Have you ever wanted to keep track of a random thing you’re doing in life? That’s where I found myself when I started trading my handmade goods for things on Facebook Marketplace—so here’s how I track the trades.
Why I Started Tracking My Trades
I recently started making items to trade on Facebook Marketplace. It came from wanting to get a photo printer, but not wanting to spend cash on it. So, I offered to trade the person a hand-made cutting board (I do woodworking for fun).
That trade was just the start, as I’ve now traded seven times and am constantly looking for other trades. So, I decided to keep track of them for a few different reasons.
The cutting board I made to trade for a Canon Sephy CP-1500 photo printer.Credit: Patrick Campanale / How-To Geek
For starters, keeping track of the trades helps me to make sure that the majority of my trades are good values. Of course, when bartering, value is in the eye of the beholder. One trade I did was a laser-cut sign (worth about $65) for a Nintendo Switch (listed for $200). The recipient loved the sign, and I loved the Switch. We both valued our items the same, even though monetarily they would be valued differently.
Either way, I want to be able to see the different information about trades over time. So that’s one reason I started tracking. Another reason is that I wanted to know which items I traded for in case I resell them. My wife and I keep track of what we pay cash for and what we receive via trade or gift, as that helps us when figuring out tithe and donations for our church.
Another reason to keep track of trades is simply because I do laser engraving and woodworking as a side hustle. If there’s one specific item (or item category) that I’m trading more frequently than others, maybe it’s time to pursue that item as a potential stocked item for my store.
How I Set Up Notion With a Free Form
I recently moved back to Notion, a project management and note-taking software that I’ve used on and off over the past several years. Notion is extremely powerful, but for tracking my trades, I’m using a simple database with a form attached.
Originally, I tried to overcomplicate it with a whole n8n workflow, but eventually realized that the built-in Notion form was more than enough. In fact, it’s perfect for what I need. I’m able to capture all the information in an elegant form and then have the Notion database format it exactly how I want.
I built a few formulas out for each line, like value gained and ROI (return on investment), and I even have it calculating all trades at the bottom of the rows.
Overall, it took me about 30 minutes (and a little ChatGPT help) to get this form up and running, doing exactly what I ask of it.
If you want to build your own form in Notion, it’s pretty simple. Start by creating a database, then add a new form view. Once you add the form view, you’ll have the ability to customize the fields and order of the form, marking certain things as required or not.
This is useful in so many other applications than tracking trades. In the past, I’ve used Notion forms to intake customers, have clients fill out product requests, and more. It’s an extremely versatile tool to have in your back pocket.
Notion Is Becoming My Centralized Hub
Years ago, I tried to adopt Notion as my “everything” hub, but just couldn’t do it. The reason turns out to be that I simply overcomplicated it at the start. I tried to build out this whole “life operating system” that so many YouTubers talk about in videos.
Trying to build that life OS was a mistake for sure, and it just overwhelmed me, so I left Notion by the sidelines. A few months ago, I decided to pick it back up for writing. It’s free, handles markdown, and is actually quite powerful—though it can be as simple as needed.
I started out with just using Notion to write articles and organize ideas, but I’m slowly building up to using it for more. Making this trade tracker form was just one such way that I expanded my use of Notion.
Now, Notion is becoming a core part of my productivity workflow, and I couldn’t imagine not using it at this point.
OS
masOS, Windows
Supported Desktop Browsers
Web Clipper Extension for Chrome, Firefox, Safari
This customizable workspace simplifies and combines the processes of note-taking, task creation, and date planning to create an all-in-one productivity workspace.
Notion is seriously powerful, and if you’ve never used it, you should definitely give it a try. You can replace multiple note-taking programs with Notion, just as one example. When compared with Obsidian, Notion typically comes out on top when it comes to overall features, though Obsidian can be a bit simpler to use in some instances.
If you really want to get the most out of it, though, you’ll want to check out the paid subscription tier. Right now I haven’t splurged for it yet, but I know that I will before too long because the premium features are too good to pass up.
