Co-founder and Marketing Head
One Notion second brain template has a sales page that leads with the quote: “The brain is for having ideas, not holding them.” I can't argue.
That quote highlights the wisdom of having an external, tangible system to manage our major life areas, thoughts, plans, projects, goals, and tasks and free up our mental storage for more creativity and focus.
That's what Notion's second brain templates are all about—being the medium for laying out your life processes and staying in control.
In this article, I've laid out more than a dozen second brain templates that you can choose from. Each is based on productivity systems that give you a holistic approach to personal life management.
Here they come. Explore and enjoy.
“Beacon amidst the chaos” and “organized sanctuary for every detail of your life” are some of the slogans that advertise the supreme second brain template.
And really, if you want a process to follow to manage every detail of your life, this template has got some pretty cool tricks. Particularly noteworthy is that the template is built on the PARA protocol, which codes for projects, areas, resources, and archives.
First, the supreme second brain comes with its own fully functional clock widget.
The template's interface is then divided into sections that should hopefully correspond with the different parts of your life, such as projects, resources, life areas (such as health and fitness, side hustles, and more), notes, etc.
Creator: Efficiora
Features:
Price: Free
The simple second brain also relies on the PARA (projects, areas, resources, archives) to give you an organized view of the different segments of your life.
Using the PARA structure, you can effectively log your tasks, take notes, keep your go-to tools and references, and balance your work and personal life.
A major template highlight is that the core life domains are immediately visible because they are arranged near the page.
Creator: Ance Bumbule
Features:
Price: Free
Another productivity tool based on the PARA method, this template seeks to cover all areas of your life beyond just the core areas of the PARA acronym.
That means with the Second Brain (Para Method) template, you get a system for recording details such as your shopping, reading habits, to-do tasks, and more.
The template has two versions: the basic, free version and the paid, more comprehensive sibling. The latter version, among other features, has a journaling section and a contacts database.
Creator: Heyismail
Features:
Price: $0 (free version) and $29 for paid version
The second brain 1.0 tries to leave no stone area of life unturned. It's one of the most comprehensive Second Brain templates you will find in this list.
Talk about daily inbox, daily tasks system, monthly finance, review section, life areas, and more. This template aspires to have them all and then some more.
New in this template is a progress section with progress trackers for every task. There's even a chart that displays the highs and lows of your progress through your tasks and commitments.
Then, there is a dark mode for sensitive eyes as well.
Creator: OlsNotion
Features:
Price: Free
No two-second brain Notion templates are exactly alike, and each one brings a unique style to the table.
The Optimum OS Second Brain template is one such template that covers all the basics, such as the PARA architecture and goes the extra mile.
One thing I especially like about this template is how it's optimized to let you capture quick notes, such as your thoughts, ideas, and knowledge, before they dissipate from your memory.
Creator: Thesauros
Features:
Price: Free
The second brain, LifeOS, is a life management template that comprehensively tracks key areas of your life. The goal is to use all that data to measure your alignment with your life goals and adjust your course accordingly.
The template is a little unlike the ones I've talked about. It's based on August Bradley's PPV (Pillars, Pipelines, Vault) standard, which, in simple terms, means your major life aspects and the actionable steps you take to reach your goals in those areas.
I must say, this template is chock-full of features. It's not exactly the most beginner-friendly life management template, but it comes with helpful tutorial videos.
According to the creator, the second brain LifeOS is a system for people who lack discipline and control over their lives and want something to clarify and focus on what brings them the most fulfilment.
Creator: Jack Smith
Features:
Price: Free
The second Brain OS template features a minimalist interface with partitions for sections that correspond to the PARA format.
That means the core of the template is made up of projects, areas, resources, and archives.
Other template sections allow you to take notes, make journals, and bookmark videos, articles, and other helpful material for future use.
Creator: Thesauros
Features:
Price: Free
The main idea behind the Digital Brain template is to have a hub for all your tasks, projects, resources, and everything in between without having to use many apps to manage different aspects of life.
There are also quick shortcuts for capturing anything of interest before the moment vanishes. The template also features project and task management features to help you plan your day effectively.
