How to Run Project Management in Notion
Practice4 minInnovialabs editorial team
In short
Project management in Notion runs on three linked databases — Projects, Tasks and Sprints — with clear statuses, owners and dates; a timeline and dashboards sit on top, while complex engineering processes are better served by a dedicated tracker.
The short answer
To manage projects in Notion you need three linked databases:
- Projects — larger goals with dates and an owner.
- Tasks — concrete work with an assignee, due date and status.
- Sprints — short periods in which the team commits to tasks.
The databases are connected with relations, and views are built on top: a task board, a project timeline and a dashboard for every member. The Notion Projects template and the built-in sprint setup give you a similar structure out of the box — below is the logic to build it yourself or to check what you have.
The Projects database
| Property | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Title | "Website redesign" |
| Status | Status | Planning, Active, On hold, Done |
| Owner | Person | One person accountable for the outcome |
| Dates | Date (range) | Start and end for the timeline |
| Priority | Select | High, Medium, Low |
| Tasks | Relation | Two-way link to Tasks |
| Progress | Rollup | Percent of tasks in the Complete group |
The Tasks database
| Property | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Title | Verb + result: "Build the lead form" |
| Status | Status | Backlog, To do, In progress, In review, Done |
| Assignee | Person | One owner |
| Due | Date | Deadline |
| Project | Relation | Link to Projects |
| Sprint | Relation | Link to Sprints |
| Estimate | Number or Select | Hours or story points |
| ID | ID | Task number for referencing in chat |
Rule: one assignee per task. If two people work on it, split the task.
The Sprints database
| Property | Type | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Name | Title | "Sprint 12" |
| Dates | Date (range) | Usually one or two weeks |
| Tasks | Relation | Link to Tasks |
| Current | Formula | Flags the active sprint |
| Completed | Rollup | Percent of tasks done |
Formula for the "Current" property:
dateStart(prop("Dates")) <= today() and dateEnd(prop("Dates")) >= today()
Then this formula in Tasks flags tasks in the active sprint, which makes the board easy to filter:
prop("Sprint").filter(current.prop("Current")).length() > 0
Views you need every day
- Sprint board — tasks grouped by status, filtered to the current sprint.
- My tasks — filter
Assignee contains Me, status is not Done, sorted by due date. - Backlog — tasks without a sprint, sorted by priority. Planning pulls work from here.
- Project timeline — the Projects database in a Timeline view using "Dates". The timeline can show dependencies between records.
- Deadline calendar — tasks placed by their due date.
Dashboards
A dashboard is a regular page with linked views (/linked view of database). A version for a manager:
- active projects with progress;
- overdue tasks across all projects;
- tasks waiting for review;
- workload by person — a table of current-sprint tasks grouped by assignee.
For a team member: "My tasks", "Today and overdue", "My projects". If your plan includes chart views, they work well for status and workload.
The working rhythm
- Planning: move tasks from the backlog into a sprint via the Sprint property.
- Daily: everyone updates statuses on the sprint board.
- Review: unfinished tasks roll into the next sprint or go back to the backlog.
- Database automations (on paid plans) take care of routine, such as setting a date when a task moves to Done or notifying the assignee.
Limits versus dedicated trackers
Notion covers a lot, but dedicated trackers like Jira, Linear or YouTrack offer things Notion lacks or only handles through workarounds:
- Enforced workflows: Notion cannot stop someone from moving a task straight from Backlog to Done.
- Agile reporting: burndown, velocity and cycle time must be built by hand or in external tools.
- Code integration: branches, commits and pull requests are less tightly connected.
- Scale: very large task databases make the interface slower.
- Per-task permissions are limited compared with enterprise trackers.
Notion works well for small teams, agencies, marketing and operations. With many developers and a strict process, use a tracker for tasks and Notion for documentation.