Monday.com
From Spreadsheet Hell to Monday.com Heaven
How Monday.com Rescued Our Team from Endless Spreadsheet Updates
Our marketing team used to track campaign progress in a massive, shared spreadsheet. Version control was a nightmare, updates were constantly missed, and no one had a clear picture of who was doing what. Project manager Sarah introduced Monday.com. She created a board for their “Q3 Product Launch” campaign. Each task (e.g., “Draft Blog Post,” “Design Ad Creatives”) became an item, with columns for “Owner,” “Status” (To Do, In Progress, Done), and “Due Date.” The visual interface, color-coded statuses, and real-time updates meant everyone instantly saw progress. No more “Did anyone update the spreadsheet?” Monday.com provided a single source of truth, rescuing them from spreadsheet chaos and improving collaboration dramatically.
I Was Skeptical About “Work OS”: How Monday.com Won Me Over
As a seasoned operations manager, David was wary of tools claiming to be a “Work OS.” It sounded like marketing hype. His company trialed Monday.com for managing inter-departmental projects. He was initially skeptical of its colorful interface. However, as he saw how easily different teams could create custom boards for their specific needs (from marketing campaign tracking to software bug fixing), yet still have these boards roll up into high-level dashboards for management oversight, he was impressed. The ability to automate handoffs between teams and integrate with existing tools like Slack and Outlook showcased its power. Monday.com’s flexibility and genuine cross-functional utility gradually won him over, proving it was more than just another project tool.
The Monday.com Feature That Made Our Project Tracking Visually Intuitive
Our event planning team struggled to see the big picture with traditional task lists. The Monday.com feature that clicked for us was the “Timeline View” (similar to a Gantt chart). For our “Annual Charity Gala” board, we added start and end dates to each main task (e.g., “Venue Booking,” “Catering Selection,” “Sponsor Outreach”). The Timeline View then visually displayed these tasks as bars on a calendar, showing their duration, overlaps, and dependencies. Suddenly, we could see the entire project lifecycle at a glance, identify potential scheduling conflicts, and understand the critical path. This visual intuitiveness made our complex project tracking much easier to grasp and manage.
My Journey to Building Custom Workflows in Monday.com (No Coding Needed!)
When I, Ben, first started using Monday.com, I used basic templates for project tracking. As I got more comfortable, I began customizing. I added specific “Status” columns with dropdown options relevant to our design process (e.g., “Brief Received,” “Concepting,” “Client Review,” “Revisions,” “Approved”). Then I discovered Automations. I set up a rule: “When Status changes to ‘Client Review,’ notify the Account Manager.” Later, I built more complex workflows where completing one task automatically created and assigned a follow-up task in a different group. The amazing part was achieving all this process automation through Monday.com’s intuitive interface, without writing a single line of code.
How We Migrated Our Entire Project Portfolio to Monday.com in a Weekend
Our small agency, “Creative Hub,” decided to consolidate all project management from various spreadsheets and scattered docs into Monday.com. It seemed daunting. Project lead Maria spearheaded the migration over a long weekend. First, she created standardized Monday.com board templates for their common project types (e.g., “Website Design,” “Branding Package”). Then, she and a small team used Monday.com’s import feature to pull in existing task lists from their spreadsheets. They spent time cleaning up data, assigning owners, and setting initial statuses. By Monday morning, their entire active project portfolio was live in Monday.com, providing immediate clarity and a unified way of working. The key was templating and a focused team effort.
Monday.com for Powerful Project & Portfolio Management
How I Use Monday.com Dashboards to Get Real-Time Project Insights
As a program manager overseeing multiple tech projects, Sarah relies on Monday.com Dashboards. For each project board, she ensures key data like task status, budget consumption (using a numbers column), and resource allocation are diligently updated. She then creates a master Dashboard that pulls in widgets from these different boards. She has charts showing “Overall Project Progress %,” “Budget vs. Actuals” across projects, “Tasks Overdue by Project Lead,” and “Workload Distribution.” This customizable, real-time dashboard gives her an instant, high-level overview of her entire portfolio, allowing her to spot trends, identify at-risk projects, and make data-driven decisions without manually compiling reports.
