10 Simple Things That Monday.com Got Wrong
You won’t find any referral links in this article or recommendations on which project management tool to use. This is not a sales article either.
I wrote this article because monday.com got so many simple things just wrong and I believe that an average project management tool user spends the majority of time using those simple features.
So instead of buying a cat in a bag, I thought it would be great if an experienced user (that’s me) could write an article about everything that goes wrong when you give the platform an average use.
If you are considering monday.com as your next PM tool, I hope this article can help you make the right choice!
Now, what exactly monday.com got wrong?
1. We want to keep our text editor old school.
Text editor is probably the most used feature on monday.com as every time you work on a task, you inevitably use the updates (comments) section. I thought, if this is the most used feature, then probably it must be the most comfortable feature you deal with.
Monday.com thinks this way:
if it works, don’t touch it.
- text formatting tools are pinned to the top.
All the other platforms moved either to the sticky toolbar or the hidden one (which appears only when you select text).
- 3 steps to insert a URL
I am pretty much used to simply selecting text and adding a link to it through the CTRL + V shortcut. This is not the case for monday.com though. If you want to insert a link to the text, you will have to select the text, click the insert link button, paste your link, and then click save.
For those loving this longer process, you can use the CTRL + K shortcut instead of the insert link button. This slightly speeds up the entire process.
- bullet point lists formatting is not auto-understood
Even WhatsApp figured it out and if you write “-” and add a space after it, the text will be auto-converted into the bullet points list. Not on monday.com though.
Do you want a bullet point list? Search for the right button.
That’s not it though. Do you want to add a bullet point list after inserting an image? Good luck with that. The bullet point list feature does not work after images. Surprise!
2. MondayDoc is just an endless text editor.
Docs feature in the project management tools is a relatively recent feature. For example, by the time I write this article, Asana has not yet introduced this feature. Monday.com was the one pioneering it if I am not mistaken.
I do believe it is a necessary addition to the project management tool as it allows you to keep things together in the same app, without jumping back and forth. This article was written using the Docs feature (not on monday.com though). So what can possibly go wrong with such a simple feature?
- The mondayDoc comments feature is COOL…
as long as you know where every comment is located.
If you do not, then you will have to do lots of scrolling and figuring out. Well, for shortcut lovers, you can use the CTRL+F shortcut to open search and… search. Otherwise, the location of specific comments in the document is a mystery.
- you can convert selected text into a task.
Be careful though as if you had a comment attached to that text selection, it will be trashed as soon as you create a task out of it. Comfy.
- mentioned tasks are just mentioned tasks.
While the other platforms color-coded the mentioned tasks based on their status, monday.com thought that it was an unnecessary feature.
So if you want to check the status of the task — open it.
And if you want to visually communicate that it is completed — use emoji.
Another thing that makes you run an extra mile.
- pages? what for? We love endless scrolling.
Yes, mondayDocs do not have a page breakdown. So if for some reason you would like to section the content, the best thing they can offer is a divider or, well, a new document.
Thank God, at least the bullet points list is auto-convertible here with the dash + space.
- you can open a mentioned task, but you cannot open its comment section.
Practically, you can, but not within this same document. As soon as you click on the comments bubble, it will redirect you to the task location and goodbye your document. Practical?
I guess it is just another dimension of practicality that the human race is yet to understand.
3. We do not minimize things, we live our life maximized.
Monday.com has no such option as minimizing anything. So if you work on 1 task and would like to take a glance at the other task that is located on a different board, you will have to close everything, move to a different location, do your magic, and then go back and search for the task you were working on previously.
The alternative solution is to work across multiple browser tabs, like if we do not have enough browser tabs opened.
It is not that bad if you work using two different boards but having multiple tabs of the same board opened is just ridiculous.
4. We do not want you to just randomly create tasks.
One of the deal breakers, when I choose the project management tool, is whether I can create tasks from anywhere in the tool.
For example, let’s imagine I want to create a design request while reviewing invoices, can I do that?
Would be great if you could simply click some kind of plus button and create a task on the design board.
