Automated Editorial Task Tracking & Notifications with Motion and Airtable

# Automated project status tracking with Airtable and Motion ## Who's it for Project managers, team leads, and agencies who need to automatically monitor project completion status across multiple clients and send notifications when specific milestones are reached. ## What it does This workflow automatically tracks project progress by connecting Airtable project databases with Motion task management. It monitors specific tasks within active projects and triggers email notifications when key milestones are completed. The system is designed to handle multiple projects simultaneously and can be customized for various notification triggers. ## How it works The workflow follows a structured monitoring process: - **Data Retrieval**: Fetches project information from Airtable (project names and Motion workspace IDs) - **Motion Integration**: Connects to Motion API using HTTP requests to retrieve project details - **Project Filtering**: Identifies only active projects with a status containing SEO in the name - **Task Monitoring**: Checks for specific completed tasks (e.g., Intégrer les articles de blog) - **Conditional Notifications**: Sends email alerts only when target tasks are marked as Completed - **Database Updates**: Updates Airtable with the last notification timestamps ## Requirements - Airtable account with project database - Motion account with API access - Gmail account for email notifications - HTTP request authentication for Motion API ## How to set up ### Step 1: Configure your Airtable database Ensure your Airtable contains the following fields: - Project names: Names of projects to monitor - Motion Workspace ID: Workspace identifiers for Motion API calls - Status - Calendrier éditorial: Project status field (set to Actif for active projects) - Last sent - Calendrier éditorial: Timestamp tracking for notification frequency - Email addresses: Client and team member contact information ### Step 2: Set up API credentials Configure the following authentication in n8n: - Airtable Personal Access Token: For database access - Motion API: HTTP header authentication for Motion integration - Gmail OAuth2: For email notification sending ### Step 3: Configure Motion API integration - Base URL: Uses Motion API v1 endpoints - Project retrieval: Fetches projects using workspace ID parameter - Task monitoring: Searches for specific task names and completion status - Custom filtering: Targets projects with SEO in name and a todo status ### Step 4: Customize scheduling - Default schedule: Runs daily between the 10th-31st of each month at 8 AM - Cron expression: 0 8 10-31 * * (modify as needed) - Frequency options: Can be adjusted for weekly, daily, or custom intervals ### Step 5: Set up email notifications Configure Gmail settings: - Recipients: Project managers, clients, and collaborators - Subject line: Dynamic formatting with project name and month - Message template: HTML-formatted email with a professional signature - Sender name: Customizable organization name ## How to customize the workflow ### Single project, multiple tasks monitoring To adapt for monitoring one project with several different tasks: - Modify the filter conditions to target your specific project - Add multiple HTTP requests for different task names - Create conditional branches for each task type - Set up different notification templates per task ### Multi-project customization - Database fields: Add custom fields in Airtable for different project types - Filtering logic: Modify conditions to match your project categorization - Motion workspace: Support multiple workspaces per client - Notification rules: Set different notification frequencies per project ### Alternative notification methods Replace or complement Gmail with: - Slack notifications: Send updates to team channels - Discord integration: Alert development teams - SMS notifications: Urgent milestone alerts - Webhook integrations: Connect to custom internal systems - Teams notifications: Enterprise communication ### Task monitoring variations - Multiple task types: Monitor different milestones (design, development, testing) - Task dependencies: Check completion of prerequisite tasks - Progress tracking: Monitor task progress percentages - Deadline monitoring: Alert on approaching deadlines ## Conditional logic features ### Smart filtering system - Active project detection: Only processes projects marked as Actif - Date-based filtering: Prevents duplicate notifications using timestamp comparison - Status verification: Confirms task completion before sending notifications - Project type filtering: Targets specific project categories (SEO projects in this example) ### Notification frequency control - Monthly notifications: Prevents spam by tracking last sent dates - Conditional execution: Only sends emails when tasks are actually completed - Database updates: Automatically records notification timestamps - Loop management: Processes multiple projects sequentially ## Results interpretation ### Automated monitoring outcomes Project status tracking: Real-time monitoring of active projects