Hello,

It's Brad with this week's Sunday sync.

I'm excited to share some great tips that will help you get even more out of Notion. Big project or small, this week's 10 minutes saved are coming to you right now.

​

🔑 Key Highlights

• The All-in-One Advantage: Notion’s growth shows that digital workspaces are the way of future. With recent features like Notion Forms and Notion Mail, the potential is incredible. What happens when they add a messaging block to talk across your workspace? The world will never be the same.
• Fast, Easy Onboarding: We’re connecting with businesses that need Notion and offering tools & training to get new team members onboarded fast. With over 100 business tools, we’ll help you save hours every week--guaranteed.
• Expanded Resources: I've added several resources to make your Notion experience as smooth as possible. The Notion chatbot coming soon will give you the quickest answer to any Notion you have, even formulas. More on that later.

​

🎓 Make The Most of Filters (The Essentials)

This week, I’m diving into filters, a feature that can make a massive impact on your work than most other Notion features.

Even if you have thousands of pages, filters let you cut out the noise so you can focus on exactly what you need at a given time.

Once you get the hang of them, you’ll start to categorize everything you have so you can save time every where you go. It’s a powerful and efficient way to reduce the load speed and keep your Notion smooth, simple, and smart.

If filters feel like a mystery, this one’s for you.

Before we can walk, we have to learn to crawl. So let’s walk through the basics, without the complexity.

So, What is a Filter Anyway?

Filters in Notion, and many other programs, are your way of saying “Show me only what matters right now.” You set it up once, and everything unimportant disappears from your view. This saves you from scrolling through information that isn’t relevant at that time.

For example, in your tasks database, you can filter to only show tasks due “this week”, “this month”, or even “today”.

It’s pretty straightforward, but there are some nuances that can help you get the most out of your filters.

Let’s break down the core types of filters you’ll want to use.

The Basic Filter Types You’ll Actually Use

These basic filters give you a solid foundation to use as you build your Notion setup.

Here’s a breakdown of how the different filter types work:

1. Is / Is Not​
   Great for simple “yes” or “no” situations.
   ​
   The “Is” filter can be used to show pages where the values match exactly, such as a filter to show tasks where “Done” is checked.
   ​
   This “Is Not” filter can be used to show all pages that do not match that exact value, such as a filter to show all tasks where the “Done” Is Not checked.” This would only show tasks that still need to be completed.
   ​
2. Contains / Does Not contain​
   Intended to find pages that do or do not match your selections.
   ​
   The “Contains” filter can be used to see any pages with matching text, select, or basic properties that are not a date, number, or special property, such as files & media.
   ​
   The “Does Not Contain” filter is the opposite, where we only see pages other than our selection.
   ​
   For example, if you wanted to see every page related to John Smith, you would use a Contains filter. If you wanted to see every page without John Smith, you would use a Does Not Contain filter.
   ​
3. Starts With / Ends With​
   Useful for finding pages with specific naming conventions.
   ​
   The “Starts With” filter can save you a lot of time if you always name your pages a certain way, like starting with “Q1, 24” to find everything from that quarter.
   ​
   The “Ends With” filter is similar, but at the end. If you know what a property ends with, or if you use a consistent naming structure, this can help find what you’re looking for.
   ​
4. Empty / Not Empty​
   Perfect for finding pages with filled out or missing information.
   ​
   The “Empty” and “Is Not Empty” filter work just like the Is / Is not filters, except they’re restricted to “is empty” and “is not empty.”
   ​
   This is the most useful type of filter for organizing your content using an inbox + processing method.
   ​
   If need to categorize a page, create an “Empty” filter to show you every page without information. As soon as you add information to that property, the page disappears and is neatly organized where it should be.
   ​
   Use these filters to see all pages that need to be organized, or with properties like dates to see pages that do or do not have deadlines.

Date Filter Types

Date filters give you control over what timeframes you want to see.

Here’s a breakdown of how each date filter type works and when to use it:

1. Is Before / Is After​
   These filters are simple enough. Do you want to see pages “Before” or “After” a date? Which ever you pick, you’ll only see entries related to that timeframe.
   ​
   A great choice if you want to look at everything leading up to or after a date without including today.
   ​
2. Is on or Before / Is on or After​
   The difference between “Is on or Before/After” and “Is Before/After” is the added flexibility to also include the date you select.
   ​
   If you select “Is Before” and not the “Is on or Before,” you’ll only see pages outside those dates, which can be confusing if you want to also see dates on the same day.
   ​
   Be sure to use this filter type if you want a more inclusive filtering.
   ​
3. Is Between​
   This is what you’ll use to see pages between a specific date range, and you must specific the exact dates you want to see. It’s essentially using both the “Is on or After” and “Is on or Before” filters in a single filter.
   ​
   Very handy if you want to look at entries that happened during a specific week, month, or date range.
   ​
   One key point, this filter type only accepts exact dates and does not change automatically with time. To create a more dynamic experience, use the relative date filters below.
   ​
4. Is Relative to Today
   ​This filter is incredibly useful because it dynamically updates based on today’s date, so you don’t have to adjust it constantly. These filters shift as time moves forward, sticking to “Day”, “Week”, “Month”, or “Year."
   ​
   ​This: If you want to stay current, use the “This” filter with day, week, month, or year to see it update as the days go by.
   ​Next: Use the “Next” filter to plan ahead without having to pick specific dates. This option shows what’s coming in the next day, week, month, or year you selected.
   ​Past: Add the “Past” filter to review pages that are in the past day, week, month, or year. This one’s great if you need a quick look back at what you’ve done recently. Use this for weekly and monthly reviews.

