Notion From Day One: Timelines & Filters

Notion timelines can be turned into an “automatic archive” system by combining a timeline date property with stacked filters that hide completed work after a set age. The workflow starts with a database timeline view where each task has a date (or start/end dates) and then uses filter groups to control what appears—so completed items don’t linger indefinitely, but also don’t vanish immediately.

The setup begins by creating a timeline page (e.g., a “Task Manager” timeline) and using the timeline’s requirement: a date property. With a date range, the timeline can show tasks across multiple days; with an end date toggled off, it can instead treat tasks as single-day items. The transcript demonstrates both approaches: a “start date” property with a separate “end date” (or “due date”) that can be toggled into “use separate start and end dates,” so adjusting the end date updates the task’s placement on the timeline.

From there, the database is enriched with properties that later become filter and sort controls. Status is set up with Not started, In progress, and Completed, and an additional status like Under review can be added. Other classification properties include Project (as a select like “product update 1.0”), Priority (select values such as P1–P5 with color coding), and Sprint (another select to group tasks into batches). The timeline can display or hide properties, and sorting follows the order of the dropdown conditions—Notion applies them like stacked rules, where the top condition takes precedence.

Filters are then layered to create practical views. A “Type” select (Task vs Bug) is introduced, and filter groups are used to include tasks while also optionally including bugs via an OR group. Status filtering is grouped so multiple statuses can be included at once. Another group sets time-based behavior for new items—such as automatically setting Start date to today or constraining it relative to today.

The key automation is the archive behavior. Completed tasks are kept visible initially, then removed from the timeline only after they’re older than a week. This is done by adding a filter group that targets Status = Completed and applies a date condition (e.g., Start date or End date on or after “one week ago”). As a result, tasks disappear from the timeline once they meet both conditions.

To collect those archived items, a separate list view (e.g., “completed”) is created with a filter Status = Completed and sorting by end date descending. Finally, to focus on a single project without rebuilding logic, the timeline view can be duplicated and renamed (e.g., “product update 1.0”), then given an extra filter Project = product update 1.0—preserving the same auto-archive and sort behavior.

The transcript closes by emphasizing that many workflow rules can be implemented with filters, sometimes even preferring filters over formulas for certain logic patterns.