How to Set Up GTD in Notion (The Only Guide You Need)

Read this GTD Notion guide to learn how I'm using Notion to get more done in ... For your GTD dashboard to work you'll need to use linked ... Ifyou’relookingtolearnhowtoimplementDavidAllen’sGettingThingsDone(GTD)methodologyinNotion,thenyou’reintherightplace. Inthisblogpost,I’llsharehowI’musingGTDinNotiontoday(includingdetailedwalkthroughsofhowI’musingeachlist). Let’stakealook. NotionGTD:EverythingYouNeedtoKnow Ifyouwanttofollowalongathome,you’llneedtocreateanewpageinNotionforthefollowing: InboxProjectsNextActionsRead/ReviewSomeday/Maybe Ifyouprefer,youcanalsoaddadditionalpagesforReferenceandWaitingfor/Reviewtoyourworkflow.(IhaveapageforReferencebutchosetoomitexplaininghowandwhyIuseitinthispostasit’snotasrelevantastheotherpages.) ForyourGTDdashboardtoworkyou’llneedtouselinkeddatabases,whichletyoushow,filter,andsortthesamedatabaseinmultipleplacesasmanytimesasyouwant. Bytheendofthepost,youwillhopefullyendupwithsomethinglikethis: Note:I’vebeenaskedifIcanmakemytemplateavailable.I’mregularlyupdatingmysetupbasedonnewfeaturesNotionreleasessoI’vechosenottomakeitavailablehere.However,mytemplateisavailableforfreeaspartofmycourse,GettingThingsDonewithNotion. Inbox TheInboxiswhereyoucaptureandcollecteverythingthathasyourattention,includingarticlesyouwanttowrite,purchasesyou’reconsidering,projectsyoumightpursuesomeday,andeverythinginbetween. Anytimeyouhaveanidea—addithere.Then,onceaweek,reviewandprocessyourinbox.Onequickwinisifanitemisactionableandwilltaketwominutesorlesstocomplete,doitimmediately.   Ifanitemisactionableandwillnottaketwominutesorlesstocomplete,moveittoNextActions.Ifmorethanoneactionisrequired—asisthecasewith“WriteanArticleonHowtoSetUpGTDinNotion,”aprojectI’mrunningcurrently—moveittoProjects. Usingarecentpersonalexample,InoticedIhadtwosimilarnextactions: “AddWordsIntoWorksTestimonialstoLandingPage”;and “RenameBulletsonWordsIntoWorksLandingPage.” Ratherthancompletethemboth,IaddedaprojecttomySomeday/Maybelistcalled“ImproveWordsIntoWorksLandingPage.”IthenaddedthetwonextactionsasareminderforwhenIscopetheprojectandpriortizedtheprojectashigh.(Moreonthatshortly.) Lastly,ifsomethingisnotactionable—regardlessofwhetheritwilltaketwominutesorlesstocomplete—deleteitormoveittoRead/Review,Reference,orSomeday/Maybe. Projects Ifyou’relikemostreaders,youlikelyworkfulltimeandhaveextracurricularinterestsinyourfreetime,suchaslearninganewlanguage,volunteeringforanonprofit,orbuildinganonlinebusiness. Manyofmyprojectsarelargeandrequiremultiplenextactionstocomplete.Forthatreason,ItaketimeatthestartofeachmonthchoosingsuitableprojectstoworkonandscopingthemtoensureIfinishthemasefficientlyaspossible.(Moreonthatinamoment.) Whenconsideringprojects,IfirstgointomySomeday/Maybepageandmoveanyprojectsprioritizedas“High”to“Projects.”Asaruleofthumb,IgiveaprojectahighpriorityifIthinkitwillmakethehighestpossiblecontributiontooneofmyobjectivesorkeyresults(OKRs). AnexampleofpastobjectivesinNotion. OnecurrentObjectiveIhavefocusesonthetotalrevenueIwanttomakefrommybloginQ1andQ2.I’mcurrentlybehindonthatgoal,however,andforthatreason,I’veprioritizedseveral“Sales”projectsthisandnextquarter. Remember:PriorityisonlyoneexampleofwhatGTDcalls“Context.”IalsouseSizetodeterminethenumberofprojectsIcancommittoinagivenmonthandSprinttoestimatewhenandhowlongIwillrunaproject. Aproject’ssprintisinfluenced,inpart,byitsscope,whichisanexplanationoftheproject’sgoal(increasewebsitetraffic,generatemorerevenue,etc.)anditspotentialnextactions.  (Note:Iwrite“potential”nextactionsbecausesomenextactionschangeoncestartingaproject.Rarelycanyouscopeaprojectonehundredpercentunlessit’sarecurringprojectoraprojectwithfewnextactions.) OnceI’mhappywithaproject’slistofpotentialnextactions,IcopyandpastethemintoNextActionsandaddtheappropriatetags.  NextActions OnceImoveaproject’snextactionstothispage,Iaddthefollowingtags: 1.Sprint Giventhatmostofmynextactionshavesoftdeadlines,Igivemyselfabufferofsevendays,runningmysprintsfromMondaytoSunday.However,ifanactionhasaharddeadline,I’lladdittomycalendar.IalsoaddafilterinmyGTDdashboardtoensureIonlyseemynextactionsforthecomingweek. 