With any of these date filter types, you can choose a specific date or use any of the following dynamic filters:

1. Today
2. Tomorrow
3. Yesterday
4. One week ago
5. One week from now
6. One month ago
7. One month from now

Once you understand the filter types available, it’s as simple as deciding “what do I want to see right here, right now?”

Then you can follow the guide below and see any page you’re looking for in seconds:

How to Set Up a Filter

1. Open Your Database: Start by opening up a database view in Notion.
2. Add a Filter: Click on “Filter,” then “+ Add a filter.”
3. Select Property & Condition: Pick a property (like “Due Date” or “Status”) and choose a condition (“is checked” or “is today”).
4. Save it as a View: If this is a view you’ll use often, save it so you can toggle back anytime.

Once you know what you want to see, you have two options for your filters: permanent or temporary filters.

Permanent filters are ideal for recurring views that you and your team use on a regular basis. Specific views like “Tasks Due Today” or “High Priority” can be set up once and stay good forever.

You will always save time if you need that view more than once. Take advantage of Notion’s ability to add as many views as you want and filter your heart away.

On the other hand, temporary filters can be set up the same way as permanent—you just hit “Reset” instead of “Save” when you’re done. These can be especially useful when working with a team.

If you need to see something outside the permanent view, add a temporary filter and get your answer in seconds. Just be sure to hit the reset button, not save.

Stacking Filters

But the best part about filters? They stack. You can add multiple filters together to create a refined view that matches exactly what you need.

Want to see all “High Priority” tasks that are also “Due This Today”? Set both filters in the same view, and Notion will show what fits both criteria. The more you add, the more specific your views become.

Always remember, start simple. Add a few filters, save it as a view, and see how easy it is to jump back whenever you need.

Whatever you do, remember to start simple.

Next week, I’ll cover sorting, another essential. When you get the hang of these two features and how they work together, Notion is a dream come true.

​

📢 Announcements

• New Articles on the Website: I’ve added several polished articles to help make Notion as easy as possible to use and understand. From task management to advanced integrations, there’s something for everyone on the website.
• More Business-Focused Tools: Our team is continuously building business resources in Notion. We’re here to support teams with onboarding, project/client management, and more. With an emphasis on creating frictionless operations.
• Notion Chatbot Update: Set to release around Christmas, the Notion chatbot will be available to answer any Notion question you may have (including formulas). This will be the easiest way to get you answer instantly.

​

🚀 Project Updates

Here’s a quick look at what’s new:

• Formula Automation Tools: The newly released formula automation tools can reduce your task load by over 80%. Click here to book a call to get this set up for yourself.
• Article Library Expansion: A full library of articles is now available on the website. Everything you need to know about using Notion in business, each article is designed to help you implement Notion in a simple to understand way.
• Weekly Video Releases: Now that the video series is ready, I’ll be releasing new Notion videos every Friday to keep you inspired and informed on the latest strategies and features. Time to get high speed. ⚡

​

🎓 Learning Opportunities

1. Notion for Teams Series – Come learn the setup and best practices for building a connected workspace in Notion. Learn how to bring teams together effectively.
2. Advanced AI Tutorials – I’ll be covering how to use AI in Notion to automate repetitive and mundane tasks. These tutorials are ideal for anyone looking to reduce manual work and speed up every area of their life.
3. Website Articles – From setup basics to mastering the advance, the recent articles offer a unique perspective on Notion and the future of our favorite tool. Check them out here.

​

📅 Important Dates

Keep these dates on your radar:

• December 2nd: Notion Accelerator. We’ll cover everything you need to succeed with Notion in business.
• Every Friday: New videos released weekly, packed with actionable tips and insights.
• All Month: New video series and resources on our website to help you master content creation in Notion.

​

Closing

Thank you for being part of this awesome community!

If you want to learn how we're changing things up with our business tools, let's hop on a call and talk about how it works. We'd like to help save you hours every week too!

Stay tuned for next week’s updates, and have an amazing week!

Best,
Brad

P.s. Interested in learning more?

Visit our website at BradleyHubbard.com or reach out directly at Brad@BradleyHubbard.com and I'll be happy to help.

​