3 ways Notion’s new database automations would save retailers like Rare Beauty hours

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Bootcamp

5 min readSep 3, 2023

This post was originally part of my newsletter, The Notion Zeitgeist — you can read the full version here.

If you’re not already sold on Notion, aka the Google Doc destroyer that’s taking over the productivity world, they just released a new feature that might change your mind: database automations. If you’ve been deciding between Google Docs/Sheets vs Notion to manage your workflows for a while, this might be the thing that sells you on Notion.

You can now trigger different workflows across your workspace based on single updates in your databases. For example, “when I create a new project, assign ____ to ____ task”. Or “when ___ is set to status is ____”, create an automatic timestamp. The possibilities are endless. Keep scrolling for some more thorough examples.

What is Notion & why is everyone obsessed with it?

Notion is essentially digital LEGO. You have access to the ‘blocks’ (checkboxes, databases, media embeds etc) to build your dream digital tool/dashboard. Because of this ‘DIY’ aspect, everyone, from parents and students, to creatives and start-ups are obsessed with using it to build everything from recipe books and journals to custom dashboards & client portals. The best thing about Notion is that everything is tailored to the way you think and whatever you build will grow with you.

You can try Notion for free here (#NotionPartner), although, flagging that database automations are only only available on the paid plans, starting at $10/mth.

What does Selena Gomez have to do with Notion?

Well, Notion posted this tweet and I couldn’t help but be inspired.

Does Selena Gomez have Big Notion Energy? You mean owner of earned more than $70M beauty brand Rare Beauty? Absolutely. Big Notion Energy describes a mindset or approach to life that emphasises the power of positive thinking, creativity, and the pursuit of big ideas. Her team at Rare Beauty are objectively, killing it. I can’t help but think what their werkflows are like, or even if they use Notion 👀.

Anyways, as a Certified Notion Consultant and in my past life project managing Shopify websites, I’ve worked with quite a few retail brands. In honour of Notion’s brand new database automations, here are a few ways even a multi-million dollar brand like Rare Beauty can save hours of their life using them.

#1 Create a task flow for archived products

aka when a certain condition is met in my existing dataset, trigger a new entry elsewhere

This one goes without saying! Talk about having everything on auto-pilot. How many times do you manually have to remind yourself to set X task when a certain condition is activated?

No more! Also, notice how in the example above, products and tasks are connected together, and in the automation menu, the ‘this page’ constant means that the task automatically connects itself to the correct product — clever!

#2 Create ‘New Product Meetings’ when a new product is added

aka when a new entry is added to my dataset, trigger a new entry elsewhere

Similarly, adding a new entry to your dataset, like adding a new project, or this instance a new product, could trigger multiple set-up actions elsewhere. In this example, a new product has triggered the creation of a ‘New Product meeting’. You could equally trigger a few set-up tasks, like above.

#3 Add an automatic date when tasks are complete

aka automatically store the date when a certain condition is met in my existing dataset

This is actually solving a popular request! Clients have asked me multiple times if they can automatically record when tasks are completed, and now they can! This could be great in the workplace especially if you want to track your performance, so that you could have something to look back at during your performance reviews. “In August, I completed X,Y,Z”.

How are you going to use the new database automations? If you need a hand reclaiming hours of your life for yourself/your team with workflows like above, be sure to book a call

This looks great, but I have no idea how to start learning Notion

If you’d rather not torture yourself with 1000s of productivity YouTube videos and want a more creative approach to learning Notion, driven by design thinking, you’re free to explore my affordable MySpace-themed course, ‘#MyNotionSpace’, along with 3k+ students.

Quick note, this was originally a hot take from an issue of my newsletter, The Notion Zeitgeist, that I’ve developed into this article. This is not your productivity bro’s Notion newsletter. 2k+ of you are reading weekly-ish spicy hot takes on Notion, profuntivity and pop culture. Musings by me, Frances Odera Matthews: resident zillennial, Certified Notion Consultant + Founder of The Notion Bar.

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