My System for Managing Dependencies and Critical Paths in Monday.com
In our construction projects, tasks are heavily dependent on each other. Project manager Liam uses Monday.com’s dependency features. On his “New Build – Phase 1” board, he links tasks like “Lay Foundation” and “Erect Framing” by setting “Erect Framing” as dependent on “Lay Foundation” completing. He uses the Timeline or Gantt view to visualize these dependencies and identify the critical path – the sequence of tasks that directly impacts the project’s overall completion date. If a critical path task is delayed, Monday.com can automatically shift an_d dates for dependent tasks, giving him early warnings and helping manage project timelines effectively.
The Way We Use Monday.com for Resource Allocation and Team Capacity Planning
Our design agency struggled with over-allocating designers. Manager Chloe implemented resource management in Monday.com. Each project board has an “Estimated Hours” column and an “Assignee” column. They use the “Workload View” (a Power-Up or built-in feature depending on the plan). This view aggregates tasks assigned to each team member across all relevant projects and compares their total estimated hours against their weekly capacity (e.g., 30 billable hours). If someone is overallocated (their bar turns red), Chloe can easily see which tasks might need to be reassigned or rescheduled, ensuring a more balanced workload and preventing burnout.
How I Set Up a Risk Management Board in Monday.com for Proactive Problem Solving
To proactively address potential project issues, risk manager David created a dedicated “Project Risk Register” board in Monday.com. Each item is a potential risk (e.g., “Key Supplier Delay,” “Budget Overrun,” “Scope Creep”). Columns track “Likelihood” (High, Medium, Low – status column), “Impact” (High, Medium, Low – status column), “Risk Score” (a formula column multiplying likelihood and impact values), “Mitigation Plan” (text column), “Risk Owner” (person column), and “Status” (Open, Mitigating, Closed). This board allows the team to identify, assess, and track risks systematically, ensuring mitigation plans are in place and reviewed regularly, leading to more proactive problem-solving.
Our Monday.com Template for Complex Multi-Phase Projects
For large software development projects, our team lead Anya uses a comprehensive Monday.com board template. The template has groups representing project phases (e.g., “Phase 1: Discovery & Design,” “Phase 2: Development Sprint 1,” “Phase 3: QA & UAT,” “Phase 4: Deployment”). Within each group, there are standard tasks and sub-items. Key columns include “Task Owner,” “Status,” “Priority,” “Start Date,” “End Date,” and “Dependencies.” Automations are pre-built, like notifying the QA lead when a development task moves to “Ready for Test.” This robust template ensures consistency, saves significant setup time for new complex projects, and incorporates best practices from the outset.
Automating Everything with Monday.com
The Monday.com Automation That Saves Me 5 Hours of Manual Work Each Week
Maria, a social media manager, used to manually create tasks for each stage of content creation for five different platforms. She set up a Monday.com automation on her “Social Content” board: “When an item is created (representing a new content idea), then create items (sub-items) ‘Draft Copy,’ ‘Design Visual,’ ‘Schedule Post,’ and ‘Track Engagement,’ and assign ‘Draft Copy’ to the copywriter.” This single automation, triggered by just adding a new content idea, automatically populates all the necessary follow-up steps, assigns the first one, and saves her an estimated five hours of manual task creation and assignment every week.
How I Built an Automated Client Onboarding Process in Monday.com
Client onboarding at Ben’s agency used to be inconsistent. He built an automated workflow in Monday.com. He created a “New Client Onboarding” board. When a deal is marked “Won” in their CRM (which is integrated), an automation creates a new item (client name) on this board. This then triggers a series of automations: 1. Assign “Send Welcome Email” to the account manager. 2. When “Welcome Email Sent” status is checked, create a task “Schedule Kickoff Call.” 3. When “Kickoff Call Scheduled” status is checked, notify the project team. This automated sequence ensures every new client goes through a consistent, timely onboarding process without manual prompting.
My Favorite “If This Then That” Automations in Monday.com for Notifications and Updates
For project coordinator Liam, Monday.com automations are key for keeping everyone informed. His favorites: 1. “If Status changes to ‘Blocked,’ then notify Project Lead and post update ‘Task [Item Name] is Blocked’ to the #project-alerts Slack channel.” 2. “If Due Date arrives and Status is not ‘Done,’ then change Priority to ‘High’ and notify Assignee.” 3. “If a new item is created in group ‘Urgent Client Requests,’ then notify the entire Support Team immediately.” These simple “if this, then that” automations ensure critical information is surfaced quickly and relevant parties are alerted without him having to manually track and communicate everything.
