In today’s fast-paced world, staying organized is key to productivity, and Notion has emerged as one of the best tools for personal and team organization. One of its most powerful features is automation. Today, we’re focusing on one specific automation: how to move entries to a new database when tagged in Notion. This automation simplifies workflows, saves time, and helps you keep your Notion workspace organized without manual intervention.
Moving items based on specific tags can help in many use cases: whether it’s separating tasks by priority, categorizing notes, or managing a project. This process offers you a seamless experience, eliminating clutter and ensuring that your workspace stays tidy and efficient.
Ingredients (What You Need)
- Notion Workspace: Make sure you have a Notion account and have created at least one database.
- Tag Property: A select or multi-select property in your database that you’ll use to assign tags (e.g., “Priority”, “Status”).
- Automation Tool: You can use Notion’s built-in automation features or a third-party tool like Zapier or Make for this process.
- Second Database: A new database where the tagged items will be moved to.
Possible Substitutions:
- If you don’t want to use third-party tools, Notion’s “Templates” feature can also provide some limited automation, but more advanced actions may require external tools.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Set Up Your Databases
You’ll need two databases: one for the original data and one to store tagged data.
- Create your first database (e.g., “Tasks Database”).
- Create a second database (e.g., “Completed Tasks Database”).
Step 2: Add the Tag Property
In your original database, you need to add a tag property.
- Click on the “Properties” section at the top of your database.
- Add a new property and set its type to Select or Multi-select (based on your preference).
- Name this property, for example, “Task Status” or “Category”.
- Add tags like “Completed”, “In Progress”, or any other tags that are relevant.
Step 3: Set Up Automation with a Third-Party Tool (e.g., Zapier)
- Create a Zap in Zapier:
- Trigger: Select Notion as the app and choose the trigger as “New Database Item”.
- Action: Set the action as Move to Another Database.
- Map the Tags:
- In Zapier, map your tag properties so when a specific tag (e.g., “Completed”) is detected, the item moves to your new database.
- Test the Automation: Run the test to ensure your data is correctly transferred between the databases when tagged.
Step 4: Use Filters for More Control
You may want to create a filter to ensure that only items with specific tags move.
- In your second database, create a filter that automatically displays only those entries that were tagged appropriately.
Step 5: Review the Automation and Fine-Tune
Once set up, test your workflow by tagging a few entries in the first database. Ensure that they automatically move to the second database based on the tag.
Pro Tips and Automation Techniques
- Be Specific with Tags: Use clear, specific tags that won’t get mixed up (e.g., “Priority 1”, “Completed” instead of vague tags like “Done”).
- Use Notion Templates: If you’re using Notion’s built-in features, templates can help speed up automation in combination with manual steps.
- Be Mindful of Limits: When using third-party tools like Zapier, keep in mind that free accounts come with limitations on the number of zaps or tasks you can run per month.
- Test Thoroughly: Always run a few tests to make sure your automation works as expected, especially if you’re using third-party tools.
Variations and Customizations
This process can be customized for different use cases:
- For Project Management: Tag your tasks as “In Progress”, “Completed”, “Blocked”, etc., and use the automation to sort them accordingly into separate project sections or databases.
- For a Personal Journal: Tag journal entries with categories like “Personal”, “Work”, “Ideas”, and have them automatically sorted into different sections or databases.
- For Task Prioritization: Move high-priority tasks into a separate database, helping you focus on the most important items first.
Customizations for Specific Needs:
- For Team Workflows: Use different tags for various team members or departments and create separate databases for each.
- For Multidimensional Organization: Use multiple tags in multi-select properties to automate the movement of items across multiple databases based on various conditions.
Serving Suggestions
Once your Notion automation is up and running, it’s time to enjoy the fruits of your labor!
- Clean Workspace: Keep your original database uncluttered and organized by automatically moving completed or outdated tasks into a new database.
- Incorporate Filters: Add filters to easily view specific tagged items in your new database and prioritize them accordingly.
- Integration with Other Tools: Combine this automation with other tools like Google Calendar or Slack to receive reminders or notifications when tasks move.
Nutritional Information (For Your Notion Workflow!)
- Time Savings: Automating tasks will save you hours of manual organization.
- Increased Productivity: You’ll spend more time focusing on tasks rather than managing your database.
