If you’ve just signed up for Monday.com, chances are you’re feeling both excited and slightly overwhelmed. On one hand, the platform looks modern, clean, and promises to transform your workflow. On the other hand, the endless templates, boards, columns, and automations might seem like too much to process.
Don’t worry—you’re not alone. Most new users feel the same. The good news? Setting up your first project board in Monday.com doesn’t take hours of training. In fact, with a simple step-by-step approach, you can go from zero to fully functional in 10 minutes or less.
This guide will walk you through:
- Why project boards are the heart of Monday.com
- How to create your first board from scratch or using templates
- What columns and groups to add for a beginner-friendly setup
- How to invite teammates and assign tasks
- Quick tips to customize your workflow for productivity
- Automations and integrations you can activate later
By the end, you’ll have your own live project board, ready to manage tasks, deadlines, and team collaboration seamlessly. Let’s dive in.
1. Why Monday.com Boards Matter
Before we get practical, let’s clarify what a board in Monday.com really is.
Think of a board as your project’s digital command center. It’s where you track:
- Tasks – every to-do, milestone, or deliverable
- Owners – who’s responsible for each task
- Deadlines – when things need to be done
- Statuses – whether something is pending, in progress, or complete
- Details – notes, files, links, and updates attached to tasks
Instead of juggling spreadsheets, endless email threads, and sticky notes, you consolidate everything in one structured place.
👉 Why this matters: Boards keep your team aligned, eliminate confusion, and help you see progress at a glance.
2. Getting Started – Creating Your First Board
Now let’s roll up our sleeves.
When you first log in to Monday.com, you’ll see a clean dashboard with a left-hand sidebar. To set up your first board:
1. Click “+ Add” in the left-hand sidebar.
2. Select “New Board.”
3. Name your board something simple and descriptive. Examples:
- Marketing Campaign Q3
- Website Redesign
- Client Onboarding Workflow
- Main Board (visible to the entire team)
- Private Board (restricted access)
- Shareable Board (for clients/external partners)
For your very first project, start with a Main Board.
💡 Tip: Keep the board name action-oriented. Instead of “Team Tasks,” write “Product Launch Tasks.” It helps everyone immediately understand the purpose.
3. Using a Template vs. Starting from Scratch
Monday.com offers hundreds of pre-built templates like:
- Marketing project plans
- Software development sprints
- Content calendars
- Sales pipelines
If you’re brand new, templates are helpful. But for learning, I recommend starting from scratch—it gives you a deeper understanding of how things work.
Here’s why:
- You’ll understand what each column does.
- You can customize only what you need, instead of deleting clutter.
- You’ll learn faster, and future templates will make more sense.
So for this tutorial, let’s start with a blank board.
4. Step 1: Create Groups
Groups are like sections within your board. They help you organize tasks into categories or phases.
Examples:
- If you’re running a project → groups could be “Planning,” “Execution,” “Review.”
- If you’re managing content → groups could be “Ideas,” “In Progress,” “Published.”
- If you’re tracking client work → groups could be “Onboarding,” “Active Projects,” “Completed.”
👉 For our 10-minute setup, let’s create three groups:
- To Do
- In Progress
- Done
This is the simplest workflow to get started and works for nearly any project.
5. Step 2: Add Columns
Columns are the building blocks of your board. They define what information you track.
At minimum, add these columns:
1. Task Name (default “Item Name”)
- This is where you enter what needs to be done.
- Example: “Design homepage banner.”
- Assigns responsibility.
- Example: “John” owns the design task.
- Tracks progress.
- Default statuses: “Working on it,” “Stuck,” “Done.”
- You can customize colors like Green = Done, Yellow = In Progress, Red = Blocked.
- Add due dates to each task.
- Helps you stay accountable and track deadlines.
- Notes Column (Optional – Text Column)
- Use for quick notes, links, or extra details.
💡 Pro Tip: Don’t add too many columns at first. Start lean. You can expand later once your team gets comfortable.
6. Step 3: Add Your First Tasks
Now comes the fun part: populating your board.
Click under the Task Name column to add items. Examples:
- Brainstorm campaign ideas
- Draft ad copy
- Design social media graphics
- Schedule posts
- Launch campaign
Once you’ve added tasks:
- Assign each one to a teammate (People column).
- Set statuses (default “To Do” for now).
- Add due dates.
You now have a functional task list that feels like a living project plan.
7. Step 4: Customize Your Workflow
Monday.com is flexible—you don’t have to stick with defaults.
Here are quick customizations you can make in minutes:
- Rename Groups: Instead of “To Do,” call it “Backlog.” Instead of “Done,” call it “Completed Deliverables.”
