Build a Content Recycling System in Notion

In today's digital world, content is king. But what happens when we're not inspired to create new content? This is where Notion comes in to help you efficiently repurpose your content.

How Notion Can Help You Recycle Content

Content recycling is a smart approach for several reasons:

1. Maximizes your content's reach by connecting with different audiences on each platform
2. Saves time and resources when you're not feeling inspired to create new content
3. Reinforces your message through repetition across channels and helps you master the topic, as each format requires different approaches

So, how can you build a content recycling system in Notion? In this blog, we'll explain the step-by-step process and provide a link to a free Notion template 🙌🏼

Step 1: Create a Topics Database

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For the database, you'll need to create different properties in your Notion database:

• Checkbox properties for each channel you want to configure. In our example, we created 6: Blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, Newsletter, X (Twitter), and YouTube
• A formula property: we'll help you configure this later in the guide, called "Topic Usage"
• A date property: helps you estimate when to use the topic and organize them
• A text property: useful for improving design if you like using the board view

Step 2: Configure a Formula for Topic Usage Calculation

The formula property in Notion will help us calculate topic usage. We've chosen to use Notion's "lets" option, which allows us to create variables. Once we have the variable result, we calculate the average.

lets(

VInstagram, if(prop("Instagram")==true,1,0).min(),
VNews, if(prop("Newsletter")==true,1,0).min(),
VLink, if(prop("LinkedIn")==true,1,0).min(),
VYou, if(prop("Youtube")==true,1,0).min(),
VTwi, if(prop("Twitter")==true,1,0).min(),
VBlog, if(prop("Blogpost")==true,1,0).min(),

round((VInstagram+VNews+VLink+VYou+VTwi+VBlog)/6*100)/100

)

Formula breakdown:

• lets(): Creates a variable for each channel we've added to the database
• VInstagram: Variables created within the formula for better workflow
• if(prop("Instagram")==true,1,0): Rule that assigns 1 if the property is checked (✅) or 0 if unchecked
• .min(): Converts the variable result into a number for calculations
• round()/100: Improves result visualization for decimals
• Final calculation: Averages usage across all channels

If this sounds too complex, the best Formulas Course in Notion (in English) you can find is the one made by Ben Borowski. Highly recommended.

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Step 3: Improve view design in Notion

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For better design and usability, follow these recommendations:

1. Edit the "Topic Usage" formula property:
   • Click on the property name
   • Choose "Edit property"
   • Change format to percentage
   • Display as "Bar"
2. Create a board view:
   • Group by "Estimated Week" for a timeline of when to use each topic
   • Hide all properties except channel checkboxes and the formula property
   • This makes it easy to mark used channels and track progress

How to enhance this system

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You can enhance your database by adding a hierarchy formula with criteria that matter to you, such as content appeal or sales potential. Based on each criterion, you can create a hierarchy formula that orders content from most to least important.

This is particularly useful if you want Notion to help you prioritize content based on importance criteria.

Get Started!

The hardest part is starting, so we're here to help. While this guide gives you a foundation for content recycling in Notion, it's just scratching the surface of what's possible. As Notion consultants specializing in business systems, we help companies develop comprehensive content strategies and workflows that scale.

Looking to transform how your team manages content? Let's talk about creating a custom Notion system that fits your specific needs.

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