paste (except when recording specific quotes, for literature notes) and second, always try to make connections between notes, to see how new information connects to your existing notes and projects.

Consuming vs comprehending

I came across the Zettelkasten method only recently and it struck me as the perfect antidote to the endless consumption of information we experience today. While LLMs have given us unprecedented access to information, they also make it too easy to consume/read without truly comprehending. The Zettelkasten system forces us to write ALL notes in our own words and actively connect them to other notes in our knowledge base, ensuring we confront the extent of our understanding as well as capture the context that we found most interesting for a certain piece of information.

My implementation

In this system, I integrated my Notion with Claude using the Notion Connector. Anthropic launched these connectors on July 14, 2025, which are extremely easy to set up and work with via the browser, desktop app and mobile app (though, I think you have to enable the connector on your desktop app first, for mobile to work).

One thing to be mindful of here is that connectors by default have access to ALL of your notion data. I did not find any settings that let me give permissions for specific pages. So if you want to limit data access, I suggest using the MCP workflow instead of connectors.

Adding notion connector to Claude desktop

Notion set up:

I organized my Notion manually. I tried doing this with Claude initially but I was worried about it accidentally jumbling or deleting my data, so I thought it was best to do this part myself which also gave me a chance to revisit some of my content and decide to merge or delete things. I ultimately organized my notion in a PARA + Inbox + Garden format with the following pages:

  1. Projects

  2. Areas/Resources (even though these are supposed to be separate sections per the PARA method, I prefer to combine them)

  3. Archive

  4. Garden (where ALL of my notes live)

  5. Inbox (this is more of a sketchpad for quick to-dos, links, or thoughts that are not formed enough to even be fleeting notes yet)

In this article, I will focus on the workflow using connectors and limit the scope to these three pages: Garden, Projects and Resources.

Projects:

This page follows the PARA method definition, it has a single database of Projects, which are active work with deadlines. Since Notion lets you create different views of the same database, I often don’t move old projects into archive and prefer to have them all in one place because I frequently return to old projects to create case studies or find interesting insights to discuss in interviews.

Resources/Areas:

This page also has a single database where I combine the idea or Resources and Areas from the PARA method. This is where I typically store things like inspirations related to topics I'm interested in, LLM instructions I'd like to document, templates, etc.

Garden:

This page has four databases in it:

  • Notes database: There are three types of notes per the Zettelkasten system: Fleeting , Literature and Permanent. I created templates for each note type, so Claude can easily follow the correct format.

  • Books database: Contains all the books I want to read, am reading, have read or have put on hold.

  • Ideas database: Mostly a list of random ideas that come to me and usually hold potential to become side projects or writing topics.

  • Topics: A list of overarching themes I can use to tag my notes.

All the databases use the ‘Relation’ property in Notion to convey their relationships with each other, making for a flexible system where I can maintain tags and connections between all these databases.

All the databases use the ‘Relation’ property in Notion to convey their relationships with each other, making for a flexible system where I can maintain tags and connections between all these databases.

My Notion set up

Claude set up:

I created a project in Claude so I could add instructions once and use multiple chats, since there’s a limit to chat lengths. Here are the instructions I use:

Project Rules


Core Structure

  • Projects: Action-oriented work with deadlines

  • Garden: Knowledge development (Notes, Ideas, Books, Topics)

  • Resources: Templates, references, ongoing areas

Default Rule: When no database specified → Create as Fleeting Note in Garden


Content Placement Decision Tree

1. Knowledge to develop/remember? → Garden Notes

  • Fleeting: Quick thoughts, temporary captures (default)

  • Literature: Source-based insights and summaries

  • Permanent: Refined, atomic concepts for long-term value

2. Reference material or template? → Resources

  • Templates, guides, best practices

  • Always connect with relevant Topics


Processing Rules by Content Type

Action Items

  1. Add to primary location based on context

  2. Also add to Inbox page to-do list

  3. Communicate: "Added to [Primary Location] and Inbox to-do list"

Fleeting Thoughts

  1. Create in Notes database as "Fleeting" type

  2. Use Fleeting Note template (You can ask Claude to fetch the template ID and add it here so it's very explicit for the LLM to follow)

