6 Workflow Changes Every Business Needs in 2026

New year, new workflows. If your business operations have encountered projects stalling, tasks falling through the cracks, or systems that just couldn’t keep up, you’re not alone.

The good news? A few intentional changes to how you work can transform your productivity in 2026. These aren’t complicated overhauls. They’re practical workflow shifts that help you move faster and actually reach your goals.

In this blog post, I have discussed six workflow changes that will help you build a business that runs smoothly.

Prefer watching over reading? Check out the full video tutorial here: 

1. Identify What’s Actually Holding You Back

Before you can improve your workflows, you need to understand why they’re not working.

Here’s a simple but powerful question to ask yourself: What are you scared of?

It might sound unusual for a business context, but fear often disguises itself as procrastination, avoidance, or “waiting for the right time.” When a project isn’t moving forward, there’s usually something underneath the surface causing the delay.

How to apply this:

• Pick a project or task that’s been sitting untouched for too long.
• Ask yourself, “What’s making me avoid this?”
• Write down the answer. Is it fear of failure? Uncertainty about the next step? Lack of confidence in the outcome?

Once you name what’s holding you back, you can address it directly. This single shift in thinking can unlock progress you didn’t realize was blocked.

2. Break Everything Down Into Operational Tasks

Big goals are motivating, but they’re also overwhelming. “I want to be better at sales” or “I want to grow my business” sounds great, but where do you actually start?

The answer: break it down into specific, actionable steps.

Think about what success actually looks like in practice. If you want to become a better salesperson, for example, what does a great salesperson do?

• They make eye contact when entering a room.
• They introduce themselves confidently.
• They ask for contact information before leaving.
• They follow up within 24 hours.

Suddenly, “be better at sales” becomes a checklist of learnable behaviors.

Why this matters for workflows:

When you break goals down into operational tasks, two things happen:

1. You see exactly what needs to be done.
2. You can spot which specific step is causing the hesitation or fear.

This approach removes ambiguity. Instead of feeling paralyzed by a vague objective, you have a clear path forward.

3. Build a System Around Repeatable Processes

Once you know the steps, don’t reinvent the wheel every time. Build a system. 

Let’s say your company onboards new employees. Without a system, you’re relying on memory, and inevitably, something gets missed. Maybe you forgot to send that welcome email or the equipment request message.

The fix: create a reusable system in monday.com.

Here’s how this works in practice:

• Identify a process you repeat regularly (onboarding, client intake, content publishing, etc.).
• List every single task involved.
• Build a board template in monday with those tasks pre-loaded.
• Every time you start that process, duplicate the template.

After that, you just need to follow the steps. The second, third, and tenth time you run that process becomes effortless because the system does the heavy lifting. 

Don’t forget to document with SOPs.

Systems work best when they’re documented. That’s where Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) come in.

Writing SOPs isn’t glamorous, and most people don’t enjoy creating them. But they’re essential for two reasons:

1. Onboarding becomes seamless. New team members can get up to speed without constantly asking, “How do I do this?”
2. Consistency improves. Everyone follows the same process, reducing errors and confusion.

Store your SOPs in a central location, like a monday.com Docs workspace, so they’re easy to find and update.

4. Regularly Evaluate and Update Your Systems

Here’s the thing about systems: they’re not set-and-forget.

Your business is evolving. Technology is evolving. What worked six months ago might be slowing you down today.

Consider this example: You’ve been using Gmail a certain way for years. It works, but you’re spending hours every week managing your inbox. Meanwhile, new AI-powered email tools have launched that could cut that time in half.

If you’re not periodically reviewing your systems, you’re leaving efficiency on the table.

Build evaluation into your routine:

• Set a recurring reminder (monthly or quarterly) to audit your workflows.
• Ask yourself questions, like “Is this system still serving us? What’s changed since we set it up?”
• Research new tools or features that might improve the process.

This is important as your team grows. More people means more complexity, and systems that worked for a team of three might collapse at a team of ten.

Stay flexible, and your systems should grow with you. 

5. Constantly Ask What’s Blocking Your Growth

You’ve built systems and continued evaluating them. But are you actively pushing your business forward?

This workflow change is about mindset as much as process. Make it a habit to regularly ask yourself:

• How do I do more?
• What’s blocking me right now?
• What are the next steps I should be taking?
• What can I grow within my business?

These questions keep you focused on forward momentum rather than just maintaining the status quo. It’s easy to get comfortable once things are running smoothly. But comfort can quietly turn into stagnation.

How to apply this:

• Schedule a weekly or bi-weekly check-in with yourself.
• Review what you accomplished and where you got stuck.
• Identify one specific blocker and brainstorm how to remove it.

This habit of self-reflection ensures you’re always aligned with your goals, and it naturally leads to the next workflow change. 

6. Set up an OKR System to Track Goals

You’ve identified what’s holding you back, broken goals into tasks, and built systems and documented processes. Now you need a way to make sure you’re actually hitting your targets.

Enter OKRs, AKA Objectives and Key Results.

OKRs give you a framework for setting meaningful goals and measuring progress. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Objective: What you want to achieve (qualitative and inspiring).
• Key Results: How you’ll measure success (specific and quantifiable).

Example:

Objective: Improve customer onboarding experience.

• Key Result 1: Reduce onboarding time from 14 days to 7 days.
• Key Result 2: Achieve 90% satisfaction score on post-onboarding survey.
• Key Result 3: Decrease support tickets from new customers by 25%.

Setting this up in monday.com:

Create a dedicated OKR board where you track each objective and its key results. Use status columns to show progress, and review the board weekly to stay accountable.

Putting It All Together

These six workflow changes aren’t isolated tactics. They build on each other:

1. Identify what’s holding you back so you can address the real blockers.
2. Break goals into operational tasks so you know exactly what to do.
3. Build systems and document them so you’re not starting from scratch every time.
4. Evaluate regularly so your systems evolve with your business.
5. Ask what’s blocking your growth so you stay focused on moving forward.
6. Track with OKRs so you measure what actually matters.

When these pieces work together inside a platform like monday.com, you’re not just organizing tasks, you’re building a business that can scale.

Ready to Transform Your Workflows?

Knowing what to change is one thing. Implementing it effectively is another. At Simpleday, we help businesses like yours set up monday.com the right way. Stop guessing and start scaling. Reach out and make 2026 your most productive year yet.