Microsoft OneNote is a great note-taking tool, but you can do so much more with it. Whether you want to use it for project management, planning your work day, or keeping up with tasks, check out these OneNote templates for a quick start.
Built-in OneNote page templates
One of the best places to start with OneNote templates is the application. You can use the built-in project overview template and choose from a variety of meeting notes and to-do list page templates.
Open your notebook and go to the “Insert” tab. Select “Page Templates” in the “Pages” section of the ribbon. You may see a few listed, but you can also select “Page Templates” at the bottom to view them all using the template sidebar.
1. Project review
In the sidebar, you’ll see the templates grouped by category. Expand the “Business” category and select the “Project Overview” template to add it as a page in your notebook.
Use the fields in the template for the name of the project, the company and the name of the presenter. Add a description, project goals, resources, procedures, milestone schedule, current status, and related documents.
2. Meeting notes
Also, in the “Business” section of the sidebar, you’ll see a number of meeting note template options. From simple to detailed to formal, each template offers something a little different. Select “Detailed meeting notes”.
Start with meeting details, including date, time, location and agenda. Then, add attendees, messages, status of old items, summary, and information for the next meeting.
3. To-do list
Expand the “Planners” section in the sidebar to see several different to-do list templates. The “Simple To Do List” template gives you bulleted check boxes for your items, while the “Project To Do List” offers a section for each project.
“Favorite To-Do List” uses three columns to divide your tasks by importance. Add items to high, medium and low priority columns as you see fit.
good to know: You can also find a selection of productivity templates for Notion!
4. Daily work schedule
For a neat schedule to help you plan your day, check this out Daily work schedule from OneNote Gem.
Add the date above, then enter each task, appointment, meeting, and break. You can enter items in 30 minute increments but easily carry them for long periods of time.
For the next day, change the date and adjust the schedule or copy the page to start a new day from scratch. To make a copy, right-click on the page name and select “Move or Copy”.
In the pop-up box, select Notebook and then click “Copy”.
5. Weekly planner
If a daily work schedule isn’t your thing but planning your week is, then this is it Weekly planner from Calendar Labs For you.
Enter the week’s start date at the top, then plan your week with a section for each day. Use the rows within the sections to add appointments and tasks for your business or personal items.
Like the daily work schedule above, you can make a copy of the template for the coming weeks.
6. Quarterly planner
Quarterly planner from Calendar Labs Perfect for planning your year in three month increments. It comes with US holidays in the “Notes” section, with corresponding red dates on the calendars for each appropriate month.
To move to the next quarter, simply select the page on the right or left, depending on your notebook layout.
7. Four quadrants of time management
God Four-quadrant time management template from OneNote Gem This is great if you practice the Eisenhower method of task management. This allows you to easily prioritize everything on your plate.
You’ll see helpful guidelines for the types of tasks you should add to each quarter. For example, the crisis quadrant (urgent and important) should include items such as urgency issues, rework, and push deadlines.
For more information on this technique, see our article on how to use the Eisenhower matrix to manage your tasks.
8. Workbook
For another type of template, check this out Workbook from OneNote Gem. This is a pre-assembled notebook with pages for meeting notes, planning, travel, projects and research.
As you visit each page, you’ll see helpful examples of what to include, as well as helpful tips and keyboard shortcuts for OneNote.
Instead of creating a notebook and adding all its pages from scratch, you can get a jump start with this Work Notebook template.
9. A joint notebook for a group project
Similar to the Work Notebook template, take a look at this Shared notebook template for a group project from OneNote Gem. You’ll find several pieces for you and your team to get up to speed on your next project.
You can enter goals and schedule, drafts, research items, tasks and topics, team information and meeting notes – all in one handy notebook.
Share your notebook like everything else in OneNote. Select “Share” at the top, then “Share entire notebook.” Upload it to OneDrive if you haven’t already, and share the link with your team members.
Remember, you can choose between edit or view permissions or change these sharing settings later.
10. Journal / Diary
To record your thoughts, activities and memorable events, you can use this Diary / journal template from Auscomp. The notebook offers sections for both monthly and daily values.
In the monthly section, you’ll see dots for your entries to the right of the dates. To move to another month, simply select the page. You can use the helpful instructions above to add a new day and remove or change values.
In the daily section, select the month and date in the pages area on the left or right, then simply add your diary notes. As with the monthly section, you’ll see prompts for adding a new day, month, and year, which is a good way to update your calendar.
For a journal notebook that you can quickly jump to while working in other areas of OneNote, this template is just right.
11. Cornell notes
if you use Cornell note taking systemso love you Cornell Notes template from OneNote Gem. This beautiful color-coded template offers red, yellow, and blue for your hints, notes, and summary.
The clues and summary each have a few bullet points to get you started. The “Notes” area has “Input”, “Pre-Progress”, “Recite”, “Reflection” and “Review” ready for you to add your items.
Remember, you can make a copy of the page to use for other days or note-taking sessions. Right click on the page, select “Move or Copy”, select a notebook and click “Copy”.
OneNote Templates on Etsy
While all of the options on this list are free as of this writing, there are some great paid ones OneNote Templates on Etsy. The templates vary in price, starting around $2.
visit Etsy And type “OneNote Template” into the search or check out some of these inexpensive options.
- OneNote Digital Planner: Daily, weekly and monthly planners linked together with Sunday and Monday versions
- OneNote Work Planner: calendar, to-do list, travel planner, time sheet, tracking for expenses, inventory and passwords
- OneNote Project Management Planner: scope of work, schedule, budget, organizational chart and project tracking
- OneNote project management template: project proposal, risk management, tracking issues, schedules and contacts
- OneNote Planner for professionals: calendars, tasks, vision board, to-do list, diary and tracking for tasks, habits and ideas
Common questions
Is Microsoft discontinuing OneNote?
OneNote for Windows 10 will continue to do so Get support until October 2025. Next, you’ll need to use the OneNote app. It comes with Microsoft 365 but can also be downloaded from the Microsoft Store.
To see which version you have, look for the “File” menu. If you see this menu, you’re using the OneNote application. If you don’t see this menu and See “OneNote for Windows 10” in the title bar, that’s the version you’re using.
Can I save a page I created as a template in OneNote?
Definitely! If you are creating a page that you want to use as a template, go to the “Insert” tab and select “Page Templates -> Page Templates”. When the Templates sidebar opens, click “Save current page as template” at the bottom and give it a name.
Can I open an automatic template with a new page?
You can set a default template to open whenever you add a page to a section in your notebook. Go to the “Insert” tab and select “Page Templates -> Page Templates”. In the sidebar, use the drop-down box near the bottom to select a default template.
Image credit: Pixabay. All screenshots by Sandy Writtenhouse.
Sign up for our newsletter!
Our latest tutorials are delivered straight to your inbox