ClickUp Best Practices: Tips and Tricks for Getting Off on the Right Foot

Contents

1. Use Hierarchy to Organize Yourself

ClickUp's hierarchical model is essential for keeping the workflow clear and scalable

Workspace: highest level, represents the entire organization.
Spaces: work areas by team, department or type of activity.
Folders: optional, they help organize projects within a Space.
Lists: contain similar tasks within a Space or Folder.
Tasks, Subtasks and Nested Subtasks: to organize more detailed actions

Good practice from real users:

"Keep the structure simple... One growth space, one delivery space, and one admin space can be enough to start."

"Keep ClickUp workspace to a maximum of 4-5 spaces for a team of less than 10..."

Different visions serve different purposes:

Home: central panel with all the tasks, comments and reminders assigned to you. Great for not missing anything.
Task Tray: a solution for keeping priority tasks visible, even when navigating through different areas of the platform. "I click on each task that's due... then immediately minimize it to the Task Tray... I never lose sight of what I need to get done that day."

Ideal for creating notes, wikis, glossaries or collaborative documents. You can mention users, tasks or other Docs within them
Use Docs as a List or Folder view, perfect for SOPs or team manuals.

Keyboard shortcuts and "/" commands make everyday use a breeze:

Popular hotkeys: t creates task; r creates reminder; k opens QuickSwitch; m assigns task automatically
/Slash Commands useful:
- /tc create summary in Doc
- /h1, /h2, /h3 for headings
- /em to embed elements - making formatting and productivity easier.

Automate repetitive processes and ensure consistent deliveries:

Automations can assign tasks, change statuses or send reminders automatically - use templates to speed up rule building
Templates for spaces, lists and tasks help to replicate processes with agility and quality

ClickUp works best when integrated into your usual flowchart:

Integrations with Google Calendar, Slack, CRM and Google Drive increase cohesion between tools.
Email to Task turns emails into actionable tasks immediately

Use comments and @mentions for clear feedback and task-centered conversations.
Develop internal docs and train new users to ensure consistent use of the platform
Form your best practices as part of the routine - consistency generates effective adoption.

Use Goals and OKRs tools within ClickUp to track progress and strategic metrics:

Set up Spaces and Lists for goals by period or company area, connecting Tasks and Subtasks to the main objectives

Area	Key tip
Hierarchy	Make it as simple as possible: up to 4-5 spaces for small teams
Views	Use List, Board and Calendar according to the type of project
Home + Task Tray	Centralize your priority tasks visually
Docs	Generate wikis, SOPs and collaborative documentation
Shortcuts and /Slash	Speed up tasks and formatting with the keyboard
Automation & Templates	Automate processes and standardize recurring tasks
Integrations	Connect ClickUp with key tools in your workflow
Collaboration	Use comments, mentions and onboarding for platform adoption
Goals and OKRs	Track progress with Tasks linked to strategic objectives