5 Reasons I Quit ClickUp Docs for SOPs

[@sehablamarketing]

What a JOY to watch....Almost NO CUTS or unnecessary transitions AWESOME !!!!! No "Eye Fatigue" easy to understand...FANTASTIC... What a wonderful teacher and NOW such joy to watch........Kudos !!!!!!

[@LaylaPomper]

I'm listening to you, Rafael!! Hoped folks would notice. This video was an experiment with an entirely different way of filming and editing. It's produce almost entirely live. I'm glad it worked for you! Please do keep sharing your thoughts as the experimentation continues! :)

[@aimarketingcafé]

Second it!!! Inspiring to watch : -)

[@DodaGarcia]

Layla I can't get over how much value you pack into a few minutes worth of video.

[@LaylaPomper]

Aw, thanks Doda! That’s the goal! ☺️

[@justinhall7022]

Always tinkering. I love it! This is why this channel is such a resource!!

[@LaylaPomper]

Aw, thanks Justin! Tinkering never ends over here!! 😂

[@michellemelton3193]

Thank you for sharing the video. I have not yet started building SOPs but will be soon. I am very glad I saw your video before I started, since I now agree with your conclusion that tasks is the way to go in Clickup for SOPs and instructions. Seeing this FIRST probably save me a lot of time for my sop journey.

[@LaylaPomper]

I'm so glad this was helpful!

[@andredei8492]

Thank you for your nice Videos! Would you still decide the same with DOCS 3.0?

[@LaylaPomper]

At this point, yes. ☺️

[@janineeastman3286]

This sounds like a better way to keep people focused on the task. Just make sure to save those tasks as templates. 😊

[@LaylaPomper]

ABSOLUTELY. Can't forget about this!! :)

[@nat101yt]

Whoa, did you ever shock me! In my haste I read only '4 Reasons I QUIT ClickUp'(!). I said, "She did WHAT?". I quickly pushed this video to the very top of my watch list, and with a sigh of relief I hear you say "DOCS". Whew!

[@LaylaPomper]

LOL 😂 I apologize for raising your blood pressure, nat101yt! Just an SOP relocation, promise. 😅

[@KristenNicoletti]

This is the exact information I needed to hear today, thank you very much!

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Kristen! I'm so glad it was helpful :)

[@iamashleylbrown]

Layla, did you ever switch back after they updated to Docs 3.0?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Ashley! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 Nope! We're still not using ClickUp Docs :)

[@mario312]

Key words "It's not really a to do", gotta just make peace that there will be hundreds of tasks that will never be set to done.

[@LaylaPomper]

Exactly. Once we see "Item Types" and others "tasks aren't always tasks" features roll out in ClickUp, this will be a lot easier to ignore! :)

[@aflumed_za]

Love your energy, so much life. Please keep up the good work.

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Thank you so much :)

[@thisiscryswood]

Your organizing tip to have a main "binder" doc with nested docs serving as folders = pure gold, thank you! 👍🏾😊

[@LaylaPomper]

You are so welcome!

[@robynflynnlarge4672]

I do this and add the URL for the sop (task) to the task it relates to. So, for a payroll task, a list of related sops is inside the task. It makes it easy to get to the info that’s needed. I love that it brings across the name of the sop when I paste in the URL.

[@LaylaPomper]

So good! Thanks for sharing! 🙏

[@onefourosix_]

Hi Layla, KZbin recommended me this video today and I am wondering if this has changed since Docs 3.0. :D I love the new Docs 3.0!

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 We use ClickUp Docs for planning projects and typing out a lot of information, but for the most part we use Tasks :)

[@MarkoBravo-k4v]

Good stuff! Thank you, Layla.

[@arayahomes4308]

Cool that you figured this out. For me personally, I have known the solution you've recently found, for some time now. Definitely agree with your workflow and I think you'll like it more doing your sops this way. Personally I don't think there is a better way to do sops than the strategy you're coming in touch with now..

[@LaylaPomper]

I'm so glad to hear that Tucker! We'll keep rolling with the punches with each update! 😀

[@astesvideos]

Im happy I started doign our Knowledge base in tasks right away from the beginning... not knowing but good ahahaha

[@LaylaPomper]

Nice work!

[@RichardtheregularDM]

In the beginning of the video my brain was resisting the idea a little but you definitely made the case. Actually, it makes a lot of sense. Thanks for the detailed walk through.

[@LaylaPomper]

Right? I was definitely in the same boat. Now, I can't *not* think of SOPs in this way!

