In our business we have multiple marketing teams each with their own board. I’m trying to create a business wide social media calendar that picks up the social media posts from each board without adding an extra place for people to update
I’ve connected the boards and have an automation set up with a mirror column to update the status. The only automation I can see that is suitable is to action something when a column changes. The issue we have is that every time the date changes, it creates a new item in the connected board. I tried it with a condition, but that didn’t work as we don’t always have a date for the social media post when starting work on the task.
I need a solution that blocks duplicate items being created in the connected board and a way to ensure that when the date changes on main board, it’s updated on the connected board.
To add complexity to the issue, I also need to replicate the solution across a number of boards that feed into the connected social media calendar board.
The issue you’re running into is just about where the item creation is being triggered.
Right now, duplicates are happening because the item is being created when the date changes - and that automation will fire every single time the date is edited.
Instead, I’d recommend this setup:
Use the automation: “When item is created → create item in Social Media Calendar and connect the boards.”
This way, the item is created once, linked permanently, and you won’t get duplicates.
Then to keep the date aligned:
Add a Mirror column on the Global board to reflect the Social Media Date
Because the items are already connected, any date updates will simply update the existing item - not create a new one.
This will keep everything centralized without requiring teams to update in two places.
Hey Kelly,
The key is to avoid “create item” automations and instead use “update column in connected board” automations. That way, changes in the main board (like dates) automatically sync, and you don’t get duplicates.
Instead of creating a new item when something changes, it keeps one single item synced across boards - One source of truth, one updates thread, one shared date column.
If someone changes the date on the marketing board — it updates everywhere it needs to be shown.
And since you mentioned multiple teams feeding into one calendar — this is actually one of the most common use cases we see: creating true master boards without recreating data.
Happy to show you how this would look in your setup if helpful. You can learn more here: https://sameitem.com
Hi @KellyB
This can be handled using Make, and it’s a much more reliable way to prevent duplicates and keep everything in sync.
Here’s the simple approach:
Make can watch each marketing team’s board for new items. When an item is first created, Make will create a matching item in the central social media calendar board and store the connection between the two items.
After that, whenever the date or other details change on the original item, Make will update the existing item in the calendar board instead of creating a new one. This prevents duplicates and keeps both boards aligned.
Since Make tracks the connection between items, you can also use the same setup across multiple boards, so all marketing teams feed into one central calendar automatically without requiring extra manual updates.
Hello @KellyB
You’re running into this because the automation is triggered by date changes. Every time the date updates, monday sees it as a new trigger and creates a new item since it cannot tell which existing item to update.
The cleanest setup is:
Create the calendar item only once
Trigger creation based on a status change like “Ready to schedule” instead of “When date changes”.
Use Connect Boards plus Mirror columns
Once the items are connected, mirror the Date and other fields into the master social calendar. When the date changes on the original board, it updates automatically in the mirror. No second automation needed.
Standardize across teams
Create one board template with the same columns and connection so you can replicate it consistently across all marketing boards.
If you’d like hands-on help or want us to walk through this live, you can book a 1:1 paid 60-minute strategy session with our team here: Calendly
It sounds like the duplicates are happening because the automation creates a new item every time the date changes. I’d try creating the calendar item just once (for example when status changes), then use Connect Boards + Mirror for the date. That way if the date updates, it just syncs instead of creating a new item.
The create item recipe is firing every time the date changes, so it keeps making duplicates. I’d switch to creating and connecting the item only once on item creation, then use an update column in connected board automation to push date changes to the already linked item so it stays in sync without creating anything new.
