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Using the Rocks tab

Using the Rocks tab

The Rocks tab helps teams manage their most important priorities for the quarter. Use it to track progress, organize upcoming work, and connect team priorities to larger company goals.

How Rocks are organized

Rocks are grouped into sections based on their current stage and status.

Active Rocks

Active Rocks are currently being worked on and are grouped by status:

  • On-track
  • At-risk
  • Off-track
  • Completed
  • Cancelled

Keeping statuses updated helps teams quickly understand progress and identify work that needs attention.

Rock status icons and colors

Each Rock status has its own icon and color so you can identify a Rock's state at a glance. All status icons sit inside a circle:

  • On-Track — green circle with a dot icon
  • At Risk — yellow circle with a question mark
  • Off-Track — orange circle with an exclamation point
  • Completed — blue circle with a check mark
  • Planned — purple circle with a right arrow
  • Backlog — gray circle with a dashed outline (no inner icon)
  • Cancelled — black circle with a slash

These same colors and icons are used wherever a Rock appears, including inside meetings and linked Objectives.

Backlog

The Backlog contains Rocks that have been identified but are not yet scheduled. Use this section to capture future priorities without adding them to active work.

Planned

Planned Rocks are approved for upcoming work but have not started yet. Use this section to organize upcoming quarterly priorities.

Archived

A Rock can be archived once it's marked as Completed. Before that, the Archive option in the Additional settings dropdown (⁝) is grayed out and unavailable — marking the Rock Completed is what enables it. Archiving itself is then a separate manual step done through that menu. Archived Rocks are kept for historical reference, and archiving is reversible — you can move an archived Rock back at any time if it needs to become active again.

What's included in a Rock

Each Rock contains required details and optional fields for planning and tracking progress.

Required fields

Every Rock must include:

  • Icon
  • Title
  • Team
  • Owner
  • Status

The Owner is responsible for maintaining and updating the Rock.

Optional fields

You can also add:

  • Description
  • Milestones
  • Objective
  • Due date
  • Tags
  • Links to related items

These fields provide additional structure, context, and visibility.

How a Rock appears in the list

Each row in the Rocks tab follows a consistent layout. Reading left to right, you'll see:

  1. A dropdown arrow — when the Rock has milestones, clicking the arrow expands the row to show them inline. Rocks without milestones don't display this arrow.
  2. Status — the status icon and color (see above).
  3. Rock title — the name of the Rock.
  4. Progress — fraction and percentage based on completed milestones.
  5. Due date — the Rock's target completion date. If the date is past due, it's displayed in red.
  6. Creator — the user who created the Rock.
  7. Notes — the Notes icon, with a number badge if Notes exist.
  8. Additional settings dropdown (⁝) — on the far right, opens the Edit / History / Archive / Delete menu.

Not every Rock will show every column. Items appear in this order when they're present; if a field isn't set (for example, a Rock without milestones or without a due date), that element is simply omitted from the row.

To view a Rock's milestones, click the dropdown arrow on the left. Milestones can only be viewed from within their Rock.

Using milestones

Milestones break a Rock into smaller stages of work. Each milestone includes:

  • Status — uses the same status options as Rocks (On-track, At-risk, Off-track, Completed, Cancelled)
  • Name
  • Due date
  • Owner

As milestones are marked Completed, they automatically advance the Rock's overall progress. The Rock displays its progress as a fraction (e.g., 2 / 4) and a percentage, so you can see how far along it is at a glance.

Milestone lifecycle

  • Milestones live inside their Rock and are only viewable by opening that Rock.
  • Milestones can be deleted but not archived on their own.
  • When the Rock itself is archived, its milestones are archived along with it. Deleting the Rock deletes its milestones too.

Link Rocks to Objectives

You can connect a Rock to a company Objective to align team work with larger goals. When a Rock is linked:

  • Progress contributes to the related Objective automatically
  • Teams can track how quarterly work supports company priorities
  • Leadership gains better visibility into overall progress

Create and manage Rocks

  1. Open a team.
  2. Select the Rocks tab.
  3. Create or open a Rock.
  4. Add the required fields.
  5. Optionally add milestones, due dates, tags, or linked items.
  6. Update the Rock status as work progresses.
  7. Archive completed or inactive Rocks from the Additional settings dropdown (⁝) when appropriate.

Adding Notes to a Rock

Notes let you attach additional context, follow-ups, or ongoing updates directly to a Rock without changing its description or fields. Use them to capture progress updates, decisions, blockers, or commentary as work on the Rock evolves.

A Note lives on the Rock it's added to, so anyone opening the Rock sees the original details along with any Notes that have been added to it.

When to use a Note

  • To share a progress update on the Rock or one of its milestones
  • To add context that didn't fit in the original description
  • To capture decisions, blockers, or next steps as the work moves forward
  • To preserve a running history of how the Rock has changed over the quarter

Add a Note to a Rock

  1. Locate the Rock you want to add a Note to.
  2. Click the note icon to the far right of the Rock, just to the left of the three-button menu (Edit, History, Archive, Delete). When Notes already exist on the Rock, a number appears above the icon showing how many. Clicking it opens a compact view of the Rock, a thread of any existing Notes, and a text box for adding a new Note.
  3. Type your Note in the text box.
  4. Click Add note to post it.

Your Note appears in the thread alongside any earlier Notes, so the full history of context and updates stays with the Rock. Notes are preserved when a Rock is archived, but they're deleted along with the Rock if the Rock itself is deleted.

Best practices

  • Keep Rock statuses updated so progress remains accurate.
  • Break large Rocks into milestones with clear owners and due dates.
  • Use Backlog and Planned sections to organize future work.
  • Link Rocks to company Objectives whenever possible.
  • Review Active Rocks regularly to identify risks early.
  • Use Notes to capture updates and decisions as work progresses, so the Rock's history stays with it instead of living in chat or email.

Things to keep in mind

  • The Archive option is grayed out until a Rock is marked as Completed. Archiving itself is a separate manual step from the Additional settings dropdown (⁝), and is reversible.
  • Deleting a Rock is permanent, and any Notes on it are deleted with it.
  • A Rock belongs to one team. You can move it to another team or change its owner, but it can't be co-owned.
  • Rock status affects how work appears in the Active view.
  • Linked Rocks automatically contribute progress to connected Objectives.
  • Milestones help teams track incremental progress throughout the quarter.

Related articles

  • Using Notes
  • Linking items together
  • Icons, Tags, and shared item elements
  • Keyboard shortcuts
  • Setting and tracking company goals with Objectives
  • Track team KPIs
  • Assign and track To-dos
  • Using the Team Dashboard
  • Running meetings