How to Make Columns in Notion (Drag, Resize, Remove)

Columns turn a long, scrolling Notion page into something that looks like a dashboard: links on the left, notes on the right, or three short lists side by side. There's no 'columns' button, which is why people struggle to find it. It's all done by dragging. Here's how to make, resize and remove columns, and the mobile catch to plan for.

Make columns by dragging

1. Hover over the block of text, image or list you want to move.
2. Click and hold the six-dot handle that appears in the left margin.
3. Drag it to the right side of another block.
4. When a blue vertical guide appears, let go.

That creates two columns. Drag another block alongside them for three, and so on: Notion says you can create as many columns as you want across the width of a page.

Resize columns

Hover over the edge where two columns meet and a grey vertical guide appears. Drag it left or right to make one column wider than the other. A narrow left column for links and a wide right column for notes is a classic layout.

Remove columns

• Drag the content from the right-hand column back underneath or above the left-hand content, and drop it when the blue guide stretches across the whole page.
• If you're left with an empty column, click its six-dot handle and choose Delete.

The mobile catch

Notion says columns work on tablets but not on phones. On a phone, anything in a right-hand column simply appears below the left-hand column. So if you or your team mostly read a page on mobile, put the most important content in the left column, because that's what people will see first when they scroll.

Columns at a glance

Task	How
Create a column	Drag a block to the right of another until the blue vertical guide appears
Add more columns	Drag more blocks alongside
Resize	Drag the grey guide between columns
Remove	Drag content back into one column, or delete an empty column
On phones	Columns stack: left column first, then the right

Layouts that work well

• A home page with quick links on the left and this week's priorities on the right.
• Meeting notes with agenda in one column and actions in another.
• A client page with contact details beside project notes.
• Three columns for To do, Doing and Done when you don't need a full board.

Pair columns with headings

Columns look much tidier with a heading at the top of each. Hover over a new line, click the + in the margin and choose a heading size, or type /h1, /h2 or /h3 and press enter. Notion offers three heading levels. A small heading at the top of each column makes a page scannable at a glance.

When not to use columns

Use columns for layout, not for structured data. If you find yourself lining up the same kind of information in columns, such as dates, names and statuses, you probably want a table or database instead, which you can sort and filter. Columns also get cramped quickly: two or three is usually plenty for readable text.

Columns hold more than text

Here's a tidy trick: once you've built a two-column section, you can drag other blocks, such as images, to-do lists and links, into either side. That means a column isn't just text. It's a mini container you can fill with whatever you need, and it'll move as a unit when you rearrange the page. If a layout isn't working, it's quicker to drag things back into one column and start again than to fight it.

Fixing columns that won't behave

• If the blue guide is horizontal, you're dropping above or below. Move further to the side until it's vertical.
• If a column looks squashed, drag the grey guide between columns to give it more room.
• If content vanished on your phone, it hasn't. Scroll down: right-hand columns stack underneath.
• If you can't grab a block, hover until the six-dot handle appears in the margin.

Building a better Notion workspace

A few well-designed pages beat dozens of messy ones. If you're setting up Notion for your business, my guide to what to look for in a productivity template helps you choose a structure, and my office productivity hacks have more ways to keep your tools working for you.

Design for the reader, not the editor

It's tempting to build an impressive layout when you're on a big monitor. But think about who reads the page and where. If your team checks it on a laptop between calls, two columns are plenty. If clients view a shared page on their phones, columns won't show at all, so the order of your left column is the order they'll read. A layout that looks clean on every screen beats a clever one that only works on yours.

My verdict

Drag a block by its six-dot handle to the side of another until the blue guide appears, and you've got columns. Resize with the grey guide, remove by dragging back, and remember phones stack columns, so put the important stuff on the left.

Frequently asked questions

How do I make columns in Notion?

Drag a block by its six-dot handle to the right side of another block until a blue vertical guide appears, then drop it.

How many columns can you add in Notion?

Notion says you can create as many columns as you want across the width of a page.

Do Notion columns work on mobile?

No. Notion says columns work on tablets but not phones, where right-hand content appears under the left column.

How do I resize columns in Notion?

Hover over the edge between columns and drag the grey vertical guide left or right.

How do I remove columns in Notion?

Drag the right-hand content back into the left column until the blue guide spans the page, or delete an empty column from its handle.