For long-time Notion users who have accumulated years of data, facing a completely new Template system can indeed feel overwhelming. The core conflict lies in:
- Old notes and databases hold years of hard work, and you don't want to easily abandon them
- The new Template's design philosophy isn't fully compatible with your old system
- Trying to "have the best of both worlds" often leads to both systems working poorly
So you may still be in the "wait-and-see" stage, worried that if you buy it and can't adapt to the Template's workflow logic, wouldn't that be a waste of money? This article aims to address this confusion.
How to Get Started with FLO.W Template
If you've already purchased the FLO.W Template, I highly recommend watching this 40-minute video I created. It thoroughly explains how to start from the simplest task and gradually build a rich note-taking system and a project-experience-rich "Area."
I understand that 40 minutes is quite long, but I can guarantee it will save you over 100 hours of tweaking time in the future. You can follow the video's progress bar, watch 10 minutes each day and immediately practice, and soon you'll have a basic understanding of the Template's overall usage.
After watching the video, when you encounter a specific problem, such as not knowing the purpose or usage of a certain database field, you can immediately search for that keyword in the FLO.W Template Manual. Generally, there will be complete text and image or video explanations.
How to Migrate Legacy Notes to the FLO.W System
I recently received a question from an advanced version user that is very representative:
I've created many databases in Notion over the years. Currently, while using your Template, I have a headache-inducing problem: how should I handle these databases? Should I put them all into your Template's notes database, or continue using them as my current separate databases?
For example, the legacy notes in the image below—how should they integrate with the current FLO.W Template?
There are two prerequisites for successful migration:
- You know what content you've recorded
- You know what functional modules in FLO.W can match them
Simply put, FLO.W's functional modules can be divided into these four basic categories:
- Record things to complete: Task Module + Project Module
- Record valuable information: Notes Module
- Store external information sources: Web Clipper Module
- Includes all three categories above: Area Module
So let's first pick out the easily categorizable information from the image:
- Things to complete: Projects
- Valuable information: prompts, account management, Secrets, contacts, scripts, plugins, Services
- External information sources: manuals, physical books, authors, books
Among these, Projects are the easiest to migrate because the FLO.W Template has ready-made Task and Project modules. You just need to [move] these Projects pages directly into the corresponding database. For specific migration methods, refer to Import Template - Legacy Notes Migration.
Next, handle "valuable information." If this information matches the definitions of these six note types, you can create a separate note for it.
| Type | Description |
|---|---|
| Exp - Experience / Summary / Review | Used to record lessons learned from practice (projects, tasks, life experiences), in-depth research summaries on complex topics, or periodic personal/work review reflections. This type of note is key to knowledge internalization and refinement. |
| Log - Journal / Process / Experience | Used to record daily diaries, work logs, specific processes of project progress, important personal experiences or observational discoveries. |
| Ask - Confusion / Unknown / Challenge | Used to record specific questions arising from learning, work, or life that need further exploration, problems faced, or challenges encountered |
| How - Method / Workflow / Guide | Used to record specific operation methods, workflows, SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures), skill acquisition guides, or tutorials |
| Idea - Thinking / Inspiration / Viewpoint | Used to quickly capture fleeting inspirations, initial thoughts, unique personal viewpoints, or innovative solutions |
| Ref - Resource / Extract / Tool | Used to store valuable external resource links, essence extracts from articles/books, recommended tool lists, or other reference material fragments worth keeping. |
For example, "prompts," "scripts," and "plugins" can match (or at least barely match) the [Ref] or [How] note categories, so you can create a note in [FLO.W - Notes DB], then move your current [Prompts Database] into this new note page.
What about the remaining "valuable information" that doesn't match these six note type definitions? The simplest approach is to move them into an Area page you created, making it a subpage of that area, something like an appendix or attachment. For example, [Contacts] can go into an area like [Relationships], and [Services] can go into an area like [Productivity Tools].
