Notion: Your First Database

Notion is a powerful all-in-one workspace that combines notes, databases, kanban boards, wikis, and calendars. In this tutorial, we'll explore the basics and learn a simple but useful formula you can implement right away.

Key Features

When you first open Notion, you'll see a clean interface with these essential elements:

• Pages: Your main containers for content

• Blocks: The building blocks of your pages (text, images, tables, etc.)

• Databases: Structured collections of information

Creating Your First Database

Let's create a simple task management database with a useful formula.

1. Click the '+ New Page' button

2. Type '/database' and select 'Table - Full page'

3. Name your database "Task Manager"

4. Add these columns:

   • Task Name (Title column)

   • Due Date (Date)

   • Priority (Select: High, Medium, Low)

   • Status (Select: Not Started, In Progress, Complete)

   • Days Until Due (Formula - we'll create this together)

Your First Notion Formula

Here's a practical formula that automatically calculates the number of days until a task is due, with color-coding:

if(empty(prop("Due Date")), "No due date", 
   if(dateBetween(prop("Due Date"), now(), "days") < 0, 
      "🔴Overdue!", 
      format(abs(dateBetween(prop("Due Date"), now(), "days"))) + " days"))

How the Formula Works:

1. First, it checks if there's a due date using empty(prop("Due Date"))

2. If there's no due date, it shows "No due date"

3. If there is a due date, it calculates the days between now and the due date

4. If the result is negative (past due), it shows "Overdue!"

5. Otherwise, it shows the number of days remaining

Using the Formula:

1. Click the '+' in your table to add a new column

2. Name it "Days Until Due"

3. Select "Formula" as the property type

4. Copy and paste the formula above

5. Click "Create"

Tips for Success

• Start simple and build complexity as needed

• Use templates to save time

• Experiment with different views (Table, Board, Calendar)

• Remember that formulas are case-sensitive

• Use the '/' command to quickly add elements

Next Steps

Once you're comfortable with this basic formula, you can:

• Add conditional formatting

• Create filtered views based on due dates

• Set up notifications for approaching deadlines

• Link databases together for more complex project management

Remember, Notion is highly flexible - there's no "right" way to use it. Experiment and find what works best for your workflow!

If you want to clone this database here’s the link.