How to Structure Notion Database Properties for Better Analytics

The single biggest reason analytics in Notion go sideways isn't the tool — it's the database schema. If your database doesn't have the right property types, even the best chart engine can't help. This guide walks through which Notion property types power which kinds of analytics, and how to set them up so NotionStats (or any analytics tool) can read them cleanly.

Table of Contents #

• Why property types matter
• Dates for calendars and time-series charts
• Numbers for totals, averages, and progress
• Select and status for categories
• Checkboxes for completion
• Titles and relations
• Common schema mistakes

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Why property types matter #

NotionStats reads your database row-by-row and groups data using the property types Notion exposes. Two rows that look the same to a human can be very different to an analytics tool:

• A column called "Date" that's actually a text property is not a date.
• A number stored inside a title or rich text column is not a number.
• A category written as free-form text won't group the same way as one stored as a select.

The closer your schema matches how analytics tools think about data, the less manual work you'll do later.

Dates for calendars and time-series charts #

Use a date property for anything you want to plot over time or display in a calendar:

• Transactions (transaction date)
• Habits (completion date)
• Workouts (workout date)
• Subscriptions (next renewal date)
• Trades (entry date)

Notion's "Date" property is the right choice — not a text field. Pick a single consistent date column per database to avoid confusion (NotionStats will let you pick it explicitly).

If you need both a created date and an "event" date (for example: when you logged it vs when it actually happened), keep them in separate properties.

Numbers for totals, averages, and progress #

Anything you want to sum, average, or progress against should be a Number property:

• Income or expense amounts
• Reps, weight, or sets
• Cost or price
• Profit/loss
• Hours, minutes, or counts

A few tips:

• Use negative numbers for outflows (expenses, losses) if you want to mix them with positives in the same chart.
• Use formulas for derived numbers (e.g. profit = sell - buy), but be aware that formula type detection follows the formula's output type.
• Avoid storing numbers as text. They'll display fine in Notion but will break aggregation in charts and milestones.

Select and status for categories #

For category-style data, use Select or Status properties:

• Spending categories (groceries, rent, dining)
• Trading setups (breakout, pullback, reversal)
• Habit categories (health, work, personal)
• Subscription categories (productivity, entertainment, utilities)

Why these and not free text? Selects normalize values — "Groceries" and "groceries " (with a trailing space) won't be the same group if they're typed manually. Selects also let NotionStats produce neat legends and color mappings automatically.

For ordered states (To do → In progress → Done), the Status property type is even better. It works the same as a Select for grouping, plus carries explicit ordering.

Checkboxes for completion #

For "did I do it?" tracking, use a Checkbox property:

• Habit completion
• Task done
• Trade reviewed

Charts can sum checkboxes the same way they sum numbers (one if checked, zero if not), which means you can build streaks and completion rates directly from a simple boolean column.

Titles and relations #

The Title property is special — every Notion database has exactly one. It's a good X-axis when you want to group by row name (for example: completion count per habit).

Relation properties point to rows in other databases. They're great for connecting data, but most analytics tools (NotionStats included) work best when each chart pulls from one database. If you need to chart across linked data, build a single denormalized database, or use rollup properties to surface the connected value into the row you're charting.

Common schema mistakes #

• Mixed types in one column. Notion is loose about this. Don't store text inside a number column or vice versa.
• No date column. Without a date, no calendar and no time-series chart will work.
• Free-text categories. They look fine to humans but break grouping.
• Multiple databases when one would do. If you have ten databases for ten months of trades, merge them into one. Filter inside NotionStats or Notion instead.
• Empty or partial rows. Rows missing the date or value column won't appear in time-series charts. Use Notion templates or required-field reminders to keep entries complete.

Next steps #

If you want to put this into practice, start by reviewing your existing database and asking three questions:

1. Do I have a single, consistent date column?
2. Do I have a clear number column for the value I want to track?
3. Am I using Select or Status for categories?

Once those three are in place, almost any chart NotionStats supports will work. From there, you can read Best Notion Charts to Build for Different Database Types to pick the right visualization for your data, or How to Create Analytics From Any Notion Database to get started with a custom workspace.