GTD in Notion: Next Actions and Waiting On for Your Second Brain
How to use Getting Things Done in Notion: capture, clarify, choose next actions, track waiting items and review, inside a connected second brain.
Jithin Rajiv2 min read
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GTD, short for Getting Things Done, is a task-management method created by David Allen. Its core idea is to get commitments out of your head, decide what each one means, and keep a trusted list of concrete next actions. This guide is an independent explanation and is not affiliated with or endorsed by him.
GTD pairs naturally with a Notion second brain. PARA organizes your information, and GTD helps you decide what to do next.
The GTD flow in plain language
- Capture everything that has your attention.
- Clarify what each item is and whether it needs action.
- Organize actions into the right lists.
- Reflect by reviewing regularly.
- Engage by choosing what to work on.
Setting up GTD in Notion
You need a single Tasks database with a few useful properties.
Statuses
- To Do: captured and clarified, not yet chosen
- Next: a concrete action you can do when time allows
- Doing: in progress
- Waiting: blocked on someone else
- Done: finished
Properties worth adding
- Project or Area, so tasks connect to outcomes
- A planned date (when you intend to work) separate from a deadline
- Waiting for (who or what you are waiting on) and a follow-up date
- Energy and effort, to help match tasks to your day
Views to build
- Next Actions: tasks marked Next
- Waiting On: tasks marked Waiting, with follow-up dates
- Today: tasks planned or due today
- Someday: items you are not committing to yet
Keep dates meaningful
A common problem is using one date field for everything. Separate them:
- Do Date: when you plan to work
- Due: a real deadline
- Snooze until: when the task becomes available
- Follow up: when to check on delegated work
Do a weekly review
GTD depends on a regular review. Each week, check your projects for a clear next action, clear your Inbox, review Waiting items and decide next week's focus.
GTD in Second Brain OS
Second Brain OS includes an optional GTD Dashboard for clarifying commitments, reviewing next actions and waiting items, and choosing work. Tasks use the statuses To Do, Next, Doing, Waiting and Done, and there are dedicated screens for Today, Upcoming, Next Actions, Waiting On, a Logbook and Someday and Recurring. These are views of one task database, not separate systems.
It also includes maintenance views to review unclarified tasks, overdue deadlines, tasks in paused projects and leftover My Day selections.
A few limits to know: Inbox processing is manual, Repeat is a frequency label and does not generate future tasks, and daily views only show tasks that are available, so archived, completed, someday, snoozed or project-blocked tasks may be excluded.
30% off
Notion Planner Templates$20.30Using GTD with PARA
Use PARA to decide where information lives, and GTD to decide what to do next. Link each next action to its project, and your tasks and notes stay connected.
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Jithin Rajiv
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