Free tools Free Obsidian Templates & Tools
Free Getting Things Done Obsidian Template
A full GTD system in Obsidian. Nothing to install.
Capture, clarify, organize, review, engage. Every list GTD asks for is built from core Obsidian alone: ordinary checkboxes, one tag and built-in search. No Tasks, Dataview or Kanban plugin. A companion My Day template embeds a customizable daily dashboard in your notes: goals, a focus timer, habits and widgets.
Open the kit in a fresh vault with community plugins off, and it works.
Three parts, one system
The GTD system for Obsidian
A starter set of notes. Write tasks anywhere as ordinary checkboxes, add one #td tag, and each lands in the right GTD list. The task stays in its original note. Nothing is copied.
The GTD Board
A page you open in Chrome or Edge. Drag a task between Inbox, Next Actions, Waiting For, Calendar and Someday/Maybe, and it updates the tag in your note.
The My Day template
An Obsidian note template that embeds a customizable dashboard in your notes. Set your own goals and see minutes left, run a Pomodoro timer, track mood, sleep and habits, and add widgets. The dashboard is an HTML file included in the download.
Download, unzip, start.
You get one ZIP file. The GTD kit and the board run on your own computer, with no account or login. The My Day embed loads from a web address, so it needs an internet connection.
Download and unzip
One ZIP with three folders: the Obsidian GTD kit, the GTD Board and My Day. A READ ME FIRST file tells you what each is for.
Copy the notes into Obsidian
Put the kit’s notes in your vault and open START HERE. It walks you through setup in about five minutes. No plugin to install.
Embed My Day (optional)
Copy the My Day template note into your vault. The embed code is already filled in, so the dashboard shows inside Obsidian in Reading view. You can also open the included My-Day.html in your browser.
Open the GTD Board (optional)
Double-click GTD-Board.html in Chrome or Edge, choose your vault folder and allow editing. Then drag your tasks between lists.
Where your information lives
Your tasks stay as ordinary checkboxes in your own notes. The My Day dashboard keeps its entries on your own device, and an embedded copy keeps them separately from a copy opened in a browser. Nothing is uploaded to anyone.
How the embed works
Obsidian can’t run a local HTML file inside a note, so the My Day template shows the dashboard from a web address. The embed code is already filled in. The template note also has a link for opening the included file from your computer.
Less to install, less to break
Nothing to install
Copy the notes into your vault and open them. No plugin browser, no settings to match, no setup that differs between your devices.
Nothing to break
Plugins depend on Obsidian’s internals and their authors’ free time. The kit uses features Obsidian ships itself, so a plugin going stale or a plugin update changing behaviour can’t take your system down.
Nothing extra to trust
Community plugins run code with access to your vault. This kit has none: it is plain Markdown files you can read in full.
Nothing locks you in
Your tasks are plain - [ ] checkboxes with a tag. If you leave, they are still readable text in your notes.
Works where plugins don’t
Some workplaces and managed devices keep community plugins off. This system doesn’t need them.
Nothing extra to buy
No plugin subscriptions or add-ons. Download it once and the whole system is yours.
GTD, step by step
Write a task the way you already do. Clarify it with the guide, add one tag, and it appears in the right list. Check it off and it moves to the Done page.
| You write | GTD list |
|---|---|
- [ ] Call the bank | Inbox: captured, not yet clarified |
- [ ] Call the bank #td/next/phone | Next Actions, under @phone |
- [ ] Quote from Sam #td/waiting | Waiting For |
- [ ] Dentist #td/05122027 #td/1430 | Calendar: May 12, at 14:30 |
- [ ] Learn pottery #td/someday | Someday/Maybe |
A note tagged td/project | Projects |
- [x] Call the bank | Done Tasks, and gone from every other list |
Contexts included: anywhere, computer, phone, home, work, errands and agenda. Dashboards are standard Obsidian search query blocks, so you can edit them, for example to hide a folder or add a context.
What’s in the Obsidian kit
- START HERE note: setup, tag reference and a 2-minute test
- GTD Dashboard: Inbox, Next Actions by context, Waiting For, Calendar, Projects and Someday/Maybe
- Capture and Clarify Guide: the decision flow and tag cheat sheet
- Project, Daily and Weekly Review templates, the review in the three GTD phases
- Calendar pages from November 2026 to December 2027, laid out as an agenda for each day
- Done Tasks page that collects everything you finish
Tasks stay where you wrote them
Meeting notes, project notes, daily notes: write a checkbox wherever you are. The dashboards only display it, so you never keep two copies in sync.
