How to Create a Birthday Countdown Reminder in Notion

Reader's Question

If I want to create a birthday countdown, how can I set it up in Notion so that it reminds me every year how many days are left until a birthday, regardless of the year?

My Answer

Analysis

After a quick analysis, there are 3 possible scenarios:

1. This year's birthday hasn't arrived yet
2. This year's birthday is today
3. This year's birthday has already passed

Since there are 3 scenarios to evaluate, we need to use the ifs() function and compare the "birthday date" with the built-in today() function. If you're not yet familiar with Notion formulas, start by reading the Formula 2.0 deep dive to learn the basics.

Result

Table View

Calendar View

Gallery View

How It Works

First, use the dateBetween() function to calculate the current age by subtracting the date of birth from today's date today().

Then, use the dateAdd() function to calculate the next birthday. The logic checks whether this year's birthday equals today today():

• If yes, the next birthday is today
• If no, the next birthday is next year's birthday date: Birthday.dateAdd(Σ Age + 1, "year")

Then calculate the countdown:

Here is the formula:

let(
    diff,dateBetween(prop("下个生日"), today(), "days"),

    ifs(

        diff==0, "就在今天，生日快乐!",
        diff ==1,"明天",
        diff > 1, "还有 "+ diff  + " 天"
    )
)

1. First, a diff variable is defined: it calculates the difference between the "next birthday date" and "today's date": diff,dateBetween(prop("下个生日"), today(), "days")
2. The ifs() function is used for multi-condition evaluation:
   1. If diff equals zero, the birthday is today
   2. If diff equals 1, the birthday is tomorrow
   3. If diff is greater than 1, it displays in the format "X days remaining"

Finally, the style() function is used to enhance the display. If you'd also like to build a similar automatic recurring reminder, check out another article for the approach: