πŸ’‘ What An Epic Is

An Epic represents a larger outcome you want to achieve. It answers: What does β€œdone” look like for this bigger initiative?

Use Epics to:

πŸ’‘ What A Project Is (In Relation To An Epic)

A Project is a discrete workstream that contributes to the Epic’s outcome. It is still outcome-oriented (not a single task), but smaller in scope than an Epic. A Project may exist independently (not every Project needs an Epic), but Epics can contain many Projects.

⏰ When To Use Epics vs Projects

Choose an Epic when:

  • βœ“ The initiative spans weeks or has multiple distinct workstreams
  • βœ“ You need to coordinate or sequence several Projects
  • βœ“ You want a durable place to hold broader narrative and context

Choose a Project when:

  • βœ“ You have a self-contained outcome that can be reached without multiple parallel workstreams
  • βœ“ You want to plan and track a body of work with clear boundaries
  • βœ“ You are ready to identify and execute concrete Next Actions

If something feels too big for a Project (hard to finish, fuzzy scope), elevate it into an Epic that contains several Projects.

πŸ“ Structure

Epic β†’ Projects β†’ Next Actions.

Epics can link to: Projects, Next Actions, Knowledge, Lists, Events, external references. Projects can link to: Next Actions, Knowledge, Lists, Events, external references.

πŸ“ Archiving Behavior

Archiving is irreversible for planning objects and cascades downward:

  • βœ“ Archiving an Epic automatically archives all Projects underneath it and all Next Actions underneath those Projects.
  • βœ“ Archiving a Project automatically archives all of its Next Actions.
  • βœ“ You can archive an individual Project inside an active Epic; the Epic remains active unless you archive the Epic itself.

Use archiving when the outcome is achieved or intentionally abandoned. For ongoing, never-ending areas, prefer Lists β†’ or Knowledge β†’.

πŸ’‘ Tips

  • ✨ Keep Epics focused: Split if the narrative fragments or the outcome is ambiguous.
  • ✨ Avoid orphan Projects: If several Projects feel loosely related, consider introducing an Epic.
  • ✨ Finish decisively: Archive promptly when the outcome is reached to keep your planning surface current.
  • ✨ Prevent forever work: Move open-ended responsibilities into Lists or Knowledge instead of keeping an Epic or Project indefinitely.