- Better Organization: With automated moves, you ensure that all your tasks, notes, or projects are where they need to be.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q: Can I use this automation with Notion’s built-in features?
A: Notion’s built-in automation options are limited, so using a tool like Zapier or Make offers more flexibility for advanced automation, such as moving data based on tags.
Q: What happens if I forget to set up a tag on an item?
A: If an item doesn’t have a tag, it won’t be moved to the second database. You can set up notifications or manual reminders to make sure you tag items correctly.
Q: How do I handle large amounts of data?
A: If you have a lot of data in your Notion database, consider setting up filters and sub-databases to keep things manageable.
Q: Can I move data back to the original database?
A: Yes, you can set up a reverse automation if needed, or manually copy data back to the original database.
Advanced Customizations for Notion Automations
While basic automation works well for simple workflows, Notion offers plenty of room for more advanced customization when combined with third-party tools like Zapier, Make, or Automate.io.
Multi-Tag Automation
Instead of using a single tag, you can trigger automation based on multiple tags. This allows for much more specific categorization and ensures that items only move when a combination of criteria is met. For example:
- Tag Combinations: If a task is tagged with both “High Priority” and “Work”, it can be moved to a high-priority workspace or project database. Using multi-select properties and combining multiple tags will allow you to control workflows in a more nuanced manner.
Nested Databases and Sub-Tasks
In a complex Notion workspace, you might have multiple databases that interact with one another. You can set up automations to:
- Move tasks from a high-level project database to a task-specific database when a task is tagged with something like “In Progress”.
- Create nested sub-tasks: If a task is tagged as “Blocked”, you can automate a process to notify relevant team members or even move the task to a separate “Blocked” database until the issue is resolved.
Automating Notion with Google Sheets or Google Calendar
Notion can also be integrated with Google Sheets or Google Calendar. By using Zapier or Integromat, you can create powerful workflows. For example:
- Sync Tasks to Google Calendar: If a task is tagged with a due date, it can be automatically added to your Google Calendar as an event.
- Track Progress in Google Sheets: Each time a tag is added to an item, you can send the task data to a Google Sheet, allowing you to track the progression of tasks in real-time.
Troubleshooting Common Automation Issues
Even with powerful automation tools like Zapier or Make, things can sometimes go wrong. Here are some troubleshooting tips:
1. Check Permissions
Ensure that both your Notion account and third-party automation tools have the necessary permissions to access your workspace and databases. Without proper permissions, your automation won’t trigger as expected.
2. Verify the Trigger Settings
Make sure your trigger conditions (e.g., tagging an item) are set up correctly. For instance, in Zapier, ensure that the right database and tag property are selected, or else the automation won’t fire.
3. Fix Filtering Issues
If items aren’t being moved after tagging them, double-check your filters in both databases. Sometimes, filters might be incorrectly configured, causing items to appear in the wrong database or not at all.
4. Re-test the Automation
If things go wrong, always test your automation to see if everything is working as expected. For example, create a test entry in the database, tag it with the intended label, and check if the automation works.
Collaboration and Team Workflow Automation
Notion isn’t just for personal use — it’s a powerful tool for teams, and the automation features shine when collaborating. Here’s how you can leverage Notion’s tagging and automation for better team workflows:
1. Team-Specific Tags
Assign different tags to different team members. For example, tag tasks with “Assigned to [Team Member]”, and then use an automation tool to move that task to a dedicated workspace for that team member. This ensures all assigned tasks are in one place.
2. Set Up Notifications
When a task moves to a new database (e.g., when it’s tagged as “Completed”), you can set up notifications. This way, your team members are informed when their tasks are moved or completed, helping everyone stay on top of their responsibilities.
3. Use Conditional Automation for Team Roles
For instance, use conditional logic to only move tasks if the “Status” is tagged as “Completed” or if the task has been assigned to a specific team member. This prevents unnecessary movement of items and keeps the database organized.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
As you can see, automating the movement of items in Notion when tagged is a versatile and powerful way to improve your workflow. Whether you’re using it for personal organization or for a collaborative team setting, the ability to streamline processes and automatically organize your data can save a significant amount of time and energy.
By customizing your tags, setting up multi-database workflows, and integrating with external tools, you can unlock the full potential of Notion’s automation capabilities.
If you haven’t already, give it a try! Experiment with different tags and workflows, and feel free to come back and share your success stories or ask any questions.
