Information Management + Task Management

Jon_Moore · May 19, 2025, 2:05am

Following up on the work of @julien.public_grist and his template discussed here, I’m looking at combining “normal” task & project management alongside Information Management usually powered by tools like Obsidian, Logseq, etc.

When I started down this road I was a little surprised I didn’t find any similar topics or discussions on this sort of use case in this forum, unless I’m not using the right search terms or this isn’t something seen as a great application (although I did come across a mention of Grist from this Ycombinator Hacker News thread on personal database tools)

@julien.public_grist, I’m not sure if you’re still using this template, or Grist in general, (I figured starting a new thread vs reviving yours from 2022 would be a better move!)

When I went searching for “Information Management” templates inside this community, your old thread was only one that I felt closely matched what I am currently looking to build - that is a daily dashboard that includes both projects with actionable tasks and to-do’s along with an information management database. I’ve started with your template, and added a new “Type” column to the Projects table - I’m planning on using these types to change what sort of table appears below.

I figured that this would then let me combine both a task management tool with a personal database - curious as to what you think about this, but also to hear from others who might find this topic interesting and/or have built some templates they might want to share as well

Thanks and cheers to everyone in advance!

C0M-R3D · March 9, 2026, 7:09pm

Hi there! I’m really glad you brought this up because I am currently using Grist for this exact use case.

Like you, I found it frustrating that most systems force you to choose between robust task/project management and a true Personal Knowledge Management (PKM) system. Grist’s relational structure is perfect for combining both into one unified ecosystem.

However, the biggest hurdle when trying to use Grist for Information Management is the lack of native support for inline mentions and bidirectional linking - the core features that make tools like Obsidian so great.

To get around this, I’ve had to build a custom parser as a bit of a workaround for now. I implemented regex-based logic that recognizes the standard [[ ]] double-bracket syntax to automatically cross-reference entries, tasks, and notes across my tables. Alongside this, I use a custom Notepad widget that connects across all my different databases, seamlessly tying together my planner, books, films, and other records.

Since some time has passed since your post, I’m curious if you’ve managed to come up with any new solutions or workarounds for this? I’m still really hoping the Grist developers will introduce native backlinking in the future, or that someone comes up with a more elegant approach.

I’m attaching a screenshot of my planner as an example of how I have things set up. Just a quick heads-up: the data is in my native language, so the text might be a bit confusing, but hopefully, the overall structure and layout make sense!