Unfortunately, if you are to use monday.com, that is just not an option. You will have to stop reviewing your invoices, move to the design board, and create tasks there.
It is probably not a big deal for people working within one board.
It is a pain in the ass for managers though that work across multiple boards.
Just another time waster, not a saver.
5. Search everything to find nothing.
Monday.com has 2 search features:
- search everything
- quick search
If one is called quick search, then I guess it is needless to say what is the main characteristic of the other search feature.
It is definitely worth giving a try if you are desperate. It is great at finding old updates or tasks that already stare at you from the screen.
Plus. it has some cool animation from the 90s meanwhile the search is in progress (forever?).
6. What are the global columns?
I heard that if you pay them top dollar for an enterprise version, they will let you have global columns.
The global columns are previously created columns that can be duplicated to your newly created board.
Otherwise, don’t be lazy, and go create identical columns on multiple boards over and over again.
Just another cool feature from monday.com in their never-ending effort to make people work more.
7. Let’s burn some calories with task layouts (cards).
Long story short, monday.com does not have an all-in-one task layout.
That is a place where you can see everything there is to see about a particular task: from assignees, due date, priority to files, comments, and activity.
Everything is kinda there, but you just need some clicking and scrolling to find everything.
In other words, you need something — you gotta work for it.
8. Useless non-customizable home page.
I’ve been using the monday.com for quite a while now. Not that I love it, but some of my customers paid for it way before working with me. So the pain of moving to another platform is way higher than the pain of dealing with all the disadvantages.
It’s been years, and I still do not understand what is the purpose of the Home page.
It is just a collection of quick links:
- recent pages
- inbox
- workspaces
Basically, everything you can find in your navigation bar.
I would rather kill the home page and set the My Work page as the default opening page.
That’s definitely more useful than staring at a duplicated navigation bar.
9. Never went past 3D.
You can have a group (of items), an item, and its subitem.
That’s basically as far as you can go.
So if you have a complex project with multiple levels of subitems — that is a YOU problem.
Search for workarounds. Better even, switch to one of the platforms that offer a nested subitems feature where you can go 5+ levels down and forget about suffering.
10. We are independent.
Trying to execute a complex project with a variety of dependencies across multiple teams and workspaces?
Good luck with that.
According to monday.com, tasks cannot have any dependency relationship with tasks from another board.
Honestly, after all the other “cool” features, this one came as no surprise.
I even think this concept might be too complex for monday.com to think through. So, nothing to complain about.
Conclusion
If you are looking to move from Google Sheets to Advanced Google Sheets, monday.com is definitely a good option to consider.
It is a great choice for people who love solving unnecessary problems, finding gems like searching everything and doing some extra clicking and scrolling for the sake of calorie burning.
If you do not fall into this category, I would suggest you think twice before committing to monday.com.
Note, that this article was published on 13th Jan 2024. Hopefully, by the time you read it, some of the features have already been fixed or altered and monday.com is now a better place to work from.
More issues uncovered (3rd May 2024)
11. WorkDocs (mondayDocs) cannot be created by guests.
Keeping everything under one roof is usually the priority. Nobody wants your team members jumping from one platform to another for no reason. Hence, monday.com offers an option to add a mondayDoc column to your boards.
This column allows you to create and attach workdocs directly to the item you are working on. I think it is an amazing idea, especially, when your process involves docs creation. For example, creating a client brief per item.
Unfortunately, if you work with multiple freelancers on the board, they won’t be able to use this column. Guests are simply not allowed to create workdocs. You might think of the workaround of creating docs yourself and inviting guests to edit. Surprise, for the docs created through mondayDoc column, the sharing option does not exist.
Here is another document that was added without using mondayDoc column:
Another cool feature that moved from time saver to time waster category. What a pity.
12. Weird pricing structure.
While other platforms offer you a pay-as-you-go option (pay per seat), monday.com does not offer you such flexibility. You have to pay per package, basically. So if you are a solopreneur — pay 3 seats right away.
If you are a growing start-up and going past 5 people on your team, pay for 10 right away.
That is a bit weird, to be honest.
This article will be regularly updated as new issues are discovered or fixes implemented.
