How Master Databases Add Structure to Your Notion Workspace
When it comes to Notion best practices, implementing master databases in your workspace is one of the first things that I think of and that’s because they establish a solid foundation for growing your workflows over time.
Without them, you may find yourself:
Recreating the same database because you forgot you created it or that someone else on your team already created it
Wasting time recreating database views
Hunting through your trash in Notion because someone accidentally deleted an important database
What is a master database?
I first came across the term “master database” via William Nutt’s Bulletproof Methodology where he describes “structuring all information in [these master or backend databases] then creating dashboards for accessing it contextually.”
If I had to give a definition, I would say that a master database is database that is essential to your workflow and serves as the source database that is linked throughout your workspace.
Some common examples of master databases are your projects, tasks and I would also add your knowledge base. These are databases that I build in almost every client’s workspace. Of course, if a client uses Asana to manage projects and tasks, then I won’t create these master databases in Notion because I know that these workflows are already taken care of in another tool.
What makes a database a master database?
In my experience, a master database has the following 3 characteristics:
It’s almost always the starting point of a workflow and is therefore essential to that workflow.
Without my task and project databases, my project management workflow would not work as efficiently as I’d like it to.
It’s a database that’s part of a workflow which I can envision growing or evolving over time.
It’s a database that I know will have more than 1 database view.
Why should you use master databases?
By now, I think you’re starting to see that master databases are important but how exactly are they helpful - why should you go about implementing them in your workspace?
I’ve noticed that many people who gravitate toward Notion for work management love the fact that it’s is a blank canvas. That means that you can tailor the workspace to your specific needs both functionally and aesthetically.
This is in contrast to tools like ClickUp or Asana which come with a structure already built in.
The drawback to the freedom of Notion being a blank canvas is that when you start setting up your Notion workspace on your own, there comes a point where you wonder, “Where should I put this?” Or “Am I building this the right way?”
When it comes to databases in Notion, having master databases gives you the confidence that you (and your team if you have one):
Are not doing any duplicate work
Are saving yourself time by not having to recreate database views again and again
Don’t have to worry about a core component of a workflow (in this case a database) being accidentally deleted. This is because your team will be interacting with linked database views, not the source/master database.
Does every database need to be a master database?
I’ve gotten this question before and the answer is no. There are some databases that are not essential to a workflow or that you are simply experimenting with. These can be created on a separate page or dashboard and over time will either be deleted, archived or moved to your master database page.
How to set up a master database in your Notion workspace.
First, think about what you’re using Notion for. It’s a tool and you want to be specific about your intention for its use.
If you’re a remote team, it’s likely that you’ll be using Notion to manage projects, tasks and documents, so you know you’ll need these 3 master databases.
Your next step is to create a page where all of your master databases will live and grow together, making it easy for you or your team to find these essential databases when it’s time to add database views or to double check before creating a new master database.
My task manager which is a master database