- Edit Status Labels: Change “Working on it” → “In Progress.” Add a label “Waiting for Review.”
- Reorder Columns: Drag columns to match how your brain works.
- Color Code: Use intuitive colors (Green = Done, Yellow = Review, Red = Blocked).
This customization makes your board feel tailored to your workflow.
8. Step 5: Invite Your Team
Project boards are most powerful when used collaboratively.
- Click the “Invite” button at the top.
- Enter teammate emails.
- Assign roles: Admin, Member, Viewer.
Now your team can:
- See what’s on their plate
- Update statuses in real time
- Comment on tasks
- Upload files (like images, PDFs, or presentations)
👉 Best practice: Encourage your team to update their task statuses themselves. This way, the board always reflects real-time progress.
9. Step 6: Views and Dashboards
One hidden gem in Monday.com is board views.
By default, you see the Table View. But you can switch to:
- Kanban View → Drag-and-drop like Trello.
- Calendar View → See tasks plotted by due date.
- Timeline View → Visualize project schedules (like Gantt charts).
- Dashboard View → High-level overview across multiple boards.
For your first board, switch to Kanban and Calendar—they’ll help you quickly understand progress and deadlines.
10. Step 7: Automations (Optional in First 10 Minutes)
Automations save time by removing repetitive manual work.
Examples:
- When status changes to “Done,” notify project manager.
- When due date arrives, send a reminder.
- When task is created, assign it automatically to “John.”
To set up:
- Click Automations → + Add New Automation.
- Choose from recipes like “When status changes to something, notify someone.”
💡 For beginners, set up just one simple automation:
- When status = Done → move item to Done group.
It keeps your board clean without manual dragging.
11. Step 8: Integrations
Monday.com integrates with tools you already use:
- Google Drive / Dropbox → attach files easily.
- Slack → get task updates in chat.
- Zoom → link meetings to tasks.
- Outlook / Gmail → turn emails into tasks.
While integrations aren’t needed in your first 10 minutes, knowing they exist helps you scale later.
12. Step 9: Keep It Simple
Here’s the biggest mistake new users make: over-complicating their first board.
They add too many columns, too many groups, and endless automations. The result? Confusion.
👉 Rule of thumb: Start with the minimum setup that works:
- Task
- Owner
- Status
- Due Date
Once your team is comfortable, slowly layer in more features.
13. Step 10: Daily Use Habits
Congratulations—you now have a working project board. But the real power comes from consistent usage.
Here’s a simple daily workflow:
- Morning Check-In: Review board. Update task statuses.
- Assign New Work: Add tasks and owners as needed.
- Track Progress: Use Kanban or Calendar view.
- End-of-Day Update: Mark what’s completed. Move tasks to Done.
If your team follows this rhythm, Monday.com becomes your single source of truth for all projects.
14. Common Beginner Mistakes (and Fixes)
1. Mistake: Forgetting to assign owners
- Fix: Always assign every task. If no one owns it, it won’t get done.
- Fix: Start with one board. Add more only when necessary.
3. Mistake: Over-customizing on Day 1
- Fix: Keep it simple. Add complexity over time.
- Fix: Use updates, comments, files, and statuses actively.
15. Why Monday.com Works Better Than Spreadsheets
You might wonder: “Why not just use Excel or Google Sheets?”
Here’s why Monday.com is different:
- Real-time collaboration → multiple people updating at once
- Visual workflows → Kanban, Calendar, Timeline views
- Automations → reduce repetitive work
- Notifications → never miss deadlines
- Scalability → one tool grows with your team
In short: Monday.com turns chaotic collaboration into organized productivity.
16. Expanding Beyond Your First Board
Once you’ve mastered your first board, you can expand into:
- Multiple Boards for different projects
- Dashboards to see overall performance
- Advanced Automations for repetitive workflows
- CRM Pipelines for sales teams
- Content Calendars for marketing teams
But remember: all of this starts with mastering your first simple board.
Conclusion
Setting up Monday.com doesn’t need to feel overwhelming. In just 10 minutes, you can:
- Create a board
- Add groups and tasks
- Assign owners and deadlines
- Track progress with statuses
- Collaborate with your team in real time
This minimal setup is enough to get you running projects without chaos. From here, you can slowly explore automations, integrations, and dashboards.
👉 Think of Monday.com as a muscle. Start light, build consistency, then add more weight as you grow.
Your first project board is just the beginning of a much smoother, more efficient way to work.
Ready to simplify client management? Try Monday CRM today and see how effortless organization can be.