[@KarvelDigital]

LAYLA!!!! ::shakes fist:: We JUST finished turning our sea of separate docs into a nice SOP binder. My team will put a hit out on me if I even hint at this and I couldn't really blame them. 😂You make some compelling arguments but we're gonna have to stick with docs for now. I also really like the philosophy I learned from Dave at System Hub of keeping tasks (what to do) separate from SOPs (how to do it). I moved from Process St to ClickUp when I realized that docs allowed us to maintain that separation while embedding the SOP doc into a template task. Seems like CU is rapidly moving into the database vs tasks territory and that's good to know. Great video, even though I'm kind of annoyed about it. 😜

[@LaylaPomper]

Ha! For what it's worth, I REALLY think Docs can still work marvels and are the best option for most people. More important than tool is SUBSTANCE -- which is what you've built! You're good! Block this URL from your domain or something -- because we don't need any mutinies happening in the meantime. Ha! 😂

[@KarvelDigital]

@@LaylaPomper Well it's time. A CU bug is creating duplicates of all our doc SOPs. Not cool. My ops manager watched this video and now she's all excited to switch us to task-based SOPs. Can't wait!

[@brentondickerson8976]

@@KarvelDigital does relate to docs being linked in tasks for reference? I believe that’s happening to us as well.

[@timjasper]

Wow! This is still an issue in Clickup 3.0. If you delete a doc view from a list, it deletes the actual doc. Also still no page permissions. Clickup docs are a very mixed bag in my opinion. (also it looks like they've removed changes to task descriptions from the activity feed. Now just shows a history similar to docs in the description)

[@Goodhealthall2015]

You look like a lawyer who just won a million dollars case, and ready to party. Your vibe is contagious.

[@MyWorldEcomm]

This is dope! Great video. We are new to ClickUp. Adding SOPs now. I messaged CL recently asking about adding hyperlinks SOPs with time stamps our SOP videos. They said down the line. With this feature would amazing.

[@LaylaPomper]

That would be a really powerful feature to see come out with Clip! 😍

[@piotrstryjniak8810]

Great video, thanks for sharing! One question - how do you manage updates within SOPs as tasks? I am aware that probably you need to make your templates up to date but what with all those tasks created before last SOP update? Is it something that you need to accept or you have some clever method? ;-)

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just catching up on comments🙈 We link the relevant SOP into each task. Whoever 'owns' that SOP is in charge of updating it regularly. Typically they have it open as they work and any changes that need to be made are updated while they're working. I hope this helps!

[@Henuda84]

lovely video! thanks for your tips

[@LaylaPomper]

You're so welcome! Thanks for watching!

[@luiscreates]

Hi Layla, does Clickup 3.0 now have all the features that were missing prior to switching over to list-based approach? I want to say yes, buuut you're the guru for a reason 🤓

[@LaylaPomper]

Awh! Check this video out for my run down ☺️ kzbin.info/www/bejne/o2a8YqBvp556qLM

[@TiffanyINC]

Hey Layla, question: it's Feb 2022 now and Docs can be put in folders. I really like Docs and have written a dozen SOPs with them! Now I'd like to create a few more folders to sort them, nesting within my SOP folder. Except I've discovered that you can't create a folder within a folder. Any suggestions? Oh and your thumbnail scared me til I saw the fine print!!

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Thank you for your patience as I'm just now getting caught up on all of these comments! If you still need support in this area, I think you'll love the ProcessDriven Collective! This is our free Facebook group where business owners and team leaders from all over the world come together to answer not only ClickUp specific questions but also process and systemization in general, including other platforms! Check it out here: processdriven.co/group

[@LaylaPomper]

What do you think? Should SOPs stay in Docs or move to Tasks in your team? Also, if you want to watch the free workshop I mention, check out: ⭐ The ClickUp Blueprint (free workshop) at processdriven.co/blueprint

[@andredei8492]

@Layla where to find how you operate now with the SOP's step by step?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 You can find our ultimate SOP guide here: processdriven.co/documentation/how-to-write-sops-that-your-team-will-actually-use-the-ultimate-step-by-step-guide/

[@meierthomas]

Interesting but timely as we're about to capture SOPs on ClickUp. Here's my question: Let's say I want to create an SOP/checklist for a manufacturing process to create widgets and track time on it. Is it possible to see the various instances of it in tasks e.g. if I built 10 widgets I should see 10 executions with the corresponding time stamps? Assuming it's possible how are these instances created?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Thomas! Thank you for your patience as I'm just now getting caught up on all of these comments! If you still need support in this area, I think you'll love the ProcessDriven Collective! This is our free Facebook group where business owners and team leaders from all over the world come together to answer not only ClickUp specific questions but also process and systemization in general, including other platforms! Check it out here: processdriven.co/group

[@Dice-Gamble]

Hey Layla, amazing breakdown. Just wanted to find out what Status you assign to SOP which are set as Tasks?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just catching up on comments🙈 The statuses we use for SOPs are: Not Started, To Improve and Excellent. I hope this helps!

