15 Minutes with Notion

15 Minutes with Notion: A Remote Collaboration Experiment

In today’s digital world, collaboration tools are essential for remote teams to stay connected and productive. Recently, my group was given a fun yet challenging task: we had 15 minutes to create a presentation using Notion—a powerful tool for organizing and sharing content—while simultaneously exploring an AI platform, Phot.ai. It was a race against the clock to see how much we could achieve in such a short window, and it quickly became clear just how tricky it can be to manage time, communication, and digital tools when you’re working remotely.

The Team and the Tools

Our team consisted of five students:

Prabi
Niki
Kendra
Matthew
Cassidy

The task was straightforward: collaborate remotely to create a presentation on AI tools using Notion for organization and Phot.ai (found at studio.phot.ai) to generate and manipulate images. We divided up the work by exploring different features of Phot.ai—everything from object replacement to text-to-art generation—and each of us was responsible for a specific task.

However, the real challenge was not just mastering these tools, but figuring out how to work together remotely within a strict 15-minute window.

The Learning Curve: Mastering Notion in 15 Minutes

Notion is a powerful all-in-one workspace for note-taking, project management, and collaboration. However, even though it’s an intuitive platform, trying to master it under time pressure proved to be a challenge.

In just 15 minutes, we had to:

Set up the Notion document
Learn how to format and organize it
Coordinate who would do what in the AI tool (Phot.ai)
Keep track of everyone’s progress and add images and text simultaneously

While Notion offers features like easy document sharing, embedding images, and real-time collaboration, trying to get comfortable with all these features while also managing our AI exploration was a juggling act.

For example, the first thing we had to do was share a Notion doc, but we quickly realized that managing content—images, text, and links—while ensuring that we stayed on task was not as easy as it seemed. Formatting issues cropped up, and organizing the document effectively required more time than we had. As everyone started typing simultaneously, the page kept readjusting and scrolling, making it difficult to focus on my section.

Communication Struggles: Remote Collaboration Woes

One of the biggest hurdles we encountered during this challenge was communication. Since we were all remote, verbal communication was off the table, which made things more difficult. We had to rely on Notion’s chat and comments system to communicate, but it wasn’t always enough.

Navigating the AI Platform Together: Not everyone was familiar with Phot.ai, and figuring out how to use it quickly added another layer of complexity. Some team members had trouble locating the software, and others needed help understanding how to use its features, like the object replacer and the background replacer. Trying to communicate these instructions remotely without being able to share screens or talk in real time made everything feel disjointed.
Multiple People Typing at Once: With multiple collaborators editing the Notion doc at the same time, things got chaotic. The page was constantly readjusting, which meant text would jump around. Every time this happened, I had to re-select my cursor to continue typing where I left off. This made it incredibly difficult to focus on completing my part of the document without distractions.

Constraints: Time, Digital Communication, and AI Tools

With only 15 minutes on the clock, we faced a series of constraints that added to the pressure:

Time Constraints: 15 minutes sounds like a lot of time, but when you’re learning new tools, dividing up tasks, and managing a digital collaboration space, it’s incredibly short. The learning curve with Notion, combined with the exploration of the AI platform, meant we were constantly running against the clock.
Digital Communication Barriers: Not being able to communicate verbally created a gap in how quickly we could resolve issues. As problems arose (like how to access Phot.ai or dealing with a paywall), we had to rely on text-based communication, which wasn’t always clear. Simple instructions often took longer than expected to clarify.
AI Tool Constraints: Phot.ai is an impressive platform, but it wasn’t without its own limitations:
- Paywalls: For example, when trying to regenerate an image with a replaced object, we hit a paywall. This meant that only those with credits could make certain changes, which limited our options. Kendra, in particular, ran into this issue, and we had to adjust our workflow accordingly.
- File Size Issues: When we tried to paste images into Notion, the file sizes were often too large, leading to failed uploads. We ended up using the snipping tool to crop the images as screenshots and then paste those into Notion. While this workaround solved the problem, it wasn’t the most efficient solution and cost us precious time.

How We Managed to Get It Done

Despite the challenges, we managed to stay on track. Here’s how we tackled the problems that came up:

Collaborative Problem Solving: Even though communication was tough, we worked together to solve technical issues as quickly as possible. When someone couldn’t access the AI tool, we’d help guide them through it. When someone hit the paywall, we found creative solutions to work around it.
Using Notion for Organizing: Once we started getting the hang of Notion, it became a great tool for organizing our findings. Each person listed the feature they were working on, and we added relevant examples and images to illustrate the AI tool’s capabilities. The comment system helped us give feedback and update each other on what needed to be done next.
Problem-Solving with Images: When image file sizes became an issue, the snipping tool saved us. By cropping images and turning them into smaller screenshots, we were able to paste them into the document without hitting file size limits. It wasn’t perfect, but it worked.

Reflection: What We Learned in 15 Minutes

Despite the technical hurdles, lack of verbal communication, and the rush of a 15-minute deadline, we walked away with a few key lessons:

Time Management is Crucial: We learned that remote collaboration under time pressure requires fast decision-making, clear communication, and adaptability. There’s only so much you can do when you’re working with new tools and facing unexpected obstacles.
Notion is Powerful, but Takes Time to Master: While Notion is an excellent tool for organizing and collaborating, you really need time to fully understand its capabilities and limitations. In a high-pressure situation, the tool can feel overwhelming, but it’s still effective when you can get the hang of it.
Remote Collaboration Needs Clear Communication: Without face-to-face interaction, things can get messy quickly. Digital communication tools like Notion help, but there’s no substitute for verbal communication when it comes to solving problems and coordinating tasks.
AI Tools Have Limitations: While AI platforms like Phot.ai are powerful, they also come with their own set of constraints—whether it’s paywalls, file size issues, or platform bugs. Understanding these limitations beforehand can save a lot of time.

Conclusion

In the end, our 15-minute challenge was a whirlwind of learning, frustration, and problem-solving. While it wasn’t easy to juggle Notion and an AI tool in such a short window, we managed to create a solid presentation. The process taught us how to collaborate under pressure, navigate digital tools, and work through technical glitches, all while learning the importance of clear communication and flexibility in remote collaboration.