Is your Notion workspace taking forever to load? You’re not alone. Thousands of Notion users experience performance issues as their workspaces grow, watching their productivity tool become a productivity killer. That 5-second wait time? It adds up to hours wasted every month.

The good news: slow Notion performance is fixable. After analyzing hundreds of workspaces, we’ve identified the exact causes and—more importantly—how to fix them. This complete diagnostic guide will help you identify what’s slowing down your workspace and give you actionable solutions to make Notion 35% faster on average.

Quick Diagnostic: Is It Notion or You?

Before diving deep, let’s quickly identify where the problem lies. Run this 2-minute test to pinpoint the issue.

If your workspace is the problem, continue reading. We’ll diagnose exactly what’s slowing you down.

The 7 Main Causes of Slow Notion Performance

Based on analyzing thousands of slow Notion workspaces, here are the primary culprits ranked by impact:

• 🔴 Overloaded Databases: 1,000+ pages or 20+ visible properties
• 🔴 Complex Relations & Rollups: Nested calculations and circular dependencies
• 🟡 Large Media Files: Uncompressed images (3-8MB each)
• 🟡 Too Many Widgets: Each widget = external request
• 🟡 Bloated Page Structure: 500+ blocks on a single page
• 🟢 Unused Properties: Dead weight in your databases
• 🟡 Internet Connection: Slow or unstable connection

Fix #1: Overloaded Databases

The Problem: Your database has too many pages, properties, or both. Notion tries to load everything at once, causing severe slowdowns.

How to Identify:

• Database has 1,000+ pages
• More than 20 visible properties
• Load time exceeds 5 seconds
• Scrolling feels laggy

The Fix:

Fix #2: Complex Relations & Rollups

The Problem: Relations and rollups are computationally expensive. Every time you open a page, Notion must follow relation links, calculate rollup formulas, and display results. Multiply this by 50 properties × 500 pages = Performance nightmare.

How to Identify:

• You have 5+ relations in a single database
• Rollups that depend on other rollups (nested)
• Formulas that reference multiple rollups
• “Circular relation” warnings from Notion

The Fix:

Flatten Your Relations:

❌ Bad: Tasks → Projects → Clients → Revenue (3 levels deep)
✅ Good: Tasks → Projects + Tasks → Revenue (direct copy, updated monthly)

Simplify Rollup Formulas: Pre-calculate complex values in the source database instead of nesting multiple calculations.

Limit Relations: Keep to 3-5 relations per database maximum.

Fix #3: Large Media Files

The Problem: Every image, PDF, or video must be downloaded before your page fully loads. A single uncompressed 5MB image = 5-10 seconds of wait time.

The Fix:

Fix #4: Too Many Widgets & Embeds

The Problem: Every widget (clock, weather, counter) makes a separate external request. Too many = death by a thousand requests.

The Fix:

1. Nest Widgets in Toggles: Widgets inside closed toggles don’t load until you open them.

2. Limit to 3 Widgets Per Page: Ask yourself: “Do I really need this widget visible 24/7?”

3. Replace with Static Elements: Instead of a live clock widget → Use Notion’s /now command for timestamps.

Fix #5: Bloated Page Structure

The Problem: A single page with 500+ blocks becomes a performance bottleneck. Notion must render every block, check for updates, and maintain the hierarchy.

The Fix:

• Use Toggle Lists: Long sections should be collapsed by default. Content inside collapsed toggles loads faster.
• Split Long Pages: Instead of one 500-block page, create a main page with overview + links to sub-pages.
• Use Linked Databases: Replace 5 inline databases on your dashboard with 1 linked database with 5 views.

Fix #6: Unused Properties & Dead Weight

The Problem: Over time, you create properties you never use. Each property adds computational overhead, even if empty.

The Fix:

Manual Method:

1. Open your database as a full page
2. Check each property’s usage
3. Delete properties with 0-5% usage
4. Hide rarely-used properties instead of deleting

Problem: This is tedious for large workspaces with 10+ databases. A full audit can take 2-4 hours.

Automated Solution: This is where NotionBoost excels. It scans all your databases in 2 minutes and shows you which properties are unused (0% filled), which are rarely used (<10%), and the estimated performance gain from cleanup.

Fix #7: Your Internet Connection

The Problem: Notion is cloud-based. Every action requires syncing with Notion’s servers. Slow internet = slow Notion.

The Fix:

• Use Wired Connection: Ethernet (50-100 Mbps stable) beats Wi-Fi (20-40 Mbps variable)
• Close Bandwidth-Heavy Apps: Streaming services, file downloads, video calls
• Use Desktop App: More optimized than browser, caches more data locally

Quick Wins: Fix It in 10 Minutes

If you only have 10 minutes, do these three things:

Total time: 10 minutes
Total performance gain: 50-80% faster load times

The Automated Solution

Manual audits are time-consuming (2-4 hours), error-prone, and you might miss hidden issues like circular relations or nested rollups. This is exactly why we built NotionBoost.

What NotionBoost Does in 2 Minutes:

• ✅ Scans your entire workspace (all databases, pages, properties)
• ✅ Detects performance issues: Unused properties, oversized databases, complex relations, circular dependencies, large media files
• ✅ Generates a Health Score (0-100) based on database complexity, property utilization, relation depth, and page structure
• ✅ Provides specific recommendations with estimated performance gains

“NotionBoost found 47 unused properties across my databases I had no idea existed. After cleanup, my workspace went from 8-second load times to 3 seconds. Finally usable again!”

— Sarah K., Product Manager

“The circular relation detection saved me. I had a loop between 3 databases causing 15-second load times. Fixed in 5 minutes.”

— David L., Startup Founder

Frequently Asked Questions

Will these fixes delete my data?

No. Deleting unused properties (columns) doesn’t delete your pages (rows). Always back up first though.

How often should I optimize my workspace?

Every 3-6 months, or whenever you notice slowdowns. Power users should audit quarterly.

Can I undo changes if something breaks?

Yes. Notion has version history (Settings → Trash) for deleted items. You can also export your workspace before making changes.

Is the desktop app really faster than the browser?

According to Notion’s official statement, yes—about 50% faster due to local caching.

What’s a “good” Notion performance score?

• 90-100: Excellent (sub-2 second loads)
• 70-89: Good (2-4 second loads)
• 50-69: Needs optimization (4-8 seconds)
• Below 50: Critical issues (8+ seconds)

Conclusion

Slow Notion performance isn’t inevitable. In most cases, it’s caused by overloaded databases, complex relations, large media files, too many widgets, bloated page structure, unused properties, or internet connection issues. All of these are fixable.

Ready for comprehensive optimization? Check our Complete Performance Optimization Guide.

You can either spend 2-4 hours manually auditing your workspace, or let NotionBoost scan it in 2 minutes and give you a prioritized action plan. For power users and teams with complex workspaces, NotionBoost pays for itself in time saved on the first audit.