Maximize Productivity with Getting Things Done (GTD) Templates

Build a clear roadmap for organizing and managing tasks with a GTD template.

Everyone wants a head start, exclusive information, and competitive edges. In a world of increasing uniformity, those who stand out succeed. With GTD templates, project managers focus on progress rather than details.

GTD templates offer a plug-and-play solution for time-sensitive projects. They provide a clear roadmap for organizing and managing tasks to ensure successful project completion. The GTD methodology frees up mental space for creativity while keeping projects on track. It's especially effective when combined with agile project management best practices.

Learn more about GTD templates, their benefits, and how to use them effectively in your project planning efforts with the help of Jira and Confluence.

Create a GTD template for free in Confluence.

What is a GTD template?

A GTD template breaks down the fundamental principles of productivity into a structured, easy-to-follow format. It provides a step-by-step roadmap for fast and effective project management, helping you capture and organize all your tasks.

The GTD method focuses on capturing, clarifying, organizing, reflecting, and engaging with tasks to manage them efficiently and reduce mental clutter. A GTD template minimizes the stress of wondering what’s next, allowing team members to focus on the present. It also helps agile teams stay focused and avoid exceeding WIP limits by providing clear next actions.

Here is each GTD principle broken down a bit further:

Capture: Create a task inbox that captures everything related to a function, person, or project, including tasks, projects, ideas, and commitments. This frees up mental space by consolidating everything into one physical or digital space.
Clarify: Categorize ideas based on importance, necessary steps, and required assistance. This step acts as a filter, placing ideas in the proper context without discarding any.
Organize: Begin shaping projects by further triaging captured items, linking tasks, sending them to a queue, or saving them as reference information.
Reflect: Regularly ask, “Is this still relevant?” This could be a weekly or daily review, helping keep tasks in place and reducing pressure on team members. Agile reports can offer valuable insights during this step.
Engage: Once clarified, organized, and reviewed, it’s time to get to work. Teams can tackle tasks individually, ensuring they work on the right tasks at the right time to achieve desired results.

Types of GTD project lists

GTD project lists are essential tools for planning and organizing tasks efficiently. Each list serves a unique purpose, helping you streamline your workflow and keep track of everything from immediate actions to long-term goals.

Next Actions List

The Next Actions List is for tasks you need to tackle immediately. To use it effectively, check if you can complete the task in one step and under two minutes—if so, finish it right away. If the task requires multiple steps, turn it into a Project. Keep tasks on the list that take longer than two minutes, but schedule them for later.

Waiting List

The Waiting List tracks tasks that depend on someone else. Include the responsible person’s name and a due date. Follow up as needed to ensure these tasks are completed on time.

Someday List

The Someday List holds tasks or ideas that have yet to meet immediate deadlines. Use it to store potential future projects or ideas. Regularly review this list to identify anything that may need action or can be moved to another list.

Reference List

The Reference List is your go-to for storing essential information and context. This might include contact details, notes, or useful documents. Use it to link important information to tasks on other lists, ensuring you have all the necessary context.

Calendar List

The Calendar List captures essential dates and scheduled tasks. Assign dates to items from the Next Actions List and Waiting List, and update it regularly to keep your workflow in sync with your schedule.

How to use GTD templates

Managing tasks with GTD doesn’t stop after triage. Many items will transition from the Inbox to the Project List, where regular weekly reviews become essential.

Here’s how to make the most of a GTD template for your weekly reviews:

Clear space: Organize your physical and digital workspace to focus on your project.
Update projects: Write down and arrange any new projects, update requests, or action items not already in the Project Planner.
Check your calendar: Schedule each action item correctly and adjust if needed.
Review the next actions list: Mark completed tasks as done and decide if the remaining items should become new projects or stay on the list.
Add new ideas: Jot down any fresh ideas or innovations you want to explore.
Reflect on success: Note what went well.
Spot improvements: Identify ways to enhance your workflow.

Explore Confluence GTD templates

Action plan template

Achieving goals requires precise planning, and the action plan template serves as a roadmap for success. This template enables teams to outline specific tasks, set deadlines, and assign responsibilities, making project management more organized and efficient. The template ensures alignment across stakeholders and provides a structured framework to track progress by breaking down goals into actionable steps.

The template enhances collaboration, communication, and accountability by offering a simple yet effective way to manage resources and anticipate potential challenges. It’s a vital tool for project managers and teams looking to streamline their planning process, stay on schedule, and ensure successful project delivery.