2.Status Eachnextactionhasoneofthefollowingtags:  ToDoDoingDone  OnceIassign“Done”toatask,it’sfilteredoutofmyGTDdashboardandNextActions.However,ifIeverneedtoremindmyselfofaproject’snextactions,Icanviewthemintheprojectpage’slist,evenifI’vetaggedthemas“Done.” 3.Priority OnetipIlearnedfromproductivityexpertTiagoForteistoonlyhavehigh-andmedium-prioritytasks.High-prioritytaskshaveharddeadlinesandmustbedonethisweek.Mediumprioritytasks,bycontrast,havesoftdeadlinesandcanbedeferredtonextweek,ifnotlater.  4.TimeAvailableandEnergyAvailable Imaginefinishingworkat16:00,butyourbusdoesn’tleaveuntil16:15.Assumingyoudon’thaveanyhigh-prioritytaskstocontinuewithorstart,whatshouldyouworkon?  That’swhereTimeAvailableandEnergyAvailablehelp.Withthem,youcanprioritizetasks,notbyurgency—asisthecasewithtime-sensitivetasks—butbytheamountoftimeavailableandyourlevelofmotivation. 5.RelatedProject(IfApplicable) LikemyNextActionspropertyinProjects,IuseNotion’srelationspropertytolinktotheprojectthatthenextactionbelongsto,ifapplicable.Youcanseeanexampleinthefinalcolumnintheimagebelow. Read/Review WhenIencounteranarticleIwanttoread,IuseNotion’sWebClippertosaveittoRead/Review.Then,toensureIdifferentiatebetweenjust-in-caseandjust-in-timeinformation,Itagthearticleaseither“Must-Read”or“Nice-to-Read.” IfanarticleishighlyrelevanttoaprojectI’mworkingonorabouttostart,I’llmarkitasMust-Readandreaditatmynearestconvenience,eitheronmylaptoporonmyphone.  Toborrowarecentexample,I’mcurrentlyreworkingmyemailautomation.Assuch,I’mreadingandtaggingarticlesonthattopicasMust-ReadastheywillinformhowIthinkaboutand,moreimportantly,scopetheproject.  What’smore,becauseIwantNotiontoremindmeofthesearticleseachtimeIviewmyGTDdashboard,IhaveafilterinmyGTDdashboardtoensureIonlyseemyMust-Readarticles. WhenIreadanarticle,IliketodoitinNotionratherthanreaditonthewebsite.There’sagoodreasonforthis.IfIlikeanarticle,Iwillboldandhighlightitsbigideas—similartowritingabooksummary—andthenmoveittomyResonanceCalendarforfuturereference. IfanarticleisMust-Readandtime-sensitive—suchasanarticleIneedtoreadbeforeameeting—I’llcreateaneventinmycalendarwithalinktothearticleintheevent’sdescription. Thisisanedgecase,butit’sstillnicetomakelifeaseasyaspossibleformyfutureself. Someday/Maybe Someday/MaybeiswhereIsaveanypotentialprojectsImightworkoninthefuture.  Asmentionedbefore,Iassigneachpotentialprojectashigh-ormedium-priority.Asaresult,IsorteverythinginmySomeday/Maybelistinorderofprioritytosavetimeif/whenchoosingwhattoworkonnext. OneparticularadvantageofhavingaSomeday/Maybelistisyougiveyourselftimetoreflectonyourprojects.Youmightthinkit’sagoodideatostartapodcast,launchanEtsybusiness,orrunamarathon.  Butuponcarefulreflection,youoftenrealizeaprojectthatyouwantedtopursue—orrather,thoughtyouwantedtopursue—mightnotbethebestuseofyourtimeafterall. GTDNotion:IsItforYou?  LearningDavidAllen’sGettingThingsDonemethodologyhaschangedmylifeinwaysIcan’tevenbegintodescribe.  ButimplementingGTDinNotionhasallowedmetoachievebigger,moreambitiousgoalswithgreaterease. Granted,itmightnotbeforyou—Ihaven’tevenbeguntoscratchthesurfaceofwhat’selseispossible.  Butifyou’recuriousandwouldliketogetlifetimeaccesstomyGTDtemplateaswellasmybesttrainingmaterials,checkoutmyflagshipcourse:GettingThingsDonewithNotion. Acknowledgments [1]IwanttoacknowledgeKheHyforinfluencingmyinitialGTDsetup. LikeWhatYou'veRead? Getpractical,research-basedideasforlivingagoodlifedeliveredstraighttoyourinboxonceamonth. Comments Fantasticexplanation,thankyouforsharing.IamtryingtoimplementasysteminNotionandhavingreadDaveAllen’sbookafewyearsagoyourarticleresonatedwithme. Gettingthesetupdonecorrectlyisdaunting,iwillbestudyingyourscreenshotsclosely….😉 Regards RichardGreene SouthAfrica Reply Greattohear,Richard.I’mgladyoufoundituseful🙂 Reply HiRichard, Thanksfortheamazingarticle.CanyousharewithmethetemplateyouuseforthenotionGTD? Thanks. Reply Isthereanywayofyousharingthetemplateyouuse?Itwouldbewonderful!Thanksverymuch! Reply Hi,Sam!IwouldliketoknowhowyouorganizetheotherGTDhorizons,suchaspurposeandprinciples,vision,andareasoffocus.Untillater! Reply Hi,Bruna.IcombineGTDwithOKRs.Youcanreadaboutmyprocesshere:https://www.samuelthomasdavies.com/notion-okrs/ Reply LeaveaReplyCancelreplyYouremailaddresswillnotbepublished.Requiredfieldsaremarked*CommentName* Email* Website ThissiteusesAkismettoreducespam.Learnhowyourcommentdataisprocessed.