How do I set up something in Smartsheet for Multiple Projects with the same tasks for each?

peg

Hi, I've spent way to long trying to figure out if Smartsheet can do what I want it to do so I thought I'd ask the experts.

I have about 70 events a year and 150 tasks to complete for each event. It is just me working on this so I don't need to assign or escalate. I need to have reminders on certain tasks for different days. The are many different dates for the reminders and besides the event date there aren't any hard and fast deadlines for a task. The reminder is more so I remember to do it and not get it done by a certain date kind of thing.

1) Below is a screen shot of one way I tried with the event name on the column and the tasks on the rows. I need a different reminder for each column under say Post-Course email (5th row down) to tell me what date to send the email for the event in that column

2) I have also tried setting it up with the event in the row and each task in a column. Same as above, I would need different reminders in different cells on the same row.

I like the visual appeal of the collapsible tasks better because I like to be able to see more details at the same time instead of having to scroll right like in the second screenshot. Oh, and I would like to keep it all in one sheet.

Would anyone have any ideas on how I can set this up or how to help me?

Gillian C

Personally, when I have multiple events in one sheet I've always found it beneficial to lay the sheet out like option 2 above. This means that you set up your automations that you want and each time you add a new event it will automatically include that within your current automations. (whereas if you set it out as in Option 1 you will need multiple automations for each event and with a maximum of 150 automations per sheet you may run out.)

You could always use 'Card View' (rather than Grid View) to see your information vertically? (If you made the 'Course Name' column a dropdown column you would be able to sort the Card view by Course Name. This would give you a 'Card' per Course, then when you double click the card a window opens with all the columns transposed so they are viewed vertically). You could also look at creating a Dynamic View from your sheet? This way you can have the main 4 or 5 columns in your initial Dynamic View, with the activities visible within the Details panel to the right...this also lets you enter or change details and add attachments as required.

I've added a mock up of the Card View and Dynamic View as an example.

Hope that helps?

Andrée Starå

Hi @peg

I hope you're well and safe!

To add to Gillian's excellent advice/answer.

I'd recommend two different main options for the structure, and the best depends on your preference.

• Everything is on one sheet, and you could have a template section that you copy for each event.
• A templated structure with a sheet per project, but you could also add reports, dashboards, and other sheets that could help in the process. You could then view everything together in a report. Each event would start with you making a copy of the template structure, which could be a folder or a workspace.

Would that work/help?

I hope that helps!

Be safe, and have a fantastic week!

Best,

Andrée Starå | Workflow Consultant / CEO @ WORK BOLD

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