Overview of Action Items for Task Management

Did you know that you can use MonkeyPod to easily manage all sorts of tasks? Using "action items", you can have your MonkeyPod remind you about tasks you need to do, or set priorities, deadlines and assignments across your whole team! And with Calendar Sync, the action items can even show up directly on your online calendar!

What types of tasks can I manage in my MonkeyPod?

You can manage all kinds of things with action items! They can be tied to a relationship record, an email campaign, a grant proposal in Grant Tracker, or any tag in MonkeyPod. Or they can just be stand-alone reminders for you or your team to get stuff done. Some possible scenarios include:

• Assign an action item (linked directly to a donor's record) to a staff member to reach out to the donor
• Assign multiple people to a task, like approving the images on an email campaign with links right back to that campaign.
• Tag action items related to a particular event so you can see all event-related "to dos" in one list
• Assign an action item to an email campaign.

If you use MonkeyPod's apps and integrations, there are other places where action items are built right in:

• Board HQ - create action items as part of your meeting prep.
• Grant Tracker - action items are created for proposal document deadlines.
• Jotform Integration - automatically create an action item when a new submission comes in.

Where do I find my action items?

To find your complete list of action items, choose My MonkeyPod > Action Items from the main menu.

By default, your "Action Items" page lists all active tasks for all users in your organization. You can use the options at the top of the page to filter the list to exclude items that you created or items that are assigned to you. You can also filter the list by tag, or by text found in the title or description.

The action item list can also be sorted by task name, priority, due date, or owner by clicking the sort icons in the column heading.

How do I create an action item?

Action items can be created in a variety of places in your MonkeyPod, but you can always create one here on your Action Items page.

Enter a brief summary of the task in the text box at the top of the list, and click the checkmark to save it.

A dialog appears where you can enter all the details for the action item, including status, priority, due date, description, tags, and attached files. Changes are saved automatically, so just click the "X" in the top right of the dialog to close it when you're done!

Other settings include:

• Dependencies: choose another action item from the list and click the blue save button. The action item you chose as a 'dependency' will need to be completed before this action item can be marked as done.
• Reminders: reminders will be sent by default. If you don't want reminders for this action item, click "No, mute reminders". How the reminders are sent (email or notification center) is determined by your choice in the Notification Preferences.
• Company-wide visibility: Check this option if you want to make the action item visible to anyone in your organization so the whole team can see which items are in progress or complete! If this option is not checked, only the creator and assignee can see the action item.

Assigning an action item

To assign an action item to other members on your team, click the icon to the right of the task to "Manage assigned users". A dialog will appear where you can choose the assignee. Action items can be assigned to multiple people, but assignees need to be users in your MonkeyPod. (Check out our article on How to Add a New User if you need to add someone!)

How to create an action item associated with a relationship?

Let's say you want to create an action item that's tied to a relationship—like notifying a staff member to reach out to a particular donor about a sponsorship idea. Simply go to that relationship page in your MonkeyPod, find the Action Items card there, enter the task, and click the check mark to save it!

All action items associated with that relationship will be listed on the card. Click the name of the new action item to enter details like the priority, due date, tags, and more detailed description. If you just want to assign it to someone, click the "Manage assigned users" icon, and make the assignment.

How to use comments to follow up on an action item

When you open an action item, you'll find a comments section at the bottom of the page. If you want to enter a comment and have it sent to a MonkeyPod user in your organization, enter "@" and choose their name from the list that appears (you can keep typing the name to narrow the selection as well). Write your comment, and press the return key to send it. The person tagged will receive a notification that they have been mentioned in a comment and that notification will link back directly to the action item. It is a quick and easy way to keep correspondence about an action item all in one place!

What are my options for notifications related to action items?

You can choose the method and frequency of reminders related to your action items in Notification Preferences. Just select My MonkeyPod in the main menu, and then choose Notification Preferences under "My Stuff". Look under the "Collaboration" heading for preferences related to action items, and select how you'd like to be notified.

Your MonkeyPod can send you email reminders and/or display notifications in the MonkeyPod Notification Center (My MonkeyPod > Notification Center). When you have new notifications in the Notification Center, you'll see the count in the menu, and also a red alert icon on your profile avatar.

Pro Tip! Put action items on your calendar!

A great way to stay on top of your action items is to add them directly to your own online calendar, like Google Calendar or Apple Calendar. You can do this using MonkeyPod's Calendar Sync—checkout this article to learn all about it!

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