Not sure how it works? Here’s a quick start guide to help you get going.
Tasks Template in Notion Explained
The task template in Notion is essentially a to-do list organized by project. Projects appear as groups within the database, and the lines, or pages, you see within a group are tasks.
Between the tasks and projects pages, this is where you’ll be doing the bulk of the work. As you add new groups and tasks, they’ll show up on your projects page, along with any changes you make to the current data and properties.
The default properties on your task page are Task name, Status, Assign, Due, and Project. Here’s a quick rundown of what each one does:
Task name
Task name helps you quickly identify tasks, so you’ll want to be a bit descriptive and make them unique. You can also click on a task name to view or add relevant information. If you don’t want it to open in split screen, you can change your page’s peek mode in the layout settings of your database beside Open pages in. You can find this by clicking the three dots in the top-right corner of the database.
Status
Status gives a quick progress overview. There are multiple status options, categorized by To-do, In Progress, and Complete. Complete tasks such as Done and Archive will fill the progress bar on your projects page.
Assign and Due
Assign shows who owns the task. Due communicates deadlines and allows you to set reminders. These are definite keepers if collaborating with others, delegating tasks, or creating an open task board.
Project
Project is a relation property that links the task to its respective project. A task can only link to one project. If you find seeing this column irrelevant since you’ve grouped your projects, click its title and select Hide in view to tuck it away. Deleting it will break the communication between pages.
Notion’s Task Template Views
At the top of your tasks database, below its title, you’ll see the views By project, Mine, and People. By default, you’re in the project view, in which you organize your tasks by project.
The Mine view creates a to-do list of all your tasks, organizing them into a checklist. The only property that seemingly doesn’t reflect here is Status, but if you look above your checkbox column, you’ll notice it shares the same symbol as the status column in the other view. And when you check something off here, it marks it as done everywhere else.
The People view gives you a quick overview of the tasks you and your teammates are working on. This is an excellent tool for checking in with each other and making sure someone’s workload isn’t too hefty.
Another way you can sort tasks is by using filters. You can find these under your view options at the top of your database and use them to sort by property. For example, viewing everything with a Not Started status or only tasks assigned to specific people.
Projects Template in Notion Explained
The projects template is where you’ll find a quick overview of all your projects. It uses a more visual board layout where you can drag and drop items between statuses.
At first glance, you can see some of the specs and progress of your active projects thanks to their properties. If you fill these out, they’ll display on the board.
If you don’t see a property you need, click on the board to open its page, and you’ll find its properties below the title. Here you can change its status, add people to the project, view the progress bar, and add or edit the timeline.
On the project page, you’ll also see its group of tasks, where you can add other information and data relevant to the project.
How to Customize the Tasks and Projects Template
Of course, you’d want to customize the template and make it your own. Here’s how you can do that.
Adding Properties in the Task Page
To add properties to your task page, click the add symbol in the top-right of the group. Doing so will pull up a list for you to choose from, and from there, you click the one you’d like to add. Once it’s in your database, click its title to give it the name you want.
Changing Statuses on the Task Page
To edit or add more options to your status column, click on task status to pull up the menu and select Edit property at the bottom. In the Edit property menu, you’ll see three categories of statuses—To do, In Progress, and Complete. You can either click the current options to edit the name and color or select the add symbol beside the category title to add something new.
Adding Properties on the Project Page
The quickest way to add properties to your project page is by clicking on one of the boards. At the top of its page, you’ll see the option # more properties. Click that, and the option Add a property will appear. Once you add a property to a project, you’ll see it in all your other projects as well.
Changing Statuses on the Project Page
Technically, the property column is hiding on your project page, so it could be unclear how to edit these. But once you know where to look, it’s a cinch.
Click the three dots in the top-right of your database, select Properties, and choose Status. You’ll now be in the Edit property menu, where you can click current options to edit them and click the add symbol to create new ones.
Get Your Tasks and Projects Organized With Notion
While it may seem complex at first, when you break down Notion’s Projects & tasks template into smaller parts and work with it, you’ll know exactly what you’re doing in no time. The best place to start is getting the hang of the template as is and adding extras later.