  3. Suggest connections to other notes, resources, and relevant topics

Reading/Research

  1. Check if entry exists in Books database

  2. Use Literature note template (Add template ID here)

  3. Suggest insights that could become Permanent notes

  4. Suggest connections to other notes, resources, and relevant topics

Developed Ideas

  1. Use Permanent note template (Add template ID here)

  2. Ensure atomic concept (one clear idea per note)

  3. Must link to at least 1 other note and topic

  4. Suggest connections

Project Work

  1. For existing projects: Add content to the mentioned project

  2. For new projects: Use project template (Add template ID here)

  3. Map content to template sections:

    • Problem to solve

    • In scope / Out of scope

    • Solutions Explored

    • Notes and Updates

  4. Suggest insights for new Garden notes or connections to existing ones

  5. Communicate: "Adding to [Project Name] → [Section] → [Content]"


System Review (On-Demand Only)

Command: "Review my recent notes"

Process:

  1. Fetch last 15-20 notes from Garden

  2. Identify genuine patterns:

    • Unlinked related concepts

    • Notes ready for conversion

    • Missing connections to active projects

    • Emerging topics

  3. Only suggest improvements that add genuine value


Critical Rules

  • Always search before creating

  • Use actual Notion templates (fetch by ID)

  • Ask clarifying questions when uncertain

  • Quality over quantity for connections


Key formatting improvements:

  • Added proper heading hierarchy

  • Used consistent bullet styles

  • Added horizontal rules for visual separation

  • Fixed grammar and typos

  • Made template ID notes italic for clarity

  • Improved spacing and readability

  • Removed duplicate text in the "Fleeting Thoughts" section

Project Rules


Core Structure

  • Projects: Action-oriented work with deadlines

  • Garden: Knowledge development (Notes, Ideas, Books, Topics)

  • Resources: Templates, references, ongoing areas

Default Rule: When no database specified → Create as Fleeting Note in Garden


Content Placement Decision Tree

1. Knowledge to develop/remember? → Garden Notes

  • Fleeting: Quick thoughts, temporary captures (default)

  • Literature: Source-based insights and summaries

  • Permanent: Refined, atomic concepts for long-term value

2. Reference material or template? → Resources

  • Templates, guides, best practices

  • Always connect with relevant Topics


Processing Rules by Content Type

Action Items

  1. Add to primary location based on context

  2. Also add to Inbox page to-do list

  3. Communicate: "Added to [Primary Location] and Inbox to-do list"

Fleeting Thoughts

  1. Create in Notes database as "Fleeting" type

  2. Use Fleeting Note template (You can ask Claude to fetch the template ID and add it here so it's very explicit for the LLM to follow)

  3. Suggest connections to other notes, resources, and relevant topics

Reading/Research

  1. Check if entry exists in Books database

  2. Use Literature note template (Add template ID here)

  3. Suggest insights that could become Permanent notes

  4. Suggest connections to other notes, resources, and relevant topics

Developed Ideas

  1. Use Permanent note template (Add template ID here)

  2. Ensure atomic concept (one clear idea per note)

  3. Must link to at least 1 other note and topic

  4. Suggest connections

Project Work

  1. For existing projects: Add content to the mentioned project

  2. For new projects: Use project template (Add template ID here)

  3. Map content to template sections:

    • Problem to solve

    • In scope / Out of scope

    • Solutions Explored

    • Notes and Updates

  4. Suggest insights for new Garden notes or connections to existing ones

  5. Communicate: "Adding to [Project Name] → [Section] → [Content]"


System Review (On-Demand Only)

Command: "Review my recent notes"

Process:

  1. Fetch last 15-20 notes from Garden

  2. Identify genuine patterns:

    • Unlinked related concepts

    • Notes ready for conversion

    • Missing connections to active projects

    • Emerging topics

  3. Only suggest improvements that add genuine value


Critical Rules

  • Always search before creating

  • Use actual Notion templates (fetch by ID)

  • Ask clarifying questions when uncertain

  • Quality over quantity for connections


Key formatting improvements:

  • Added proper heading hierarchy

  • Used consistent bullet styles

  • Added horizontal rules for visual separation

  • Fixed grammar and typos

  • Made template ID notes italic for clarity

  • Improved spacing and readability

  • Removed duplicate text in the "Fleeting Thoughts" section

So far, I’m enjoying this system. Instead of passively consuming all day, I am actively building and expanding my understanding of topics I am interested in. Claude removes the organizational friction that used to derail my thinking process (not that I am not distracted by other things, but still), allowing me to focus on articulating my thoughts and insights and not just collecting information.

I hope you can use this as reference or starting point to devise your own note-taking system and workflow.