Notion has become my go-to tool for pretty much everything – from jotting down class notes and keeping tabs on my migraine episodes to smoothly managing my daily tasks with the Second Brain template. It’s like my all-in-one digital haven that simplifies my life.
But there was a snag when using the Second Brain template—I wished I could seamlessly forward emails to Notion, turning them into tasks just like with Google Tasks. It’d make wrangling writing assignments, PhD applications, and all the rest a whole lot smoother in my daily routine.
Like anyone else, I took the common route—googling “5 ways to forward emails to Notion.” To my surprise, no such blog existed. Instead, I stumbled upon posts about folks using tools like Zapier or Make to achieve this feat. Testing all the options became my mission. I even sought advice from ChatGPT on crafting Google API scripts and utilizing Notion API, though success in that realm is still a work in progress.
But for now, let’s explore the existing options and see if they can make our lives a bit more organized.
Tools to Forward Emails to Notion
Several tools enable you to forward emails to Notion. Here, we will discuss seven of these tools, each with its unique features.
1. NotionSender
NotionSender is a powerful and innovative email integration tool designed to seamlessly connect your email communication with your Notion workspace. It simplifies the process of saving and sending emails directly from Notion, providing a cohesive and efficient workflow for users.
If you’re a dedicated user of Notion for managing your daily life, this tool seamlessly integrates meal planning into your workflow and streamlines email communication. With the free plan, you can effortlessly archive up to 100 emails and send out 50, while the premium option significantly boosts your capacity to store 10,000 emails and dispatch 5000 emails, providing an expansive and efficient workspace within Notion for your organizational needs.
Verdict: I tried the free plan to assess if this was the right fit for my requirements. However, my need was to forward all my emails, which include different tasks for my freelancing gigs to job applications. I receive over 100 emails in just about a week, and the free plan was not sufficient to manage all my requirements. NotionSender stated that it is indeed a great tool but not the right fit for me.
2. Make.com
Make is my go-to no-code automation platform, specifically crafted to empower both individuals and organizations like mine. It’s tailored for those who want to dive into the realm of building, automating, and innovating without the hurdles of acquiring extensive coding expertise. Whether I’m managing tasks and workflows or creating bespoke apps and systems, Make provides a visual and intuitive platform that opens up a world of limitless possibilities.
What sets Make apart for me is its extensive range of integration options. I can seamlessly connect it with various platforms, including Google Docs, Facebook pages, Twitter, LinkedIn, Mail Trim, Discord, Instagram, and even Woocommerce, among others. The icing on the cake is the inclusion of Notion as one of the options, making it incredibly versatile. Additionally, Make integrates smoothly with various email providers like Microsoft and Google, enhancing its flexibility and ensuring a seamless experience for me and my team.
Verdict:
Among the extensive array of premium plans, Make also offers a free version with no time limits, providing access to all integrations. However, I found it a bit challenging to comprehend how the platform operates. I’ve previously used Zapier for other automation, and it was smooth, easy to understand, and quite quick. In contrast, Make proved to be a bit more challenging. They do have a guided tutorial that helps you create your first scenario. One of the primary reasons why I could not go ahead with this is because of an issue called difficulty in creating a connection with the restricted Gmail customer account.
3. Save to Notion
Save to Notion is a versatile browser extension designed to transform your Notion experience by simplifying the process of saving, organizing, and enhancing web content. With this tool, users can effortlessly save entire web pages, capture screenshots, and bookmark essential content directly into their Notion workspace. It goes beyond a typical web clipper, integrating seamlessly with Notion to become a comprehensive solution for information curation and organization.
The extension’s user-friendly interface and powerful capabilities have positioned it as a must-have tool for anyone looking to enhance their productivity and organization within the Notion ecosystem. The free version of this plugin allows for unlimited content capture, including screenshots, clips, and highlights. However, there are some limitations: you can save up to five forms, five emails, and only three Twitter threads.
Verdict: For individuals managing their entire ecosystem through Notion, the free plan of this plugin is truly appreciated and loved. However, for users like me seeking Gmail integration with Notion, the free plan’s limitation of only five email integrations falls short. Currently, I am on a quest for a free tool or plugin that enables me to forward my emails to Notion seamlessly. Nevertheless, should I decide to explore a premium plan in the future, Save to Notion will undoubtedly be my first choice.
4. Zapier
Zapier is a powerful online automation tool that enables users to connect their favourite apps, automate workflows, and streamline repetitive tasks without the need for coding knowledge. At its core, Zapier operates on the principle of creating “Zaps,” which are automated workflows linking two or more apps to trigger actions based on specified events.
Verdict: Zapier has unquestionably become my favourite tool for automating the connection between Gmail and Notion. Leveraging their free plan, I successfully created single-step Zaps between Google Tasks and Notion, seamlessly forwarding all my tasks to a dedicated Notion database. The platform’s user-friendly interface and extensive documentation proved invaluable, guiding me through each step of the process. I turn every important email to a task and Zapier ensure that all tasks are updated on my Notion database.
While the free plan limits me to 100 tasks per month, it comfortably meets my current requirements. The ease of use, coupled with Zapier’s robust features, has significantly enhanced my workflow, making it a top choice for anyone seeking efficient and customizable automation between Gmail and Notion.
5. TaskRobin
TaskRobin is a new tool that you can use to forward emails to Notion and Airtable. Although it’s new, it has already gained popularity due to its user-friendly interface and robust features. With TaskRobin, you can forward emails directly to Notion and even create custom templates for different types of emails. Additionally, it offers integration with other popular tools such as Asana, Trello, and Todoist.
Verdict: I recently discovered TaskRobin and was pleasantly surprised by its capabilities. The tool is relatively new, so there are still some features that need improvement, such as the ability to forward attachments with emails. However, I found the interface easy to navigate and setting up email forwarding to Notion was a breeze. The free plan allows for unlimited email forwarding and templates, making it an excellent option for anyone looking for a free tool that integrates with Notion. I am excited to see how TaskRobin further improves and offers more features in the future. Overall, it’s a great option for streamlining your email management within Notion.
6. Notion API
The Notion API is a powerful tool that allows developers to integrate Notion with other apps. With the Notion API, you can create custom solutions to forward emails to Notion. This opens up endless possibilities for email management in Notion. Developers can create custom integrations to automatically forward certain emails, filter out junk or spam emails, and even organize emails into different databases within Notion.
If you need a guide to connect Gmail API to Notion, here is a guide I found useful by Pipedream.
Verdict: The Notion API provides a vast array of possibilities for email management within Notion. However, it requires advanced coding knowledge and may not be suitable for those without technical expertise. It also comes with a cost, as developers need to pay for API calls. While it may not be a feasible option for everyone, the Notion API offers unparalleled customization and automation capabilities for those willing to invest in it.
What’s best?
Forwarding emails to Notion was a great way for me to streamline my workflow and ensure I never miss any important communications. With the tools discussed in this guide, you can also easily set up email forwarding to Notion and enhance your productivity.
Happy emailing in Notion!