Purpose

Mental Model: How to Think About the Hierarchy

Motion’s hierarchy works like an organization chart for your work — moving from broad containers down to specific actions. Each layer has a distinct purpose, and together they create a predictable structure that scales with your team.

• Workspace → The top-level container for all your team’s work. A workspace is like the company office — everyone belongs here, but not everyone sees everything inside.

• Folders → Broad categories of work, such as Marketing, Product Development, or Customer Success. Folders group projects by theme or function.

• Projects → Execution units with goals, deliverables, and timelines. A folder may hold multiple projects (e.g., Website Redesign inside Marketing).

• Tasks → Individual pieces of work within a project. Tasks capture specific actions (e.g., Write homepage copy).

• Subtasks → The most granular level. Subtasks break a task into smaller steps (e.g., Draft headline options under Write homepage copy).

The mental model is simple: Workspace → Folders → Projects → Tasks → Subtasks

Each layer narrows focus: from company-wide visibility at the top, to day-to-day execution at the bottom.

Relationships: Containment, Links, and Dependencies

Objects in Motion don’t exist in isolation. Their value comes from how they relate to one another. There are three primary relationship types to understand:

• Containment → A structural “belongs to” relationship.

  • Example: A folder contains projects, a project contains tasks, and a task may contain subtasks. Subtasks aren’t scheduled on your calendar — they simply act as a checklist or notes within a task to help you track smaller steps.

  • Think of this as the hierarchy’s backbone — it organizes work into predictable layers.

• Links → Cross-references between objects that aren’t in the same container.

  • Example: A task in Marketing may link to a doc in Product for shared context.

  • Links create flexibility without breaking the hierarchy — connecting work across teams, functions, or folders.

• Dependencies → A sequencing relationship that defines order.

  • Example: Task B can’t start until Task A is complete (“Design mockups → Build website”).

  • Dependencies allow Motion to model real workflows where timing and handoffs matter.

Summary: Containment gives work structure, links connect work across boundaries, and dependencies define flow. Together, these relationships make the hierarchy both stable and flexible.

Metadata: What Applies Where

Metadata gives structure to work by adding attributes like owners, due dates, or tags. In Motion, different layers of the hierarchy support different types of metadata.

• Workspace-level metadata → Global settings such as workspace name, members, and default configurations. Applies everywhere but is rarely adjusted day-to-day.

• Folder-level metadata → High-level attributes like owners, descriptions, and labels that describe the category of work (e.g., Q4 Initiatives). Folders don’t usually carry deadlines but do define scope.

• Project-level metadata → The richest layer of metadata. Projects support owners, due dates, statuses, tags, and descriptions — the core information needed to manage initiatives.

• Task-level metadata → Attributes like assignee, due date, effort, priority, and status keep execution on track. This is where work becomes concrete and schedulable.

• Subtask-level metadata → Subtasks don’t carry scheduling, status, or assignees. They function purely as checklists or notes within a parent task to capture smaller steps or details.

Guiding principle: The higher the layer, the more descriptive and structural the metadata. The lower the layer, the more execution-focused it becomes.

Lifecycle: From Creation to Archive

Work in Motion follows a cycle. Each layer of the hierarchy — from project to task to subtask — moves through stages that repeat across initiatives.

1. Creation → New work is scoped at the right level. A folder is opened for a program, a project is started for an initiative, or a task is created for a deliverable.

2. Activation → Metadata like owners, due dates, and priorities bring the object to life. The work is now actionable and visible to collaborators.

3. Execution → Tasks and subtasks are worked on, dependencies are resolved, and progress is tracked. Projects shift status as milestones are met.

4. Review → Outputs are checked, approvals are added, and the team ensures goals were met.

5. Archive → Completed work is closed and stored, keeping history intact without cluttering current views.

6. Reference & Restart → Archived work remains searchable, serving as context for new cycles. Learnings from one project inform the next, and the lifecycle begins again.

Key idea: Hierarchy isn’t static. Folders, projects, and tasks continuously cycle through creation, execution, and closure — with archives acting as memory that feeds the next round of work.