7 Best Note-Taking for GTD in 2025
24 Jan 2025
Getting Things Done is a timeless system that many user for their note-taking process. We've collected together the best of the breed for notes apps, that allow you use GTD within.
GTD, or getting things done, is a popular productivity technique developed by productivity guru David Allen. It helps you better organize tasks, notes, and calendar events.
Many productivity lovers regard the system as timeless. Many use it within their note-taking systems to capture, organize, and process notes. Explore more task management apps for GTD and apps for iPhone that suit GTD.
What is a GTD note-taking app?
GTD note-taking apps are perfect for capturing and organizing information that comes into your system using the GTD (Getting Things Done) concept.
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Download Free PDF1. Evernote
Why is Evernote good for GTD note-taking?
Evernote is one of the most popular note-taking apps for GTD users.
One of the leading web clippers allows you to capture your notes, the organization notebook system helps you place them in the correct location, and finally, search allows you to use them later. Evernote also has tasks and a calendar to make more sense of notes. Evernote also has a new AI cleanup, allowing you to clarify your notes better.
If you are trying to get away from Evernote, seek these Evernote alternatives.
Mem
Why is Mem good for GTD note-taking?
Mem wants to be the place to capture for entrepreneurs.
Capture is great with Mem's clipper, which allows you to clip web pages, "mems," and even snippets to add to the end of existing notes.
Mem doesn't have an organization system, as it auto-tags notes, making it an anti-GTD tool in some ways but a good auto-organizer. Mem also has an AI tool that allows you to resurface notes for later in their Mem X (premium).
Notion
Why is Notion good for GTD note-taking?
Notion has a good capture source and newer database abilities to make sure you organize, tag, and place in the correct location. Many GTD users headed to Notion after Evernote became a little slower. But the power of Notion for GTD is enough to get people eager to learn it and adapt it to make their system better and smarter.
Obsidian
Why is Obsidian good for GTD note-taking?
Obsidian is a bit more advanced as a GTD tool, with linking notes, graphs, and connected tags; Obsidian is one place that will be good for resurfacing notes for later, thanks to graph view and the nature of bi-directional linking.
As you can see, each app offers a better experience for GTD areas, but all follow a system well if you set things up using the guidelines presented in David Allen's book.
Capacities
Why is Capacities good for GTD note-taking?
Capacities is a unique way to take notes that GTD lovers will enjoy. It balances the powers of PKM with the object-based note-taking concept, which allows you to organize your notes using objects like people, meetings, or even books—whatever suits you.
This concept helps to reduce the need to organzie and see relationshuips between notes using ht egraph view that matters when getting things done.
OneNote
Why is OneNote good for GTD note-taking?
Organized and structured, OneNote is popular for GTD goers, especially those students and educators who want something organized and ready to implement into their systems for at-use work. It is also popular due to its open use in education, workplaces, and schools, making plans billable to companies, not you.
Reflect Notes
Why is Reflect Notes good for GTD note-taking?
Reflect is popular with GTD because it balances PKM and traditional note apps.
This allows you to get the feel of connecting notes using backlinks, but it is approachable, enabling you to manage your notes better. Reflect also features tags, tasks, meeting note features, and AI abilities that make It notable for resurfacing notes.
How to Use GTD in Notes?
Getting Things Done is based on five core stages.
The stages are capture, clarify, organize, reflect, and engage. They are similar to the system developed by Tiago Forte called Second Brain. Each stage helps best to position your notes, tasks, and events so that you do not remember them in your brain but capture them in a system outside of your brain.
- Capture - Bring them into your system, in this case a notes app.
- Clarity - Be clear with them. What are they? What value to they have?
- Organize - Find a location for them to live. Please place them in that location.
- Reflect - Resurface notes and find value in it, this could be for a weekly review.
- Engage - Make sense of your note and action it.
One of the guiding principles, don't use your brain for remembering - but for thinking only.
Well illustrated above by L Dawson, the concept is perfect for bringing things together.
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