How We Use Monday.com Automations to Sync Data Across Different Boards
Our company has a “Master Client List” board in Monday.com and separate project boards for each client. To keep client contact info consistent, lead admin Chloe set up automations. “When an item (client) is created on the ‘Master Client List’ board, then create an item with the same name on the ‘Client Project Template’ board and map columns like ‘Client Contact Email’ and ‘Phone Number’.” While direct two-way sync can be complex, this one-way creation/update automation ensures that when a new client is added centrally, a corresponding project board (or item on a portfolio board) is initiated with key information already populated, reducing duplicate data entry.
I Integrated Monday.com with Our CRM to Automate Sales Pipeline Updates
Sales manager Sarah wanted her team’s CRM (e.g., Salesforce) and their Monday.com “Sales Pipeline” board to stay in sync. Using Monday.com’s native integration capabilities or a third-party tool like Zapier, she set up automations. For example: “When an Opportunity stage changes to ‘Proposal Sent’ in Salesforce, then update the Status column of the corresponding item in Monday.com to ‘Proposal Sent’.” Conversely, “When a task ‘Follow-up Call Scheduled’ is marked ‘Done’ in Monday.com, then create an activity log in Salesforce for that Opportunity.” This two-way automation keeps both systems updated, providing a unified view of sales activities and reducing manual data entry for her team.
Monday.com Beyond Traditional Project Management
How Our Marketing Team Manages Content Calendars and Campaigns in Monday.com
Our marketing team uses a “Content Calendar & Campaigns” board in Monday.com. Each item is a piece of content (blog post, video, social campaign). Columns include “Content Title,” “Author,” “Status” (Idea, Drafting, Review, Scheduled, Published), “Publish Date” (connected to a Calendar View), “Target Channel(s),” and “Campaign Name.” We use automations like, “When Status changes to ‘Scheduled,’ notify the social media manager.” The Calendar View gives us a perfect overview of our publishing schedule, while Kanban view helps manage the workflow. This board has become our central hub for all content planning, creation, and tracking.
I Built a CRM and Sales Pipeline Entirely Within Monday.com
Freelance consultant David needed a simple CRM but didn’t want another subscription. He built his own in Monday.com. He created a “Sales Pipeline” board with groups for “Leads,” “Contacted,” “Proposal Sent,” “Negotiation,” and “Won/Lost.” Each potential client is an item. Columns track “Contact Name,” “Email,” “Phone,” “Lead Source,” “Deal Value” (numbers column), and “Next Follow-Up Date.” He uses automations to remind him of follow-ups. While not as feature-rich as dedicated CRMs, this custom Monday.com board provides a visual, flexible, and effective way for him to manage his sales process from initial contact to closed deal, all within his existing Work OS.
How We Use Monday.com for Bug Tracking and Software Development Sprints
Our agile development team uses a “Bug Tracking & Sprints” board in Monday.com. Bugs reported by QA or users become new items, with columns for “Bug Description,” “Reporter,” “Severity” (Critical, High, Medium, Low), “Status” (Open, In Progress, Fixed, Verified Closed), and “Assigned Developer.” For sprints, we create groups like “Sprint Backlog” and “Current Sprint.” We use a Kanban view for the sprint workflow. Automations notify reporters when a bug they logged is fixed. This setup provides clear visibility into bug status and sprint progress, facilitating better communication between developers and QA.
My Monday.com Setup for Managing HR Processes like Recruitment and Onboarding
HR manager Priya uses Monday.com to streamline recruitment and onboarding. She has a “Recruitment Pipeline” board where each candidate is an item, moving through stages (groups) like “Applied,” “Screening,” “Interview Scheduled,” “Offer Extended,” “Hired.” Columns track candidate info, interview feedback, and next steps. For onboarding, she has a separate “New Hire Onboarding” template board. When a candidate is marked “Hired” on the recruitment board, an automation creates a new item for them on the onboarding board, pre-populated with standard onboarding tasks (e.g., “Complete Paperwork,” “Set Up Accounts,” “Schedule Team Intro”), each assignable with due dates.
