Get started with Wrike

Overview

This guide is designed to help new Wrike users get started with Wrike, the powerful work management platform. By the end of this guide, you'll understand Wrike's core concepts and be able to navigate the platform, create tasks, and collaborate effectively with your team.

Part 1: The Wrike Hierarchy: Your Workspace Explained

Wrike is built on a clear, hierarchical structure that helps you organize and manage all your work. Think of it like a digital filing cabinet.

• Spaces: This is the highest level of organization. A Space is typically created for a department, team, or a major business function (e.g., "Marketing," "Product Development," "Human Resources"). Everything you do in Wrike will live within a Space. When you first join Wrike, you'll likely have a "Personal" Space for your private tasks, your team may assign you to other spaces.
• Projects and Folders: Within a Space, you have Projects and Folders.
  • Projects: These are for work with a defined goal, timeline, and outcome. A Project has a status, a start and end date, and can be tracked with views like Gantt charts. Use Projects for things like "Q3 Marketing Campaign" or "New Website Launch."
  • Folders: These are for organizing and grouping work. A Folder is a simple container and doesn't have a status or dates of its own. You can use folders to group related projects or tasks, such as creating a "2024 Initiatives" folder to hold all your projects for the year.
• Tasks: These are the most granular level of work. A task is an individual, actionable item. This is where you'll spend most of your time. Every task has a title, a description, an assignee, and a status.

Part 2: Creating a Space and Project

Once you understand the Wrike hierarchy, the next step is to start building it out. Here's how to create your first Space and Project.

How to Create a Space

A new Space is the foundation for a new team or a major new initiative.

1. On the left-hand navigation panel, look for the + button at the top of the panel and select it.
2. From the menu that appears, select New Space.
3. Give your new Space a name (e.g., "Marketing").
4. Choose who can access it. You can make it Private (only visible to you) or Shared (visible to a specific group of users).
5. Select Create Space.

How to Create a Project

A Project is where the real work happens. You'll always create a Project or Folder inside of an existing Space.

1. Navigate to the Space where you want to create your new project. You can select the Space's name in the left-hand navigation panel.
2. At the top of the main view, select the + Item button.
3. From the dropdown menu, select Project.
4. Give your project a clear, descriptive title.
5. Set the project's status, and enter a start date and due date.
6. Choose Create.

Pro-tip: How to Create a Project from a Template

If you have work that is repeated often, like an employee onboarding process or a new product launch checklist, you can save a lot of time by creating a project from a pre-made template.

1. Find a template: Navigate to the Space where you want your new project to live.
2. Select the + Item button and select Project from Template.
3. A pop-up window will appear, listing all the available templates. Select the template you want to use.
4. Configure the new project:
   1. Enter a new title for your project.
   2. Set the new project's start date and due date.
   3. You can also select which tasks and sub-projects from the template you want to include.
5. Choose Create. Wrike will now create a new, fully-structured project with all the tasks and information from the template, saving you from having to set it up from scratch.

Part 3: Creating Your First Task

Creating a task is the most fundamental action in Wrike. It's how you turn an idea or a to-do into an actionable work item.

1. Navigate to the right place: First, go to the Project or Folder where you want to create your task.
2. Select "Create Task": You can do this by choosing the + Item button at the top of the screen or by selecting "New Task" within a list view.
3. Give it a clear name: The title should be concise and descriptive (e.g., "Draft social media copy for launch," not "Social media").
4. Add details:
   • Description: Use the description to provide all the necessary information, context, and any relevant links or attachments.
   • Assignee: Assign the task to yourself or a teammate.
   • Dates: Set a start date and a due date. This helps you and your team stay on schedule.
   • Status: Change the status to reflect the task's progress (e.g., "In Progress," "Completed," "On Hold").

Part 4: Collaboration and Communication

Wrike is a collaboration tool, so knowing how to communicate effectively is essential.

Sharing

By default, when you share a Project or Folder, all the tasks and subfolders within it are also shared. This is called inherited sharing. This top-down sharing model ensures everyone on the team has access to the information they need.

How to share: You can share a task, folder, or project by selecting the "Share" button at the top of the item's view. You can then add individual users or user groups.

@mentions

The @mention feature is your best friend for communication. It's the most effective way to get someone's attention on a specific task.

• How to use it: In a task's comments section, simply type @ followed by the person's name (e.g., @John Smith).
• What it does:
  • It sends a notification to that person's Wrike Inbox.
  • It gives them access to the task if they don't already have it.
  • It keeps the conversation attached to the work, so you don't have to search through emails.

Part 5: Managing Notifications and Settings

Wrike sends you notifications to keep you informed about important updates. You can customize these to avoid an overflowing inbox.

How to Change Your Email Preferences

1. Select your profile picture: You'll find this in the bottom-left corner of the Wrike interface.
2. Go to Settings: A menu will appear. Select "Settings."
3. Find Email Preferences: In the settings panel, look for "Email Preferences" on the left-hand side.
4. Customize your notifications: Here, you can check and uncheck the types of notifications you want to receive via email. You can also set a schedule for daily "To-do" list emails.

Other Helpful Tips for Beginners

• Use the Wrike Inbox: Your Inbox is your personal hub for all notifications, mentions, and updates. Check it regularly to stay on top of your work.
• My Work: This is a default view in Wrike that shows you all the tasks assigned to you across every project and folder. It's the perfect place to start your day and prioritize your to-do list.
• Explore different views: Wrike offers various ways to visualize your work, including Board View (Kanban style), Table View (spreadsheet style), and Gantt Charts. Try them out to see which view helps you work most efficiently.