Notion Brain#

Use this skill to make deliberate Notion saves, not reflexive ones.

The job is fourfold:

1. decide whether the content deserves a durable home in Notion
2. route it to the right page or database
3. shape it into a clean structure before writing
4. push it with the correct Notion MCP call pattern

Decision gate#

Write to Notion only if at least one of these is true:

• the content will be useful again later
• it captures a decision, plan, status, insight, or reusable artifact
• it would be annoying or costly to reconstruct
• the owner would reasonably expect to find it in their second brain later

Do not write to Notion when the content is:

• trivial, obvious, or disposable
• already stored there in equivalent form
• better suited only for chat, scratch work, or transient memory
• part of a dedicated workflow this skill explicitly excludes

When unsure, prefer one of these outcomes:

• Do not save
• Save a short capture to Inbox DB
• Save a fully structured page

Scope and non-scope#

In scope:

• research summaries
• decision memos
• project plans and project status
• article drafts
• security audit reports
• financial snapshots
• weekly rollups
• contact notes
• meeting prep
• quick captures worth preserving

Out of scope:

• health database management
• property, vehicle, or equipment management
• replacing workspace memory or daily logs
• auto-pushing everything by default

Always write to workspace memory separately when the content also matters for agent continuity.

Default workflow#

1. Classify the content Choose the closest content type from references/page-map.md.

2. Choose save depth

• durable artifact or polished note -> structured page under the destination page
• uncertain but worth keeping -> Inbox DB capture
• existing page needs more detail -> append blocks instead of creating a duplicate

1. Load the right template Read references/templates.md and use the smallest template that preserves value.

2. Check for an existing page first Use Notion search before creating a new page when the topic may already exist.

3. Write with MCP Read references/mcp-commands.md and use the exact command pattern for:

• search
• create page in a parent page
• create item in Inbox DB
• update page metadata
• append blocks to an existing page

1. Keep titles specific Prefer titles that are searchable and date-aware, for example:

• Research Summary — Microsoft Copilot vs SecureAI — 2026-03-22
• Decision Memo — Notion Routing Skill
• Weekly Rollup — 2026-W12

1. Avoid junk writes If the content is weak, incomplete, or duplicated, either tighten it first or do not save it.

Routing rules#

Read references/page-map.md when deciding destination.

Practical defaults:

• broad knowledge, synthesis, decisions, audits, rollups, and relationship notes -> Knowledge Hub
• work execution and meeting support -> Work Hub
• writing and publishing work -> Content Hub
• money and finance artifacts -> Finance Hub
• everything else worth saving but not yet sorted -> Inbox DB

Formatting rules#

Read references/templates.md when preparing the payload.

Default formatting standards:

• lead with a one-line summary
• use short sections, not walls of text
• preserve source links, dates, and decisions
• include Next steps only when action is implied
• avoid raw dump formatting unless using Inbox DB for quick capture

MCP usage#

Read references/mcp-commands.md before writing. Use native Notion MCP tools (notion-search, notion-create-pages, notion-update-page, notion-fetch) — not mcporter.

Command order:

1. search if collision is possible
2. create or identify target page/database item
3. add content (inline for new pages, append for existing)
4. update page properties only when needed

Duplicate handling#

Always search before creating when:

• the title contains a person name, project name, or recurring topic
• the content type recurs (weekly rollup, project status, financial snapshot)
• you are unsure whether the page already exists

When a duplicate is found:

• rollups and status pages → use replace_content to supersede the old version
• knowledge pages → use update_content to append new findings
• captures → skip the write and note the existing page

Content size limits#

Notion API constrains each rich text element to ~2000 characters. For content longer than ~1500 words, split into multiple calls. Keep each payload focused; add long sections via follow-up update_content calls.

Review markers#

After pushing content to Notion, consider adding a comment instead of editing the page body when:

• marking that the content was reviewed or verified
• flagging something as stale
• adding metadata about when/why the page was created

Use the Comments API pattern from references/mcp-commands.md.

Setup#

Before using this skill, replace the placeholder page and database IDs in the reference files with your own Notion IDs.

Minimum setup:

• references/page-map.md — set the destinations you want to use for knowledge, work, content, finance, and inbox capture
• references/mcp-commands.md — replace every YOUR_*_ID placeholder with the matching Notion page or data source ID
• optional: rename destination labels to match your workspace, while preserving the routing logic

Recommended destination mapping:

• Knowledge Hub — durable notes, research, decisions, audits, rollups, relationship notes
• Work Hub — active execution artifacts, meeting prep, project plans, project status
• Content Hub — drafts, outlines, posts, newsletters, content experiments
• Finance Hub — durable financial summaries and snapshots
• Inbox DB — quick captures worth saving before full structuring

How to get your IDs:

• open the target page or database in Notion
• copy the page URL
• extract the 32-character page/database identifier from the URL
• use the page ID for top-level pages and the data source ID for databases such as Inbox DB

Do not ship or publish your private Notion IDs in shared repositories.

Output expectations#

When using this skill, return a compact operator-style summary:

• Decision: save / do not save / save to inbox
• Destination: exact Notion page or database
• Format: template used
• Action: command pattern chosen or write completed
• Memory note: whether the same content should also be logged to workspace memory

References#

• references/page-map.md — content type to destination routing
• references/templates.md — section templates by content type
• references/mcp-commands.md — exact Notion MCP command patterns with placeholder IDs