Use a free action plan template

To-do list template

Balancing daily demands can feel overwhelming, but the to-do list template helps you stay organized and focused. This template allows you to track daily tasks, prioritize weekly goals, and maintain a project-specific backlog, ensuring nothing slips through the cracks. You can manage your workload more effectively and maintain momentum throughout the week by keeping everything in one place.

The template includes sections for today’s tasks, weekly priorities, and upcoming project-related to-dos. Whether handling deadlines or looking ahead to forthcoming responsibilities, this template keeps you grounded and productive. Stay on your tasks, check off completed items, and celebrate your progress.

Use a free to-do list template

Prioritization matrix template

Effective task prioritization is the foundation of productive teamwork. The prioritization matrix template helps teams organize tasks based on their importance and urgency, ensuring everyone is aligned and focused on what matters most. This template simplifies decision-making, allowing teams to break down large to-do lists into manageable, actionable steps that contribute to their goals.

This template helps your team determine what should be done first and what can wait by visually mapping out tasks based on their impact and effort. It provides a clear structure for identifying must-do tasks, nice-to-haves, and items that can be deferred, keeping the entire team on track to meet project objectives.

Use a free prioritization matrix template

Project milestone template

The project milestone template, a roadmap for tracking key dates, deliverables, and critical milestones, makes project management more efficient. By clearly outlining the major checkpoints of a project, this template helps teams focus on essential tasks and stay aligned with the overall timeline.

The template provides a structured approach to organizing project phases, task dependencies, and essential deadlines. It ensures that team members know what needs to be accomplished at each stage, helping avoid delays and stay on track for successful project completion. Use this template to visualize your project’s progress and confidently meet critical milestones.

Use a free project milestone template

Project plan template

Managing a project with multiple teams and stakeholders is no small feat, but the project plan template helps simplify the process. This template provides a clear structure for outlining roles, objectives, and milestones, keeping your project organized and ensuring everyone stays informed and on track.

The template ensures that all team members are aligned and working efficiently by mapping out key project details, defining responsibilities, and setting deadlines. Whether you're managing a straightforward project or a complex initiative, this template keeps stakeholders in the loop and prevents scope creep, making it easier to move the project toward successful completion.

Use a free project plan template

Resource planning template

Effective resource management is critical to keeping projects on time and within budget, and the resource planning template makes it easy. This template provides a structured framework for organizing human, financial, and material resources, ensuring that workloads are balanced and bottlenecks are avoided. Project managers can make informed decisions and adjust allocations as needed by gaining a clear overview of resource availability.

With real-time editing and visual timelines, this template enhances collaboration and integrates seamlessly with tools like Jira, making resource management dynamic and efficient. Use the Resource Planning Template to allocate resources accurately, track progress, and ensure smooth project execution.

Use a free resource planning template

SMART goals template

Setting clear, focused goals is crucial to project success, and the SMART goals template provides a structured framework to help teams craft practical, results-driven objectives. The SMART method—Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-bound—ensures your goals are well-defined and aligned with business benefits and stakeholder needs.

Using this template, teams can create quantifiable, realistic, and deadline-driven goals, helping to improve productivity and collaboration. Whether your goals are ambitious or modest, this template helps ensure they are achievable and contribute to meaningful project outcomes.

Use a free SMART goals template

SWOT analysis template

A SWOT analysis template is an essential tool for businesses looking to prioritize projects, assess market conditions, and stay ahead of competitors. By analyzing your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, this template helps you make informed decisions and focus on strategic planning. Whether you’re evaluating new projects, product lines, or market expansions, the SWOT template streamlines the process, allowing you to organize critical insights and take action quickly.

Confluence’s free SWOT analysis template enhances collaboration by enabling teams to contribute in real-time, ensuring everyone stays aligned and ready to respond to market changes. Use this template to make smarter, data-driven decisions that support long-term business success.

Use a free SWOT analysis template

Enhance productivity with GTD templates in Confluence

With Confluence, project managers gain a unified platform for applying the GTD methodology, offering a structured approach to planning and organizing tasks.

Confluence Databases streamline data storage, linking, and customization, while templates enhance productivity by catering to diverse organizational needs.

Combining Confluence and Jira ensures smooth synchronization and up-to-date project information, effectively bridging planning and execution.