The whole template also adheres to the PARA methodology, so you can monitor major segments of your life without delving deep into it.
Creator: The Minimal Startup
Features:
Price: $0 (free, standard version) and $27 (pro version)
The ultimate second brain Notion template aims to be where you offload your thoughts, tasks, goals, aspirations, plans—all your thinking.
The landing page of the template leads with the headline, “Your brain is for having ideas, not for holding them.”
The ultimate second brain template is reasonably comprehensive, but it doesn't bombard you with everything at once. It comprises dozens of pages compressed into about seven sections listed on a single page.
Creator: Ultimate Second Brain Notion Template
Features:
Price: Free
If you are a fan of the PARA productivity system, then this template is for you.
The second brain PARA template is optimized for quick note-taking, resource, project, and task management, and sorting through tasks and old notes.
It also contains an inbox for you to drop messages, such as a reminder to pick up a book from where you left off.
Creator: Dylan the Notion Tie Guy
Features:
Price: Free
The second Brain Essentials template boasts arguably the simplest layout of any second brain template.
This one-page template doesn't pack the bells and whistles of more comprehensive and sophisticated templates, but it wasn't made for that.
The template is only concerned with helping you track the details of your everyday activities, such as your meals, finances, habits, tasks, and notes.
Creator: Rollup
Features:
Price: Free
This template doesn't aspire to be the ultimate organizer of all life aspects, but it is good at what it does.
The second brain template for mindful reflection is for you if you fancy mindfulness and reflecting on your day but need a way to keep track of all that you want to be aware of or be grateful for.
Accordingly, the template is divided into sections corresponding to a gratitude list, your mood zone, collection, habit tracker, goals tracker, task management, and collection.
Creator: Jay
Features:
Price: Free
The Second Brain-made simple template is not just a productivity tool but a comprehensive system designed to help you overcome procrastination and get started on your tasks, goals, and projects. It's more than just a study tracker-it's a granular tracking system that ensures you receive the necessary progress updates to motivate you to achieve your targets.
The template integrates planning methods like the 12-week year and has a notification centre to remind you of overdue tasks, projects in progress, and tasks due today.
Creator: Study To Success
Features:
Price: $29.99
This version of the second brain template takes a somewhat different approach to personal management than all the other templates discussed above.
The template is about prioritising your tasks and breaking down your goals into actionable steps.
The major highlight of this template is the Eisenhower matrix, which assigns your tasks into one of four categories: do it this week, delegate, schedule, or ignore.
Creator: Saki
Features:
Price: Free
Last but no less special is the second brain template for writers. It is built on Notion but sold via Etsy.
Any writer will appreciate a structure to streamline their writing process and achieve more in less time.
For example, it would be nice to have a way to keep track of all those fantastic ideas and whatever resources we are using. That's one key aspect the second brain for writers covers.
The second brain for writers also contains tools and features for planning and tracking every stage of the writing process, from ideation to the final edit.
Creator: Jessica Holland at Minimalish Paper Co
Features:
Price: $19
Keeping abreast of what's happening in your life and playing an active role in deciding the outcomes is very much within your reach.
If you are searching for a way to introduce some structure into your life and plan effectively, the templates discussed above provide a great starting point.
Now, you don't have to sit at a table all day or all week trying to map out the basic outline of your life. With these templates, you can get straight into the real planning process.
Notion is a note-taking and productivity app that allows you to organize your thoughts, write, and plan all in one place. It's like having a digital workspace to capture anything.
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A Notion template is a pre-built workspace or page structure that can be duplicated to quickly set up common workflows or documents. Templates help users get started without building from scratch.
If you want more than the basic templates that come with Notion, you may find it useful to pay for templates that are of higher quality, more specialized, or more complicated. Paid templates frequently have more sophisticated features, allow for extensive customization, and have expertly made designs. They make things easier to do and save time for certain tasks or projects.
Yes, the Notion free account plan allows for personal use forever with features like unlimited pages, blocks, and integrations. It's a good option to try Notion without paying.