GTD vs PARA

GTD vs PARA runs tasks in one system and notes in another - cousins, not rivals.

Key Concept

• Tasks and knowledge need different homes.
• Level 1: To-do lists belong in one place and learning notes in another - like groceries on the fridge list and recipes in a folder.
• Level 2: Tasks and knowledge need different homes - like mixing dirty dishes into your filing cabinet, one bucket turns both systems into junk.
• Level 3: GTD processes commitments; PARA organizes reference - when they share one bucket, neither system can run clean.
• Level 4: Keep actionable tasks in a trusted capture system and durable knowledge in PARA buckets - never the same inbox.
• Level 5: Getting Things Done owns next actions; PARA Method owns projects and resources - crossing the streams breeds rot.
• Getting Things Done runs what has a next action and a deadline; PARA Method sorts what I would cite with no finish line.
• Cousins, not competitors - same capture habit, two lanes.
• The failure mode is doubling admin: one inbox emptied weekly, tasks in the task app, notes in the garden.

Examples

• I tried running playbook principles through the task app and lost half of them in completed lists - tasks need GTD, principles need PARA.
• The fridge list holds what we buy this week; the filing cabinet holds school forms with no deadline.

Note Relationships