I Organized a Major Event Using Monday.com for All Planning and Logistics
Event director Chloe planned a 3-day industry conference for 500 attendees entirely in Monday.com. She created a main “Conference Planning” board with groups for “Venue & Logistics,” “Speaker Management,” “Sponsorship,” “Marketing & Registration,” and “On-Site Operations.” Each task, from “Book AV Equipment” to “Send Speaker Confirmation Emails” to “Design Name Badges,” was an item with an owner, due date, status, and budget allocation. She used dashboards to track registration numbers against targets and overall budget spend. The ability to manage diverse workstreams, track progress visually, and collaborate with her team in one place was crucial for the event’s success.
Customizing Monday.com to Fit Your Exact Needs
How I Use Monday.com’s Different Board Views (Kanban, Gantt, Calendar) for Different Perspectives
Project manager Ben knows that different tasks and audiences benefit from different visual perspectives. For his “Website Redesign” project board in Monday.com, he frequently switches views. He uses the main Table view for detailed data entry and seeing all columns. For daily stand-ups and visualizing workflow, he switches to Kanban view, dragging items between “To Do,” “In Progress,” and “Done” columns. To see timelines, dependencies, and overall project schedule, he uses the Gantt or Timeline view. For content publishing deadlines, the Calendar view is perfect. This flexibility to instantly switch views allows him and his team to understand project data in the most relevant context.
My Guide to Creating Powerful Custom Columns in Monday.com
To make Monday.com truly fit our unique workflow, our team lead Maria mastered custom columns. Beyond standard Status and Person columns, she adds: “Dropdown” columns for predefined choices like “Project Priority” (High, Med, Low) or “Client Tier.” “Numbers” columns for tracking “Budgeted Hours” or “Actual Cost.” “Date” columns for “Target Launch Date” separate from task due dates. “Formula” columns to calculate things like “Variance (Budget vs. Actual).” “Link” columns to quickly access related documents. By thoughtfully adding these custom column types, she tailors each board to capture and display precisely the information her team needs to manage their work effectively.
The Power of Monday.com Formulas for Calculating Project Metrics
Data analyst David leverages Monday.com’s Formula column to derive key project metrics directly on his boards. For a project tracking board with “Estimated Cost” and “Actual Cost” (both number columns), he adds a Formula column called “Cost Variance” with the formula {Actual Cost}-{Estimated Cost}. He uses conditional coloring on this column to highlight significant overruns. For task completion, if he has “Total Subitems” and “Completed Subitems” columns, a formula ({Completed Subitems}/{Total Subitems})*100 can show “Percent Complete.” These dynamic calculations directly within Monday.com save him from exporting data to spreadsheets for analysis, providing real-time insights.
How We Use Monday.com Workspaces and User Permissions for Secure Collaboration
Our company uses Monday.com across multiple departments – Marketing, Sales, HR, and Product. To maintain organization and security, IT admin Sarah set up distinct Workspaces (e.g., “Marketing Workspace,” “Product Development Workspace”). Within each workspace, she invites only relevant team members. She then uses board-level permissions to further control access. For a sensitive “HR Employee Data” board, only HR team members have full edit access; managers might have view-only access to certain dashboards derived from it. This structured use of Workspaces and granular permissions ensures teams can collaborate effectively on their own projects while sensitive information remains protected.
I Designed a Monday.com Solution for a Niche Industry Problem (And It Worked!)
Veterinarian Dr. Emily struggled to track follow-up appointments and medication reminders for her clinic’s patients. She designed a Monday.com solution. Each pet patient became an item on a “Patient Care” board. Custom columns tracked “Next Vaccination Due” (Date), “Medication Refill Needed” (Status: Yes/No, with an automation to change to Yes based on last refill date), “Last Check-up Date,” and “Owner Contact.” She set up automations to notify staff (via email or Slack integration) when a vaccination was approaching its due date or a medication refill was needed. This custom Monday.com setup, tailored to her clinic’s specific needs, significantly improved patient care coordination and reduced missed follow-ups.