Productivity methods

AuroraDocs doesn't enforce a workflow. It gives you objects, Sets, links, and properties — and you decide how to use them. This page shows how popular productivity methods map onto those primitives, so you can adopt the parts that work for you.

Getting Things Done (GTD)

David Allen's Getting Things Done is built around five steps: Capture → Clarify → Organise → Reflect → Engage.

Capture

Use Quick capture (Cmd/Ctrl+J) and your daily note as inboxes. Capture everything immediately, without deciding where it goes yet. See Inbox & capture.

Clarify

Open your Inbox Set and process each item:

• Is it actionable? → Convert to a Task, assign a next action.
• Does it need more than one step? → It's a Project — create a Page for it.
• Is it reference material? → File it with the right type and tags.
• Someday / maybe? → Tag someday and move on.
• Trash? → Delete it.

Organise

GTD list	In AuroraDocs
Inbox	A Set: all objects, sorted by Created, newest first
Next actions	A Set: type = Task AND status = Next action
Projects	A Set: type = Project AND status = Active
Waiting for	A Set: type = Task AND status = Waiting
Someday / maybe	A Set: tag = someday
Reference	All other pages, filed by type
Calendar	The built-in Calendar view, for tasks with due dates

Each "list" is a saved Set in your sidebar. Objects move between lists by changing their status or tags — the Sets update automatically.

Reflect

Use the built-in Weekly review template (Settings → Templates) to do your weekly sweep: empty the inbox, review projects, and plan next actions.

Engage

Your Next actions Set filtered by context (work, home, errands) gives you exactly what to do next — nothing more.

GTD starter setup

1. Create a Set called Inbox — unprocessed captures, sorted newest first.
2. Create a Task status called Next action (in addition to the defaults).
3. Create a Task status called Waiting.
4. Create a tag = someday for deferred items.
5. Pin all four Sets to the sidebar.

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PARA

Tiago Forte's PARA method organises all information into four categories: Projects, Areas, Resources, Archives.

PARA category	Definition	In AuroraDocs
Projects	Things with a deadline and end state	Custom type Project, or tag project
Areas	Ongoing responsibilities with no end date	Custom type Area, or top-level pages
Resources	Reference material on topics of interest	Pages, databases, bookmarks by topic
Archives	Completed or inactive items	A tag archived or a dedicated Set

Setting up PARA

1. Create four custom object types: Project, Area, Resource (optional — Pages work fine), and tag archived for archiving.
2. Create four Sets in the sidebar:
   • Projects — type = Project AND status ≠ Completed
   • Areas — type = Area
   • Resources — your reference databases and bookmark collections
   • Archives — tag = archived
3. Use your Inbox (see above) as the staging area before filing into PARA.

Projects vs Areas

The PARA distinction is important and easy to lose track of. A Project has a clear finish line ("Launch the new website"). An Area is an ongoing standard you maintain ("Health", "Finances", "Team management").

In AuroraDocs, add a Checkbox property Has end date to your Projects type to enforce this distinction.

Moving to Archives

When a project completes, open it and tag it archived. It disappears from your active Projects Set and appears in Archives. Nothing is deleted — it's all still searchable and linkable.

PARA + GTD

PARA organises where things live. GTD organises what to do next. They complement each other well — PARA gives you the filing structure, GTD gives you the action management.

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Zettelkasten

The Zettelkasten method (German: "slip-box") is a note-taking system based on atomic notes, unique identifiers, and dense bi-directional linking. It was developed by sociologist Niklas Luhmann, who used it to write over 70 books and 400 articles.

AuroraDocs is deeply compatible with Zettelkasten. The method maps almost perfectly to the built-in primitives.

The three note types

Zettelkasten note type	In AuroraDocs
Fleeting notes	Quick captures, daily notes — raw, unprocessed thoughts
Literature notes	A Page summarising a book, article, or talk (link to the source as a Bookmark)
Permanent notes	Atomic Pages — one idea per page, written in your own words

The core practice

1. Capture fleeting notes as they occur — quick capture or daily note.
2. Process them into literature notes (if from a source) or permanent notes (if your own insight).
3. Link every permanent note to at least two related notes using @ links.
4. Let structure emerge — don't pre-organise into folders. Structure comes from the links.

How AuroraDocs supports Zettelkasten

Zettelkasten requirement	AuroraDocs feature
Unique, permanent IDs	Every block and object has a permanent unique ID
Bi-directional links	Built-in backlinks, shown at the bottom of every page
Unlinked mentions	Surfaces notes that mention the current topic without linking
Link to specific passages	Block references — ((blockId)) links to a specific paragraph
Visual overview of connections	Graph view — see your entire slip-box as a force-directed graph
Folgezettel (sequence notes)	Number your notes in the title (1a, 1a1, etc.) and link them in sequence
Tags for loose grouping	Multi-select Tag property on pages

A Zettelkasten workflow in AuroraDocs

Step 1 — Capture fleeting thoughts

Press Cmd/Ctrl+J throughout the day. Don't worry about format. These are scratch notes.

Step 2 — Process into permanent notes

Each evening or during your weekly review, open your Inbox Set. For each fleeting note that contains a real insight:

1. Create a new Page — one atomic idea only.
2. Write it in your own words (not a copy-paste from the source).
3. Give it a descriptive title, not a generic one. Not "Note about evolution" but "Natural selection operates on variation in reproductive success, not on individual organisms".
4. Link it to at least two existing notes using @.

Step 3 — Follow the links

When writing a new note, search your existing notes and ask: "What does this connect to?" Add @ links. The graph view shows you which notes are central (many connections) and which are isolated.

Step 4 — Let structure emerge

After a few hundred notes, you'll notice clusters forming in the graph. These clusters are your real areas of interest. Create a Structure note — a page that links to and narrates the most important notes in a cluster. This is your Zettelkasten's table of contents, built bottom-up from the links.

Is AuroraDocs better than Obsidian for Zettelkasten?

Obsidian is excellent for Zettelkasten. The main differences with AuroraDocs are:

• AuroraDocs has block-level references (link to a specific paragraph, not just a page)
• AuroraDocs stores data in a database, not plain files — better for structured properties and relations
• AuroraDocs has real-time collaboration — useful if you maintain a shared knowledge base
• Obsidian uses plain Markdown files on disk — better if you need raw file access or want to use other tools on the same notes

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Other methods

AuroraDocs is flexible enough to support most personal knowledge management approaches:

Method	Core idea	How to use it
Johnny.Decimal	Numbered hierarchy for reference files	Number your custom types or page titles; use Sets to navigate by prefix
Second Brain (Tiago Forte)	Externalise thinking into a trusted system	AuroraDocs is a second brain. Combine PARA + progressive summarisation (bold → highlight → summarise)
Bullet Journal	Rapid logging, migration, reflection	Use daily notes for rapid logging; migrate tasks weekly to the active Tasks Set
MOC (Maps of Content)	Index pages that link out to clusters of notes	Create dedicated Page objects that serve as curated entry points into a topic
Commonplace book	Collect quotes, passages, and ideas from reading	Use Bookmark objects for sources and Pages for extracted quotes, linked back to the book

The common thread: AuroraDocs provides atomic objects, flexible links, structured properties, and filtered Sets. Most productivity methods are specific patterns layered on top of exactly those primitives.