[@hthought]

The delete view deleting the whole doc is so baffling to me, i've lost a full doc because of that, thankfully i had a copy. But it's terrible to be deleting a view and getting the file deleted as well :O

[@LaylaPomper]

I know, right? Luckily Trash is there as a backup!

[@marktucknutt7128]

If SOPs are stored as tasks and we decide to leave ClickUp, is there a way to export all that knowledge and effort?

[@LaylaPomper]

Yep! You can export into a CSV (simplified spreadsheet). In fact, I found it a bit easier than trying to export docs. 🤷‍♀️

[@soulongear]

This is cool, but how to prevent people from completing the SOP task (or deleting it ...)?

[@LaylaPomper]

You can limit permissions or use automations to catch any unwanted edits. 🤗

[@davetechlee]

How do you handle the reporting? - Do you mark the "SOP tasks" as completed so it doesn't get tracked? - Do you put it in a different area and in the reports filter, you filter out that list/project? Also, how do you handle having someone do a SOP task? Do you just clone it or reference a template? Thanks!

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just catching up on comments🙈 If you still need ClickUp support, consider joining us inside of the ProcessDriven Collective, our free Facebook group! Here you'll be able to connect with business owners and team leaders from all over the world and get help with your questions! processdriven.co/group

[@AbuMo]

Why not using other SOP datebases like guru?

[@LaylaPomper]

I'd think about personal preference at that point.

[@g30rg3-c5]

You are such an amazing teacher. I wonder if there is much demand for remote work freelancers that focus on this expertise by using ClickUp and if so would they be titled as Project Managers or ...?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 Typically people who teach ClickUp are called ClickUp Consultants. If they've gone through ClickUp's program, they're ClickUp Vetted Consultants, meaning that ClickUp recommends them. I hope this helps!

[@timjasper]

wow. Now I've just discovered that attachments added to comments in clickup tasks are completely open to the public. @layla no wonder you are exploring other options with Smartsuite etc.

[@qrona4388]

Hey. I saw this video is 2 years old. Is this still the same or did Clickup updated this that the disadvantages from the past are not there anymore?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! We still utilize tasks for our SOPs and find it to be great!

[@thygrrr]

I think I don't know what you mean by SOP, why would a standard operating procedure have a due date? And have anything to do with "Qualifying Leads"? Isn't that the SOP?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey there! In this application, using Due Date to remind us of when to review/revise the SOP. You're right that, in general, SOPs wouldn't have due dates in the traditional sense. :)

[@thygrrr]

@@LaylaPomper Thank you for clarifying. :)

[@arthurstolwijk]

That's an interesting idea Layla! It would also solve not being able to link directly to a specific chapter in a page. You can instead link directly to a specific task containing the info of that chapter. Question: if you use docs, you can have order: first chapter 1, then chapter 2 etc. How can you maintain order if you use tasks? I'm thinking of having a list of tasks and being able to drag a certain task higher or lower in the list. Do you know if that's possible? That would also be great for my to do list by the way.

[@NoobFriendlyAI]

Subtasks mb

[@LaylaPomper]

@@NoobFriendlyAI is exactly on point: Subtasks (with up to 7 layers) easily solve this issue and nest even deeper than our Doc pages could. :) That's exactly how I'd handle it.

[@NoobFriendlyAI]

@@LaylaPomper Hey Layla, I tried this style of SOPs with tasks but what bothers me is that I can't visually indicate what is what with Icons like we can do with Docs. For example on the page with things to fix on the site I had fire icon, and so on. Do you have any workaround to display icons in the name of the task or next to it? I thought that text field would do but it does not display emojis. If we use rank, then we can only have one type of emoji there. So how to make it more visually appealing?

[@NoobFriendlyAI]

@@LaylaPomper I tried a bunch of things including pinning a picture to the description, but it does not work the way I want. The only thing I can think of is creating a bunch of statuses with different colors and differentiate with this. But there are some cons to this method.

[@arthurstolwijk]

@@NoobFriendlyAI Great suggestion Andrew, much appreciated!

