0020 Basic - The ClickUp structure

Hello ClickUp enthusiast! Greetings from Ernesto.

The fundamental concept that you need to understand in order to make effective use of ClickUp is its structure. The structure is the basis on which any type of solution is implemented with which it is intended to solve or control a process in ClickUp.

ClickUp's structure is very versatile, this allows it to be configured in the best possible way to tackle any type of task that is required; for this reason, it is very important to clearly understand the structure.

In reality it is very simple, what happens is that it does not determine us to use it in a specific way like most of the applications for the administration of projects or processes.It is divided into four levels:

1. Workspace. This is the top level of the structure and you can only have one workspace. It actually represents the "account" that makes use of ClickUp, therefore, you can only see or use an account through the browser. Normally, the account represents the company or organization that is using ClickUp. There is not much more to say about this level, there is a configuration option for this level, but this option will be reviewed in a future installment, it is not necessary to know this detail at this time.
2. Space. This second level is a top level container; that is, it is a level that allows grouping tasks or groups of tasks that are related. The word "related" is key and will depend on the nature of the business. What do I consider related? They can be: products, processes, media, projects, departments, clients, etc. This is the freedom that ClickUp offers, it can be configured in the best possible way, depending on the needs of the business.
3. Folder. This third level is again a container, a sub-classification of the previous level (space). It offers an additional level to classify tasks or processes; For example, if I have a space that I have called: Social Networks, I can have separate folders for: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, etc. And in each folder I will store the task lists that correspond to each of these networks. Again, flexibility to configure ClickUp to the needs of my particular business.
4. Tasks list. The fourth and final level is the essence of ClickUp: the task list to achieve a goal or result. This is what ClickUp is at its most basic level, the specific description of a task to be performed. Usually, in order to achieve a goal or a result, I have a list of steps or tasks that I must perform, which is why the level is called a “task list”. These task lists can be created within a folder or within a space (remember that the space can contain folders and/or task lists). Each task list has a name that allows me to know what the list is about, continuing with the previous example, inside the YouTube folder I can have task lists for: recording, post-production and release. Each of them has the specific steps to follow to achieve the desired result, but above all to achieve it in a standardized and consistent manner. The list is nothing more than a "view" of a group of tasks, this is the default view; however, ClickUp offers a long list of "views" that can be used to view or interact with tasks, we'll talk about the other views available in a future instalment, for now just know that the task list is the default view of a group of tasks.

Task lists, the essence of ClickUp, have a fundamental feature that allows you to classify tasks within the list: statuses. Again, ClickUp offers complete freedom to create the statuses you need based on the particular purposes of the list. The statuses represent the stages through which a task must pass from its beginning or conception to its completion or conclusion. A typical series of statuses that can be assigned to a task list can be for example:

1. To do
2. Active
3. In Review
4. in Rectification
5. Completed
6. Published
7. Cancelled
8. Closed

A task in a list goes through some or all of these states from conception to completion. For example, in a list that contains tasks regarding possible topics to use to write an article. Let's say we create a task that we call: "ClickUp Structure" - initially the task will be created with the status of "To Do", when I decide to start the process of writing the article, I can assign the status "Active" which it means I'm writing it. At the end of the development of the article, I assign the status of "In Review" to the task and it can be done by someone else and not necessarily me. When the reviewer finishes his task, possibly will have a set of suggestions to make to the writer, so he will assign it a status of “In Rectification” and perhaps assign it back to the author to make the suggested corrections. From here, the task can return to the status of "In review" so that it can be reviewed again and if everything is correct, it will now be assigned the status of "Completed". Now, the article can be published and go to the "Published" status. This being perhaps the end of the task. It could be that at any point in the process when writing the article, it is "Cancelled" so the task is assigned this status. Finally, and with the purpose of keeping the list of tasks showing only the articles made in the last 6 months, the tasks "Published" after 6 months change their status to "Closed" to keep the list only with the most current tasks without the need to be showing tasks that were completed a long time ago.

The task lists together with the status of the tasks within a list are the nerve center of ClickUp, in the next instalment we will talk more about the task lists. For now, the important foundational concept to understand is the structure of ClickUp, the levels that can be used to organize, rank, and group task lists.

Until next time and remember that the standardization of plans and processes, does nothing more than improve the quality of the result and repeated iterations generate an upward spiral.