Understanding the Area Concept: FLO.W System uses a two-level area structure. Level 1 areas are major directions you continuously focus on in life (such as "Health Management" or "Career Development"), while Level 2 areas are more specific subdivisions (such as "Physical Training" or "Dietary Adjustments"). For details, see Understanding Areas.
Finally, there are [External Information Sources] such as: books, authors, physical books, manuals—these can go directly into the Web Clipper Database. Just write a good title; since this type of information only needs to be searchable, it doesn't need too much detailed categorization.
General Solution
If you're unsure which FLO.W module a certain type of note should go to, you can judge based on the following approach:
Core Principle: Ask yourself two questions
- What is the "gene" of this content? — Is it "something to do," "valuable thinking," or "information from external sources"?
- How will it be invoked in my future usage scenarios? — Completed by timeline, reviewed by topic, or retrieved on demand?
Based on these two questions, here's a migration reference table for common note types:
| Your Existing Note Type | Characteristics | Corresponding FLO.W Module |
|---|---|---|
| To-Do Lists | Have clear completion points, need to be "finished" | Task Module |
| Study Plans, Event Planning, Writing Projects | Complex goals requiring multiple steps to complete | Project Module |
| Reading Notes, Course Notes, Learning Insights | Personal thinking distilled from external content | Notes Module (Select type "Exp" or "Ref") |
| Workflows, SOPs, Operation Guides | Reusable methods or processes | Notes Module (Select type "How") |
| Diaries, Weeklies, Life Records | Personal experiences and insights recorded over time | Notes Module (Select type "Log") |
| Inspiration Collection, Creative Drafts, Topic Bank | Scattered but potentially valuable idea fragments | Notes Module (Select type "Idea") |
| Web Clips, Article Favorites, "Read Later" | Saved external links not yet digested | Web Clipper Module |
| Book Lists, Movie Lists, Course Collections | Content lists waiting to be consumed | Web Clipper Module |
| Health Records, Expense Bills, Habit Tracking | Life data tracked continuously | Life Record Module |
| Resumes, Certificates, Important Document Archives | Low-frequency but important materials needing archiving | Move to subpage of corresponding Area |
If the table above doesn't cover your situation, try this three-step general process:
-
First ask "Is this more like an action, or a piece of information?"
-
Then ask "Is this information my original thinking, or from external sources?"
- If "my thinking" → Place in Notes Module, choose appropriate note type
- If "external sources" → Place in Web Clipper Module
-
Finally ask "If I really don't know where to categorize it, what major life direction does it belong to?"
- Find the corresponding Area, move it as a subpage of that area page
💡 Experience from Knowledge Workers: Categorization is never about being as precise as possible. Information systems are always in dynamic evolution. Over-pursuing precise categorization will only trap you in a "sorting trap." The truly efficient approach is: quickly place first, ensure searchability with keywords, then fine-tune when needed.
Additional Notes
I think no matter what note-taking software you use, maintaining a good categorization system is a good habit, but being too obsessed with categorization precision will only backfire. It will waste a lot of your time organizing and arranging, because information systems can only ever be in a state of dynamic balance—the more precise, the more unstable. To put it bluntly, it's "make do" — as long as it's searchable, there's no need to struggle too much.
I've seen too many users who, before becoming familiar with a new Template, spend days or even weeks organizing and migrating old data. The result? During migration, they discover the new and old structures are incompatible, getting messier as they organize; they finally finish migrating, only to find they don't know how to use the new Template at all; ultimately, both Template and old data are abandoned together.
So the wiser approach is: start using first. Starting today, use FLO.W to record new tasks and new ideas. Understand the Template's design logic through actual use, and only migrate old content when you truly need it. The system will grow with your use, and you'll evolve with the system's improvement.
If you've decided to migrate old data, here are some practical operation guides:
- Legacy Notes Migration Methods and Precautions — Must read before migration to avoid damaging database structure
- How to Migrate Articles from Other Web Clipper Tools — Migrate from Cubox, Jianyue, and other tools
- Note Migration from Basic to Advanced Version — Migration guide after version upgrade
📚 Ready to Get Started?
If you've decided to use the FLO.W Template, the following resources can help you get started quickly.
