Effective Ways to Sync Your Notion Database and Make Scenario

Have you ever encountered a problem where your Notion Database and Make Scenario don't seem to sync correctly? You're not alone. This issue has been a common challenge for many Make.com users, especially when they expect the scenario to be triggered for any change on the Notion Database. However, it seems that when an update to a database item occurs within the same minute, the Watch Database item module is only triggered for the first change.

The Problem

Here's an example to illustrate the problem:

  1. Update item X at 10:05:23 → Module is triggered
  2. Update item X at 10:07:23 → Module is triggered
  3. Update item X at 10:07:43 → Module is NOT triggered

In short, the third update is not detected by Make. This can cause serious problems, especially if the task is business-critical.

The Solution

One possible solution is to set the Limit of returned results to a higher limit instead of 1. However, this doesn't always resolve the problem, especially if you're dealing with just one item that is updated multiple times within one minute.

Another alternative is to perform a daily full database sync via the Notion Search module. This method is robust and works correctly, but it's heavy and can be costly as it requires a lot of Make operations each day. Moreover, the scenario gets very complex as the number of team members grows.

A more efficient alternative is to perform an incremental sync via the Notion Watch module. The concept is to find, for example, each hour all changes (creates, updates) of the last 2 hours and sync them to appropriate Calendars. However, due to the required overlap, the scenario always handles the same updated activities, which makes no sense.

Troubleshooting Tips

If you're still looking for a better way, you might want to consider using Notion Automations. Here's how:

  1. Create a check-box property “changed”
  2. Create an automation: when one of the relevant event properties is edited then set the Changed property
  3. In Make, search for records with Changed property set, update corresponding events in Google Calendar, and uncheck Changed property.

Conclusion

In conclusion, while there are several ways to sync your Notion Database and Make Scenario, each method has its pros and cons. It's important to choose the one that best fits your needs and resources. Remember, the goal is to make your work more efficient, not more complicated.

You do have further questions?

Ask your question via E-Mail: Richard@make-app.de
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