Drag and drop your whole system
Core Obsidian can’t drag a task from one list to another. The GTD Board can. It is a single page that opens in Chrome or Edge, with no plugin and no install. Pick your vault folder once.
Drop to re-file
Dropping a card changes the tag on that task’s line in its own note. Nothing is copied or duplicated.
Stalled projects flagged
Every project note shows how many next actions it has, and a red “No next action” warning if it has none.
Safe edits
It checks the line hasn’t changed before it writes, and every move can be undone.
Stays on your computer
The page runs locally. Your notes are not uploaded anywhere.
A day page that fits how you work
Embed it in a note and see what’s left today. Everything is saved on your own device.
Goals with time left
Name your own goals, set minutes per day and which days they apply. Type what you did, or tap +10. See what’s left and a 7-day chart.
Focus timer
Pomodoro with your own focus, break and long-break lengths. Finished sessions add minutes to a goal for you.
Mood, sleep, habits
Daily mood with a note, bed and wake times with sleep quality, and a habit list with streaks.
Weather your way
One-click links to the forecast sites you prefer, plus a tab for a weather page of your own choice.
20 widgets, arranged your way
Add, remove and drag widgets to build your own page. Resize them across the grid.
Planning
Goals, to-do list, top 3 priorities, notes, quick links, mini calendar
Tracking
Focus timer, mood, sleep, habits, counters such as water, gratitude
At a glance
Clock, countdown, day progress, daily quote, breathing, weather links
Your own
Embed any web page that allows embedding
Your colors, your theme
Ten built-in themes. Or pick your own colors and font and save them as a named theme.
Ocean
Forest
Sunset
LavenderStraight answers about the limits
Core Obsidian can’t do everything a plugin can. Here is what that means in practice.
- No sorting inside a list. Search queries can’t sort by tag. Dates read in order on the calendar pages, and your daily note has one section per hour, so timed items still read in order. Next Actions are grouped by note.
- Inside Obsidian alone, stalled projects aren’t flagged. The weekly review has you check each one. The GTD Board flags them for you.
- The GTD Board needs Chrome or Edge on a computer to move cards. In other browsers and on phones it opens read-only. Avoid typing in a note at the same moment you drop a task from it.
- The calendar is an agenda, not a drag-and-drop grid, and lists are stacked sections, not columns.
- No automatic rollover. That fits GTD: the calendar holds only what must happen that day, and you choose the rest from your context lists.
- The My Day embed needs an internet connection. Obsidian doesn’t run local HTML files, so the dashboard loads from a web address. The included copy opens in your browser without one. Embedded and browser copies keep separate data, so use Back up / Restore to move between them.
- My Day data stays on one device. Clearing site data erases it. A copy-and-paste backup is built in. Weather links open in your browser and need an internet connection.
Questions
Does the GTD Board need a plugin?
No. It is a web page file you open in Chrome or Edge. It runs on your computer and never uploads your notes.
Do I need any plugins?
No community plugins. The system uses only features that ship with Obsidian: search query blocks, and the built-in Daily notes and Templates core plugins.
Is it real GTD?
It follows the five steps (capture, clarify, organize, reflect, engage) and the standard lists: Inbox, Next Actions by context, Waiting For, Calendar, Projects and Someday/Maybe, with a weekly review. It is an independent implementation, not an official product of the David Allen Company.
I already use the Tasks or Dataview plugin. Can I switch?
Your tasks are ordinary checkboxes, so they stay as they are. You add the kit’s tags to them. Tasks-plugin dates and recurrence syntax are not read by the kit.
Does it work on mobile?
The query blocks are core Obsidian and run in the mobile app./p>
Will it change my existing notes?
No. You copy the kit’s notes into your vault. Your own notes are only touched when you tag tasks in them.
Can I change the lists?
Yes. Each list is a short text query you can edit. The Capture Guide shows how to hide folders or notes, and how to include only notes with a tag.
Where does My Day keep my data?
On your own device, in the browser storage of whichever copy you use. Nothing is sent to a server. Use Back up / Restore to copy your data as text.
Is it affiliated with Obsidian?
No. It is an independent product made for use with Obsidian.
Support
Get your system running in an afternoon, with no plugins to set up
One download · Obsidian GTD kit + GTD Board + My Day template and dashboard
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