Free action items template and tracker

Action items tracker

ACTION ITEMS TRACKER
Meeting: [Meeting name]
Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]
Attendees: [Names]

| #  | Action item                          | Owner    | Due date   | Status      | Notes                  |
|----|--------------------------------------|----------|------------|-------------|------------------------|
| 1  | [Verb + clear outcome]               | [Name]   | [DD/MM]    | Not started | [Link or context]      |
| 2  | [e.g. Send revised quote to client]  | [Name]   | [DD/MM]    | In progress |                        |
| 3  | [e.g. Book venue for Q4 offsite]     | [Name]   | [DD/MM]    | Done        |                        |

Status key: Not started / In progress / Blocked / Done

CARRIED OVER FROM LAST MEETING
| Action item                          | Owner    | Original due | New due    | Why it slipped         |
|--------------------------------------|----------|--------------|------------|------------------------|
| [Action item]                        | [Name]   | [DD/MM]      | [DD/MM]    | [Reason]               |

RULES OF THUMB
- Start every item with a verb: send, book, draft, decide, review.
- One owner per item. "The team" is not an owner.
- Every item gets a date, even a rough one.
- Review this list at the start of the next meeting.

How to use this action items template

Open it before the meeting. Fill in the meeting name, date and attendees.
Capture items as they're agreed. Don't wait until the end, when half the room has already left.
Name one owner. If two people share a task, pick the one who will chase it.
Set a date. A rough date is better than none, and it can always move.
Review it next time. Open the next meeting by walking through the tracker. Anything that slipped goes into the carried-over table with a reason.

Why action items get lost

Most action items don't fail because people are lazy. They fail because they live in meeting notes, and nobody opens meeting notes again. The fix is to move action items somewhere the team already works, like a shared board, with an owner and a date.

We wrote more about this in how to turn meeting notes into action items.

Action item examples

Weak: Follow up on the website.
Strong: Sam to send homepage copy changes to the designer by Thursday.
Weak: Budget discussion.
Strong: Priya to share a revised Q4 budget with the leadership team by 15 Oct.

Keep your tracker on a board

A spreadsheet tracker works until the team grows. On a BOO Workspace board, each action item is a card with an owner, due date and status, visible in kanban, table and calendar views. Link the meeting it came from, and the context is one click away.

Skip the typing

Or let Lilly fill it in.

In BOO Workspace, a notetaker joins your Google Meet, Zoom or Teams call. Afterwards, Lilly AI drafts every action item with a proposed owner and due date. You accept the ones you want and they land on the right board.

See how Lilly works

Every action item gets a suggested owner and due date.
Nothing lands on a board until you accept it.
Recurring meetings carry open items into the next one.
Transcription always completes, even if AI credits run low.

Good to know.

What are action items?

Action items are specific tasks agreed in a meeting, each with a person responsible and a deadline. They turn a discussion into work someone will actually do.

What makes a good action item?

It starts with a verb, has a single owner, has a due date, and describes a finished outcome. "Send the revised quote to Acme by Friday" is an action item. "Look into pricing" is not.

How do I track action items across meetings?

Keep one running tracker per recurring meeting and review open items at the start of each one. In BOO Workspace, recurring meetings carry open items forward automatically.

Can action items be created automatically?

Yes. In BOO Workspace, Lilly AI reads the meeting and drafts each action item with a proposed owner and due date. You accept the ones you want, and they land on your board.

More templates.

Meeting minutes templateA free meeting minutes template with action items built in. Record attendees, decisions, motions and owned follow-ups in one simple format.Meeting recap templateA free meeting recap template and recap email to copy. Summarise decisions, action items and next steps in five minutes, and send it before people forget.Follow-up email after a meetingFree follow-up email templates to send after a meeting, for internal teams, clients and sales calls. Confirm next steps, owners and dates in one short email.

An action items template that makes things happen.