How to Add Progress Bars in Notion?

​

Progress bars are a powerful tool for visualizing project Timelines, task completion, and Goal tracking. Notion—a versatile note-taking and productivity application—lets you create progress bars within your pages and databases. Adding progress bars can help you stay organized, monitor progress in real time, and gain a clear overview of your goals. In this article, we explore how to add progress bars in Notion using current features and best practices.

​

Step 1: Create a Database

​

Before adding progress bars, you need a database or table where the progress bars will appear. You can create a new database or use an existing one. To create a new database, follow these steps:

​

1. Open Notion and navigate to the desired Workspace or page where you want to add the progress bar.
2. Click on the + New button located at the top-left corner.
3. From the dropdown menu, select Database.
4. Choose the appropriate database view (Gallery, Table, List, etc.) based on your needs.
5. Customize the database properties and columns as required.

​

Step 2: Add a Progress Bar Property

​

To include a progress bar in your database, add a new property designated for the progress measurement. Follow these steps:

​

1. Open the database you created.
2. Click on the + Add a property button located at the top-right corner.
3. Select Formula from the dropdown menu.
4. Name the property something relevant like Progress or Task Completion.

​

Step 3: Define the Progress Bar Formula

​

With your progress bar property in place, define a formula that calculates progress. The formula will depend on your database structure. For example, for a simple task completion percentage, use:

​

prop("Tasks Completed") / prop("Total Tasks") * 100

​

In this formula, Tasks Completed and Total Tasks are columns in your database. Update the property names as needed, and take advantage of Notion’s expanded formula functions to include conditional logic or rounding if required. Notion’s improved formula engine enables you to experiment with additional formatting and calculations to better suit your project management and goal-tracking needs.

​

Tip: With recent Notion updates, you can now also use built-in functions to format numbers and even combine multiple properties in your formulas.

​

Step 4: Change the Property Format

​

To visually display your calculated progress as a progress bar:

​

1. Click the three-dot menu icon next to the progress bar property you created.
2. Select Edit property from the dropdown menu.
3. In the property settings, choose Progress Bar as the format.
4. Customize the color and appearance of the progress bar to match your project theme or personal preferences.

​

This feature makes it easier for you and your team to instantly gauge progress without diving into the numbers.

​

Step 5: Customize Other Database Properties

​

For a comprehensive project management or goal tracking system, integrate your progress bars with complementary properties:

​

• Date properties: Track start dates, due dates, and deadlines.
• Checkbox properties: Mark tasks as completed.
• Select properties: Categorize tasks or projects by stage or type.
• Text properties: Add additional details or notes.

​

By combining these properties with progress bars, you can build a detailed system that offers both a clear visual overview and a granular breakdown of your projects. This approach can also enhance your workflow when integrating with other productivity tools.

​

Conclusion

​

Adding progress bars in Notion can significantly boost your productivity and goal tracking. By following the steps above, you can easily create and customize progress bars within your databases. With Notion’s advanced formula functions and formatting options, you have the flexibility to adapt these features to various project management scenarios. Harness the power of progress bars in Notion to keep on top of your tasks and projects while maintaining a clear and organized visual overview.