[@دالعذاري]

Good morning Pleas help in how to plan 12 week year in clickup Dr. Thaer Alethary / Iraq

[@LaylaPomper]

That's a great idea! I'll add it to our list. :)

[@staycelynne]

The workshop is not loading

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Stayce! Our site was getting an upgrade this evening, but you should see the link back up now. 🥳

[@JM-tp3xb]

Layla you can attach docs to tasks, what do you think about this function? I mean maybe it’s a solution to understand which doc is in progress and which one is completed

[@LaylaPomper]

It can definitely work! For us, it's still isn't quite enough to make me consider recommending Docs again. 🤷‍♀️

[@Ta50039]

Docs are the absolute worst part of ClickUp. Otherwise it's a great tool. They should really just kill the "feature". Great video and I love that you're able to be flexible enough to say "we tried it this way and ran into issues - here's a new way"

[@LaylaPomper]

Yeah, it feels like one of those features that hasn’t really kept up with where they’re heading for the main product. 🤔 And yes - just always trying to find the best way to get the job done! ☺️

[@zaekeon]

Does anyone know how to group a task view by a relationship field? It doesn't seem like it's possible....I can do this in smartsuite very easily ...ie: a tasks view that lists them by project, project being another list of just projects and tasks being a list with a relationship field to that list

[@LaylaPomper]

You're correct! However, it's still not possible in ClickUp using Relationships. 😢

[@GaryMagnone]

Great ideas here! Tasks are just so powerful these days and looks like they're only going to get more powerful...not sure how they ever bring Docs functionality up to par. One question I had is do you ever have issues with content in task descriptions getting edited/deleted accidentally? This has happened to some of my team members in the past and I couldn't find a way to "restore" the content. While it wasn't a huge issue for my isolated examples, I would hate for that to happen to our SOPs!

[@piotrstryjniak8810]

Same here - it would be great to have an option to block description some way.

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Gary! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 Unfortunately yes, we have had this happen in the past. However not recently. It may be helpful to have a backup for your SOPs in Google Docs. That way you have them easily accessible in your ClickUp account, but a backup you could find just in case.

[@carmennuland1996]

Do you then create subtasks for actual work that needs to be done each time so you can use the SOP as a template?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hi Carmen! No, actually. We create Tasks in a totally separate area and, in the description of that task, I might use a mention (@@) to say: "When doing this task, refer to the SOP @@" which links to these "Tasks".

[@abipaine5067]

I literally just watched the module in ClickinUp and hopped over here to watch the rest of the automation series. 🙃

[@LaylaPomper]

🥰 So happy to hear that, Abi!

[@feed5750]

How do you back up your SOPs, if they're tasks?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Feed! You can use Pro Backup to back up your tasks, even the ones that are SOPs (probackup.io/backup/clickup/). I hope this helps!

[@Nashadelicable]

This is pretty cool, the biggest thing I would miss is the ability to select text and add comments (in-context comments). Its very hard to discuss a document and give feedback if you can't really highlight text and have a conversation. You can do it in docs but not in tasks. Any thoughts on a workaround?

[@LaylaPomper]

Right now, we use Quotes of the Description to start a Thread in the Comments. Works well!

[@Goodhealthall2015]

Lol, this is what I actually wanted to do with my docs. I don't need a seperate doc to write and a seperate task list that tells me status of my article ( under review, approved, rejected, proof reading, published and so on). Currently, I am using notion database to manage this but I am considering switching to clickup

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 I hope you found what works for you!

[@PetrSUsername]

You haven't mentioned one key disadvantage - readability is much better in docs. In tasks you have to click 'seymour', scroll much more. The lines are much shorter because of the task screen design. You can't put there table of content.

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Petr! This is a great point, it IS a different viewing experience than with Docs. For us, it's hasn't been a significant factor, but it definitely could be for some teams! (However, you can have a Table of Contents! TOCs have long been supported unofficially if you copy-and-pasted doc values into a description...but a few months ago they "officially" made TOCs supported in Descriptions by simply typing /tc.)

[@AaronCCorbin]

Hey Layla! Thanks so much for the video! One question I have - doesn't this mess up your reporting in everything view? Because you know how tasks that are not really tasks.

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Just catching up on comments🙈 If you still need ClickUp support, consider joining us inside of the ProcessDriven Collective, our free Facebook group! Here you'll be able to connect with business owners and team leaders from all over the world and get help with your questions! processdriven.co/group

[@mweber5459]

Have you ever tried Guru?

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! I haven't personally.

[@alinajoseph7025]

I don't like click up docs cause it had performance issues. We switched to using notion for documents.

