Whether you’re just getting started with monday.com or you’ve been using it for months (maybe years) without seeing real results, you’re not alone. Many teams set up boards, add columns, and hope for the best, only to end up with a cluttered workspace that creates more confusion than clarity.
The good news? A few strategic shifts can completely change how the platform works for your business.
This guide walks you through five practical, proven approaches that transform scattered workflows into streamlined systems.
If you want to watch the tutorial, check the video below:
1. Plan Before You Build Anything
“No plan” is the common mistake that most teams make. They jump straight into monday.com and start creating boards without a clear plan.
The result? A messy workspace with dozens of disconnected boards, duplicate information, and workflows that don’t actually match how the team operates.
Before you touch the platform, step back and map out what you actually need.
Questions to answer first:
- Which departments will use the platform?
- Who specifically needs access, and what permissions do they require?
- What workflows need to be built (project approvals, client onboarding, content calendars, etc.)?
- What KPIs does your team need to track?
- What dashboards would help leadership make faster decisions?
This planning phase doesn’t need to be complicated. You can write it on paper or use monday’s own WorkCanvas tool to visualize how information should flow between teams.
The key insight here is that you’re not just building boards, you’re building a system. And systems require blueprints.
When you invest time upfront understanding how your team actually works, your setup will reflect reality instead of creating extra work.
2. Learn the Tool (And Keep Learning)
Every single month, monday.com releases new features. Some of these updates are small refinements. Others completely change what’s possible on the platform.
If you learned monday a year ago and haven’t revisited the feature set since, you’re probably missing capabilities that could eliminate manual work and automate repetitive tasks.
What this looks like in practice:
- Spend time exploring the automations library. There are hundreds of pre-built automation recipes that can trigger actions based on status changes, dates, assignments, and more.
- Check monday’s release notes or product updates regularly.
- Test new column types and views when they’re released.
- Revisit your existing setup periodically to see if new features replace your workarounds.
It often happens that a team creates complex workarounds to achieve a specific result, essentially adding “band-aids” to their setup. Then, monday releases a native feature that does exactly what they needed, but they never know about it because they did not keep up with the updates.
3. Leverage AI Throughout Your Workflows
AI isn’t a side feature on monday.com anymore. It’s woven into the core of the platform, and ignoring it means leaving significant efficiency gains on the table.
The platform has invested heavily in AI integration, and 2026 brings more capabilities than ever.
Key AI features to explore:
- monday Sidekick
- monday Magic
- AI columns
- AI blocks in workflows
- Integration with Microsoft Copilot and supporting MCP connections
And you can use these features for numerous practical applications, such as:
- Automatically summarize long project updates for stakeholders
- Pull key information from documents into structured columns
- Generate first drafts of task descriptions based on minimal input
- Shorten or expand text with one click
The teams getting the most from monday in 2026 are treating AI as a core part of their workflow, not an afterthought.
4. Build Custom Apps with monday vibe
You can create custom applications using everyday language by using monday vibe. No need to be a developer or write code. Just describe what you want, and the platform builds it.
What does this mean practically? You’re no longer limited to monday’s default board structure. If the standard setup doesn’t fit your specific use case, you can build something that does.
Examples of what you can create:
- A custom client portal that displays only the information clients need to see.
- Unique dashboard views that combine data in ways the standard dashboards don’t support.
- A streamlined interface for a specific department’s daily operations.
Using monday vibe is not complicated at all. Start with a simple use case, describe what you’re looking for, and experiment. You’ll be surprised how quickly you can create something useful.
5. Connect Your Tools (Stop Working in Silos)
No company runs on monday.com alone. You’re using email, CRM systems, social media platforms, accounting software, communication tools, file storage, and the list goes on.
The biggest mistake? Treating each tool as a separate hub. But monday is designed to be a central hub. It offers:
- Native integrations with hundreds of popular tools.
- An open API for custom connections.
- Compatibility with Zapier and Make.com for connecting virtually any software.
For example, a team can pull data from all their social media platforms directly into monday. The platform stores engagement metrics, tracks performance over time, and then automatically sends a weekly email summary to leadership with marketing updates.
That’s three tools (social platforms, monday, and email) working together without manual data entry.
Making It All Work Together
These five practices build on each other:
- Planning ensures you build the right foundation
- Learning the tool means you’re always using the best available features
- AI integration multiplies what you can accomplish without extra effort
- monday vibe lets you customize beyond the defaults
- Tool connections turn monday into a true command center
None of this requires technical expertise. It requires intention, where you have to decide that monday will be a strategic asset rather than just another app your team uses.
Ready to Transform How Your Team Uses monday.com?
Setting up monday.com the right way takes more than knowing the features, it takes strategy. At Simpleday, we help brands and businesses implement monday workflows that actually match how teams work.
Get in touch with Simpleday to make the platform work for you.
