Productivity apps and software aren’t exclusive to the workplace, ClickUp included. While the powerful planning and organization software might seem intimidating due to its robust nature, it offers everything you need to manage your at-home to-do list.
Plus, you can use as much or as little of it as you want. If you’re curious about how to use ClickUp as your next personal productivity tool, keep reading.
A Quick Overview of How ClickUp Works
ClickUp lives up to its name in that you really can get going in a matter of clicks. The productivity software is straightforward to use.
Its developers have aptly named the items in its organizational structure, and you don’t need to be overly imaginative with layouts since it does most of the work for you. Here’s a quick overview of the structure and setup.
Spaces
Within your main Workspace, you use Spaces to keep similar items together. You can add Spaces for anything you like, such as home renovations, event planning, your favorite hobbies, personal to-do lists, and more.
When you create a Space, a setup menu guides you. You can either build a custom layout or choose from various templates. The chosen layout will apply to all Lists within your Space, but you also have the option to edit each list individually.
Lists and Tasks
Next, you populate your Spaces with Lists, and you fill these Lists with tasks. For example, in your home renovations Space, you might keep the Lists of kitchen and bathroom, so you can track tasks for either room separately.
All tasks in your Workspace are clickable, and once open, you can add as much detail as you’d like. This is an excellent place to write a brief description or comment, add attachments, and use ClickUps collaboration tools to save time communicating on projects with others.
You can also include subtasks if you want to be more granular, but keep in mind it’s optional. The fewer clicks to access information, the better.
Columns
Columns help you keep information consistent and available at a glance. Some examples of Columns you can use are:
- Dropdown—useful for statuses
- Text
- Date
- Number
- Checkbox
- Files
- Labels
- People—to manage collaboration
Since they’re so handy, you could easily get carried away with Columns. But underused Columns can clutter your Lists, which means it’ll take more time to find what you need. ClickUp gives you multiple options to help you optimize your lists:
- Hide column—to do this, click its title and select the option from the bottom of the list. With this option, you can still find the field and its data when you open a task.
- Remove from List—you’ll also find this option by clicking the column title. Doing this deletes the column and its data, so be sure you want to do that before going ahead. Hiding it could be the safer bet if you’re unsure.
- Rearrange columns—if there’s information you’d still like on display, but you just don’t use or need as much, click and drag it to the far right of your list. The same goes for the items you want to see first, keep them closer to the task title.
Folders
Folders are optional in ClickUp. If you keep a lot of Lists under one Space, you can round similar items into a Folder to help locate them faster. Back to the renovation example, you could keep folders to separate interior and exterior projects or levels of your home.
Keep in mind, the fewer steps you need to take to find what you’re looking for, the better. These are more useful when working with many Lists, and you can include more than one per folder. If you find you have some random Lists that don’t belong, you can leave them sitting in your Space, rather than creating a Folder for miscellaneous items.
How to Set Reminders in ClickUp
ClickUp’s Home tab displays a simple dashboard. There, you can see a quick overview of tasks around your Workspace. Under the To do heading in the My Work section, hover over the selections Today, Overdue, and Next, and you’ll see the option to create a reminder.
Next, type the message you want to leave yourself, click the clock icon or word Today at the bottom of the panel to set when you’d like to receive it, and hit SAVE. You can also include attachments using the paperclip, delegate the reminder to someone else using the person icon, or change your notification timing with the bell.
If you work with deadlines, including a Date Column in your Lists is another way to remind yourself what you need to do. When you add dates, ClickUp creates task lists for you in the My Work section, ordered by date.
How to Create a Simple To-Do List in ClickUp
On one hand, ClickUp’s Columns are super handy. On the other, they can sometimes create overwhelm if you don’t need or know what to do with them. Starting small and building out could be the better option if you’re unsure where to begin. Or maybe you just like to keep things simple.
To create a minimal to-do list, you can add a Checkbox column by clicking the add symbol in the top-right of your List and selecting it from the menu. Then, hide all your other columns by clicking their titles and selecting Hide column.
How to Use Calendar View in ClickUp
If you find it helpful to view your to-do list in a calendar format:
- Go to View at the top of your screen, to the right of the List title.
- Select Calendar.
- Click Add Calendar.
ClickUp offers many views, such as a Board for those that prefer a visual card system and Table, similar to List view but more condensed and minimal. You can always explore the different layouts to see which works best for you, then delete the ones you don’t want by hovering over its name, clicking the three dots beside it, and selecting Delete.
Get Things Done With ClickUp
Even if you don’t use ClickUp for work, you can sign up for a free account that includes everything you need to build and organize your to-do lists. It’s available right in your browser, on your desktop, and on your phone or tablet.
It’s an excellent tool for planning tasks and projects, no matter the scope, and best of all, it’s quick and easy to get started.
