How to Create a Table of Contents in Notion

Notion has completely revolutionised how we manage knowledge. Its flexible block-based editor allows you to build everything from a simple daily to-do list to massive, interconnected corporate wikis. However, as your Notion pages grow longer and more complex, navigating them becomes a chore. Scrolling endlessly to find a specific paragraph is a massive productivity killer.

To solve this, you need to learn how to create a table of contents in Notion. This built-in block automatically scans your document, generates a list of clickable anchor links based on your headings, and instantly teleports the reader to the exact section they need.

Step 1: Structure Your Page with Headings

The Notion Table of Contents block is not magic; it cannot read your mind. It works entirely by scanning your page for Heading blocks (H1, H2, and H3). If your page only consists of standard text paragraphs, the table of contents will be completely blank.

Before you add the block, you must structure your document:

1. Navigate through your long document and identify the major sections.
2. Turn the title of a major section into a Heading. You can do this by clicking the six-dot drag handle to the left of the text, selecting Turn into, and choosing Heading 1, Heading 2, or Heading 3.
3. Alternatively, use the keyboard shortcuts: type # followed by a space for an H1, ## for an H2, or ### for an H3.

Pro Tip: Use H1 for main chapters, H2 for sub-sections, and H3 for minor details. The Table of Contents will automatically indent these different levels to create a clean visual hierarchy.

Step 2: Insert the Table of Contents Block

Once your page is structured with proper headings, generating the table takes less than two seconds.

1. Scroll to the very top of your Notion page (usually just below the page title and cover image).
2. Click on an empty line to start a new block.
3. Type the forward slash / to open the block menu, then begin typing the word table.
4. Look down the menu list and select Table of contents (do not select “Table”, which creates a database).

Notion will instantly generate a list of every heading on your page. These are live anchor links—if a reader clicks on one, their browser will instantly scroll down to that exact section of the page.

How the Block Updates Automatically

One of the best features of the Notion Table of Contents is that it is dynamic.

You never have to manually update it. If you write a new paragraph and add a new H2 heading at the very bottom of the page, that new heading will instantly and automatically appear in the Table of Contents at the top.

Similarly, if you rename a heading, the text in the Table of Contents will update in real-time to match.

Creating a Sticky Table of Contents (Column Layout)

If you have a truly massive document, forcing the reader to scroll all the way back to the top just to use the Table of Contents is frustrating. A fantastic professional trick is to put the Table of Contents into a narrow left-hand column.

1. Create a new empty block below your title.
2. Type /2 and select 2 columns.
3. Drag the vertical divider line to the left, making the left column quite narrow and the right column very wide.
4. Drag your entire document (all your text and headings) into the wide right column.
5. Type /toc into the narrow left column to generate your Table of Contents.

Because the table is now in its own column, it will remain sticky and visible on the left side of the screen even as the user scrolls down through the long text on the right.