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║  EXPERIMENT: Bidirectional Notion Sync                       ║
║  KEY METRIC: 5-second sync, 0 conflicts                      ║
║  workway.co                                                  ║
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ValidatedJanuary 21, 2026

Bidirectional Notion Sync

Two Notion workspaces. One shared database. Changes in seconds. Last edit wins.

What We Learned

Notion timestamps lie

We assumed last_edited_time meant the page was edited. It doesn't. Notion updates that timestamp when you view a page.

The fix: stop asking "when was this edited?" Start asking "are the values different?" Compare content. Not metadata.

Two-way sync needs a tiebreaker

Both databases have different values. Who wins? Without a rule, you get infinite loops. Base overwrites mirror. Mirror overwrites base. Repeat forever.

The fix: last-write-wins. Compare edit times on both pages. The more recent edit is the source of truth.

Cron has a one-minute floor

We wanted five-second sync. Cron can't do that. Cloudflare's minimum is one minute.

The fix: Durable Objects with alarms. Schedule the next run yourself. As fast as you want.

What Didn't Work

Time-based detection— Notion timestamps lie

Database-level checks— Doesn't reflect page changes

Independent two-way passes— Causes ping-pong

Cron for fast intervals— Platform limit

What Did Work

Content comparison— Compare values, not metadata

Last-write-wins— Simple conflict resolution

Single pass with tracking— No sync loops

Durable Object alarms— Sub-minute scheduling

Hypothesis Validated

Content-based comparison with last-write-wins conflict resolution enables reliable bidirectional sync. Five-second intervals are achievable with Durable Object alarms. Launching next week.