[@LaylaPomper]

Yeah, they're not the snappiest! Notions great, too. I use it for my personal wiki. 😊

[@LaylaPomper]

Want to work with me to get your SOPs updated (or created for the first time)? Join me for a live workshop on September 21, 2023. 🔗 Here's where you can learn more: processdriven.co/services/sop

[@DJSiTTriX]

You should send ClickUp this video so they can fix all the issues, they're awesome like that

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey! Sorry for the delay, this comment got missed in the shuffle.... We do our best to share our feedback with ClickUp in many forms! 😅 However, we encourage you to do the same!

[@AlexSanchezW]

The main fear I have of putting SOPs in Clickup is that then I won't be able to export them and have a backup

[@LaylaPomper]

I can appreciate that. Tasks do allow easier exporting, in my experience, but it's still always a worry with any software!

[@tflg]

Just staring creating SOPs and asking: Would you today still make your SOPs in Tasks instead of Docs?

[@LaylaPomper]

Yes, absolutely! Still would and still do! 🙂

[@ShaneRobinsonArtist]

Hmmm.... I’m new to ClickUp (coming from Notion since it launched) and as a Database Admin and System Architect for 25 years, even after watching this video twice in the past 2 days, I still don't see a viable, structural, or procedural reason to move SOP (or any content heavy documentation) from Docs to Tasks... Except for granular permissions, which our Team of 25 people doesn't need and which can be controlled via Related Tasks as I'll cover below: In terms of "Docs not having Folders" from a organization structure POV, I think you're looking at it backwards. Ignore the "Docs" section unless your Team can apply tags. Then, in any Space you can create a Folder that contains only Docs (no Lists) for that Space. So Marketing, Sales, Ops, Tech Spaces can all have their own "Docs" (or Library or References) folder in which are all the Docs for that Department, Team, etc. Permissions can be managed on the Space or Folder level which cascades down to the Docs. Then, when you need to update a Doc, you create a Task and either link directly to the Doc or create a Relationship to the Doc. That relationship is seen in both directions (from the Task to the Doc and vice versa) and the Task then contains all the permissions, history, and control that the Doc doesn't have...and frankly doesn't need by it's nature of being a Doc. Also, because the SOP (or whatever the content of the Doc) is in a Doc, you have the ability to externally share, export as PDF/HTML/Markdown. From my POV and experience it seems rich content-heavy documentation staying in Docs, with relationships to Tasks provides the best of both worlds. I certainly welcome any additional points that I've missed or overlooked.

[@LaylaPomper]

Thank you for your perspective. You make some great points. Part of our thinking is based on the idea from this video: 5 Reasons NOT to upload to ClickUp (ClickUp isn't best for file storage!) kzbin.info/www/bejne/d5-veq2YgL2nbKs We have definitely seen some of the members inside ProcessDriven Foundations™️ create those relationships by using custom fields and linking Google Docs to the task.

[@ShaneRobinsonArtist]

@@LaylaPomper Thanks for the reply (and the GREAT content on your channel!) Yeah we are in the process of migrating our 20 Team Members from Asana to ClickUp and I've been linking out to Notion (I've used it since it launched) for "Docs" in Asana...and I just got the word from the CTO that we're not going to be uploading Docs/Files to ClickUp.... But I absolutely abhor Google Docs and the Google ecosystem. Your "5 Reasons not to upload..." is on my "To Watch" task list (in ClickUp) and I'm going to have to weigh holding my nose to use Google Docs or use ClickUp Docs. Part of my thinking on that is, if ClickUp is down, no one has access to their Tasks or comms anyway. I deeply appreciate you sharing your experience and helpful info. I've sent links to your videos to so many people over the last few weeks!

[@MarkChinsky]

So assuming this video isn't old and the issue is resolved, why not just embed a Doc in a task. This gives you all the nicer editing features of docs, with the power of Tasks which act as a wrapper? You can either Embed the doc in the description or in the comment area or even as an attachment

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Mark! That effectively what we used to do with the mentions and links method -- link in the doc to the task, link in the task to the doc. There's no reason it can't work -- it just didn't work for my own team. It felt overly-complicated and I didn't feel like the Doc editing features were worth maintaining the separate layers which (inevitably) confused someone. :)

[@quiggy92]

Haha I love the clickbait thumbnail :P

[@LaylaPomper]

😂 I know, I know. I wanted to try to do *something* to make SOP work interesting.

[@pipegris]

The more I use ClickUp, the more I see it's like a golden hammer kind of tool, people tries workarounds to make it do something apparently it wasn't designed for. And the UI is a cluttered mess. _When all you have is a hammer, every problem starts to look like a nail_

[@rubenssza]

legend!

[@LaylaPomper]

Hey Rubens! Just getting caught up on comments🙈 Thank you!