Notion's power comes from pages and databases—but that flexibility can feel heavy when you just need a clear Today plan. Self-Manager is date-first: your day, tasks, notes, timers, and images live together, with as many tables as you need on a single date.

You might get overwhelmed with all the things going on at Notion. Self-Manager focuses on Tasks, notes, and related images in one or more Tables that are organized by date.

Many if not all of the features are intuitive and you can get started instantly.

Self-Manager was built with ease of use in mind and it is a core priority. This app should make you more productive and get things done, not take much time to do basic things.

The app aims to allow you to express yourself with the data that you add—like the freedom to express yourself with a pen and paper but with computer software benefits.

Self-Manager has a unique approach to organize data by each day. This makes it very easy to use. Each day has its own data and you can add data to past and future dates.

It removes setup overhead and keeps daily execution front and center.

Self-Manager is deliberately minimal and feels desktop-fast in the browser—add tasks, drag between tables, switch dates, or start timers without friction. If you've outgrown complex page templates, this "do more, click less" feel matters.

Navigating between tables and dates on Self-Manager feels instant. It feels like a desktop application that doesn't use the internet.

Adding a new table with tasks is instant. This is possible by using the latest technologies available.

Use AI to turn prompts into structured tables, summarize your week or month, and chat with your own data ("What took the most time this week?") right inside Self-Manager.

Notion also offers robust AI and has been expanding it (including 2025 updates), but access and scope vary by tier and are oriented to broader docs/wiki workflows.

Self-Manager's AI is designed specifically for daily execution: generate project plans, review progress, and get insights from your actual work data without switching tools.

Start a timer on tasks and see table totals and completion insight for the day or period—great for billing, retros, and estimating without spreadsheets.

Notion focuses on docs/databases; time totals typically rely on templates or integrations.

With Self-Manager, every task can have a timer, and you see exactly how long things take—no setup, no formulas, just clear data.

Attach up to 100 original-quality images per table in Self-Manager and review them across work from a global "All Images" page—ideal for design reviews, research screenshots, and receipts.

On Self-Manager you can view all your images from all the tables in one place.

There is a button at the bottom of all tables "Show all images" which takes you to a page where all your images are visible. You can also go to the URL directly: self-manager.net/all-images

Above each row of images appears the date for which they were added. Clicking that date takes you to the date with all tables from that date and you can see the notes you took related to your images.

Notion supports attachments, but there's no native global gallery of images across pages.

Invite your whole team or clients to collaborate for a flat $20/month on the Team plan—no per-seat fees. With Notion, advanced collaboration and AI access generally increase per-user costs as your team grows.

Your tables, tasks, notes and images are available all at once on a single page. You might want to add a new task and some notes related to it—you can do that on the same page.

You can edit all table info (title and description) and all tasks from a single panel without leaving the page.

If you want to reuse an entire table for a different date, you can just duplicate it and transfer it to the date you want.

The search from the sidebar on desktop or mobile top is powerful and searches through table names, tasks and notes. From the search results page you can click on the table name and navigate directly to that date and table.

Need schedules connected to planning? Notion Calendar exists as a separate, integrated app; it's strong for event/time management inside the Notion ecosystem.

If your priority is daily task execution with quick time totals and weekly summaries, Self-Manager's day-first approach keeps everything in one working canvas.

No need to jump between calendar apps and task databases—your daily plan is already organized by date with built-in time tracking.

When Notion Might Still Be the Right Fit

If your team lives in docs, wikis, and databases, wants deep customization, or plans to adopt Notion Calendar and broader Notion AI across knowledge work, Notion is excellent.

Just note the per-user pricing as you scale and the added configuration to keep daily execution simple.

Notion shines when you need a flexible, all-in-one workspace for long-form content, databases, and team wikis.

Bottom Line

Choose Self-Manager if you want date-first daily execution, built-in AI for plans & reviews, clear time totals, a global image library, and predictable flat team pricing.

Choose Notion if you prefer a customizable, database-driven workspace with add-on apps like Notion Calendar and you're comfortable with per-user costs.

For many freelancers, agencies, and growing teams, Self-Manager delivers more capability per dollar and a smoother everyday rhythm.