(Hey readers! Come check out my Youtube channel for more Notion + other productivity content.)
Many people thrive on being able to see their progress over time.
I personally love to utilize a progress bar that shows the percentage completed of a task.
Beautiful, right? I feel like the little checkmarks are cheering me on.
Obviously you can use this progress bar in any way that you'd like. It could be your progress through the semester, weight management, habit tracking, etc. It just needs to have two numbers : your goal number and your current progress number.
Unfortunately, progress bars are not yet a block that you can add automatically. So to create this progress bar, we need to use a formula. I know that formulas and any sort of programming is pretty intimidating. Luckily, I have you covered with this simple tutorial.
I also published a Youtube tutorial here!
Step 1. Create your database.
I decided to go with the list database, but you can choose whatever database view works the best for you.
Just type in your forward slash (/) and scroll down to choose the database you'd like.
Step 2. Add your number properties.
In order for the formula to work properly, it needs to know what numbers to calculate and show in the progress bar.
You will need to add two number properties to the database.
Label one of the properties as "Completed" (remove the quotation marks).
Label the other property as "Goal" (remove the quotation marks).
(NOTE : We can go back later to change the names of these properties, but I like to get this part finished beforehand).
Step 3. Add the formula.
Now we need to add a third property to the database, which will be a formula.
Once you add the formula property, click on "edit formula", which will pull up this window :
Ignore the mumbo jumbo at the bottom, we just need the very top of the window where it says "Type a formula" next to the blue "Done" button.
Click on this area, then copy and paste the following formula :
(prop("Completed") / prop("Goal") >= 1) ? "✅" : format(slice("✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦✦", 0, floor(prop("Completed") / prop("Goal") * 10)) + format(slice("✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧✧", 0, ceil(10 - prop("Completed") / prop("Goal") * 10)) + " " + format(round(prop("Completed") / prop("Goal") * 100)) + "%"))
Once the formula has been added, click "done".
(NOTE : If something is incorrect with the formula, the Done button will be grey instead of blue, and you won't be able to proceed.)
Now the progress bar should appear on your database! If you can't see the progress bar, make sure that you have set it to visible under properties.
Step 4. Add your goals.
Now it's time to add your goals! Your goals don't have to be the same, they can differ for each page.
This is pretty self-explanatory, but make sure to add your total goal into the "Goal" property. Your "Completed" property will be where you update the progress bar, and you can just insert your new number each time you complete a task.
Optional Steps
Now you can stop here if you are happy with how your progress bar looks. However, you can get a little bit creative and change the symbols used in the bar.
I used this website to find my symbols. I suggest using symbols that are light and dark to really help visualize your progress.
Here are some pairs that you can use.
★☆
♦♢
♥♡
☑☐
◌✔
Okay, so how do we sub out the original symbols for our new symbols?
Open the formula property and the editor.
You will see a line of 10 symbols (highlighted in photos below).
The row on the top represents the "done" symbols. The row in the middle represents the "unfinished" symbols.
Erase the current symbols, then replace with 10 of your new symbols.
Remember : you are only changing the symbols! Don't erase or edit the rest of the formula, or it may not work properly.
Make sure that you are putting your complete and unfinished symbols in the right section so that they will appear how you want them.
Once complete, hit the "Done" button.
That's all for this Notion tutorial! I hope that this progress bar will help you stay motivated to complete all of your tasks.
Thank you so much for reading!
-xoxo, Panda
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