Your Second Brain for Focus & Productivity

PARA stands for Projects, Areas, Resources, and Archives. Tiago Forte developed it as a universal system for organizing digital information across any tool. It works in Notion because Notion's databases, linked views, and flexible structure map perfectly to the four PARA categories. People choose PARA over other systems because it focuses on actionability, not filing. Instead of organizing information by topic or type, you organize by how soon you need to act on it. This keeps your workspace lean, your priorities clear, and your to-do list short.

You need four core databases: one for Projects (active goals with deadlines), one for Areas (ongoing responsibilities like health or finances), one for Resources (reference material), and one for Archives (completed or inactive items). Each database needs at minimum a title, status, and date property. Link your tasks database to your Projects database so tasks connect to goals. Then build a dashboard page that shows all four sections at once. That's the complete foundation. If you want to skip setup entirely, duplicate the Personal Productivity System PARA template and start using it in 60 seconds.

Tasks belong in a separate Tasks database, linked to your Projects via a relation property. Notes belong in your Resources or Archives section depending on whether they're still useful. The key is a quick-capture inbox: one place where tasks and notes land before being sorted into PARA categories. Review this inbox daily during a 5-minute triage. Anything with a deadline goes to Projects. Anything reference-only goes to Resources. Anything done goes to Archive. The Personal Productivity System PARA template includes this capture system pre-built, so you skip the setup entirely.

Use a Relation property in your Tasks database that points to your Projects database. Then add a Rollup property in Projects to count or display related tasks. For Areas, create a second relation in Tasks pointing to your Areas database. This gives every task a clear home: it either belongs to an active Project (has a deadline) or to an Area (ongoing maintenance). When you open any Project page, all related tasks appear automatically. No manual cross-referencing needed.

The best starting point is the Notion Marketplace, which lists hundreds of PARA templates sorted by duplicates. For an ADHD-optimized version with mobile support, the Personal Productivity System PARA | ADHD template on this page is free and requires no Notion experience. You also find PARA templates on Gumroad, Etsy, and creator websites like fayedtion.com. When choosing, prioritize templates that include a mobile dashboard and a quick-capture inbox. Those two features make the biggest difference for daily use.

Notion addresses ADHD challenges in four direct ways. First, it reduces working memory load by externalizing everything: tasks, deadlines, ideas, and goals live in the system, not in your head. Second, custom views let you see only what matters right now, cutting visual overload. Third, relation properties connect daily tasks to bigger goals, which helps with motivation and context-switching. Fourth, recurring templates and pre-built structures remove decision fatigue from setup. The key is using a template designed for ADHD from the start, not adapting a generic productivity system after the fact.

Ask three questions before choosing. First: does it work on mobile? ADHD minds capture ideas everywhere. A desktop-only template fails by 9 AM. Second: how long does setup take? If it needs more than 30 minutes to configure, most ADHD users abandon it before day two. Third: does it minimize visual clutter? Dense, complex interfaces increase cognitive load. Look for clean layouts, quick-capture buttons, and pre-built views that show today's priorities at a glance. The Personal Productivity System PARA template meets all three criteria and is specifically built for neurodivergent workflows.

Start with three properties in your Tasks database: Name, Priority (select: High, Medium, Low), and Due Date. Add a Status property with three options: To Do, In Progress, Done. Then create two views: a Today view filtered to tasks due today or marked High Priority, and a Someday view for tasks with no due date. Keep the Today view as your default. Open Notion, see only what needs to happen today, do those things, close Notion. That's the full system. Add complexity only when the basic version fails you, not before.

Five features stand out. Database views let you filter and sort the same data in multiple ways, so you see only what's relevant right now. Relation properties connect tasks to projects without duplicating information. Templates (inside databases) pre-fill recurring task types, removing setup friction. Quick-capture buttons on a mobile dashboard let you log a task before the thought disappears. And linked databases let you show the same data on different pages, so your daily dashboard always reflects your real project list. Together, these features turn Notion from a note-taking app into a functional neurodivergent task manager.

Three places worth checking. The Notion Marketplace has a growing collection of ADHD-tagged templates, though quality varies. Gumroad has independent creators building ADHD-specific systems, often with more personal explanations of how to use them. And dedicated template websites like fayedtion.com offer templates designed by creators who work with neurodivergent users directly. For this specific template, the Personal Productivity System PARA | ADHD is free, mobile-optimized, and ready to use in under a minute. It is the fastest way to get a working ADHD productivity system in Notion without starting from scratch.