diff --git a/app/(dashboard)/_components/board-list.tsx b/app/(dashboard)/_components/board-list.tsx
index ab25f0f..47902ff 100644
--- a/app/(dashboard)/_components/board-list.tsx
+++ b/app/(dashboard)/_components/board-list.tsx
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ export const BoardList = ({ orgId }: BoardListProps) => {
   const searchParams = useSearchParams();
   const { organization } = useOrganization();
   const [isOrgSwitching, setIsOrgSwitching] = useState(false);
+  const [hasConvexError, setHasConvexError] = useState(false);
 
   // Inject keyframes dynamically since no global CSS is used
   useEffect(() => {
@@ -41,14 +42,17 @@ export const BoardList = ({ orgId }: BoardListProps) => {
     };
   }, []);
 
-  // Handle organization switching
+  // Handle organization switching with improved error handling
   useEffect(() => {
     if (organization?.id !== orgId) {
       setIsOrgSwitching(true);
       const timer = setTimeout(() => {
         setIsOrgSwitching(false);
-      }, 1000);
+      }, 2000); // Increased timeout to handle RSC delays
       return () => clearTimeout(timer);
+    } else {
+      // Clear switching state when organization matches
+      setIsOrgSwitching(false);
     }
   }, [organization?.id, orgId]);
 
@@ -63,9 +67,53 @@ export const BoardList = ({ orgId }: BoardListProps) => {
 
   const data = useQuery(api.boards.get, { orgId, search, favorites });
 
+  // Handle Convex connection errors with improved timeout
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      if (data === undefined && !hasConvexError && !isOrgSwitching) {
+        setHasConvexError(true);
+      }
+    }, 8000); // Increased timeout to handle organization switching
+
+    if (data !== undefined) {
+      setHasConvexError(false);
+    }
+
+    return () => clearTimeout(timeout);
+  }, [data, hasConvexError, isOrgSwitching]);
+
   // Debug logging
   // console.log("BoardList - Search:", search, "Favorites:", favorites, "Data:", data);
 
+  // Show error state when Convex backend is unavailable
+  if (hasConvexError) {
+    return (
+      <div className="relative h-full flex items-center justify-center">
+        <div className="text-center space-y-4">
+          <div className="text-6xl">🔌</div>
+          <h2 className="text-2xl font-semibold">Connection Error</h2>
+          <p className="text-muted-foreground max-w-md">
+            Unable to connect to the backend. Please make sure the Convex development server is running.
+          </p>
+          <div className="space-y-2">
+            <p className="text-sm text-muted-foreground">
+              Run this command in your terminal:
+            </p>
+            <code className="bg-muted p-2 rounded text-sm block">
+              npx convex dev
+            </code>
+          </div>
+          <button 
+            onClick={() => window.location.reload()} 
+            className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-600 text-white rounded-lg hover:bg-blue-700 transition-colors"
+          >
+            Retry Connection
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
   // Show loading state when organization is switching
   if (isOrgSwitching || data === undefined) {
     return (
diff --git a/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx b/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx
index 10a7e3a..ad6bbbe 100644
--- a/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx
+++ b/app/(dashboard)/layout.tsx
@@ -7,6 +7,7 @@ import { ConvexClientProvider } from "@/providers/convex-client-provider";
 import { Toaster } from "@/components/ui/sonner";
 import { ModalProvider } from "@/providers/modal-provider";
 import { useEffect } from "react";
+import ErrorBoundary from "@/components/error-boundary";
 
 interface DashboardLayoutProps {
   children: React.ReactNode;
@@ -81,7 +82,9 @@ const DashboardLayout = ({ children }: DashboardLayoutProps) => {
                 <Navbar />
                 <div className="flex-1 p-3 md:p-6 overflow-hidden">
                   <div className="h-full bg-white/70 dark:bg-slate-800/70 backdrop-blur-sm rounded-xl md:rounded-2xl shadow-xl border border-white/20 dark:border-slate-700/20 overflow-hidden flex flex-col">
-                    {children}
+                    <ErrorBoundary>
+                      {children}
+                    </ErrorBoundary>
                   </div>
                 </div>
               </div>
diff --git a/app/(dashboard)/page.tsx b/app/(dashboard)/page.tsx
index 0be87c2..06d6648 100644
--- a/app/(dashboard)/page.tsx
+++ b/app/(dashboard)/page.tsx
@@ -4,9 +4,56 @@ import { useOrganization } from "@clerk/nextjs";
 import { EmptyOrg } from "./_components/empty-org";
 import { BoardList } from "./_components/board-list";
 import { MobileOptimization } from "@/components/mobile-optimization";
+import { useEffect, useState } from "react";
 
 const DashboardPage = () => {
-  const { organization } = useOrganization();
+  const { organization, isLoaded } = useOrganization();
+  const [orgError, setOrgError] = useState(false);
+
+  // Handle organization loading errors with improved timeout
+  useEffect(() => {
+    const timeout = setTimeout(() => {
+      if (!isLoaded && !orgError) {
+        setOrgError(true);
+      }
+    }, 5000); // Increased timeout to handle RSC delays
+
+    if (isLoaded) {
+      setOrgError(false);
+    }
+
+    return () => clearTimeout(timeout);
+  }, [isLoaded, orgError]);
+
+  // Show error state if organization fails to load
+  if (orgError) {
+    return (
+      <div className="relative h-full flex items-center justify-center">
+        <div className="text-center space-y-4">
+          <div className="text-6xl">⚠️</div>
+          <h2 className="text-2xl font-semibold">Authentication Error</h2>
+          <p className="text-muted-foreground max-w-md">
+            Unable to load organization information. Please check your authentication setup.
+          </p>
+          <button 
+            onClick={() => window.location.reload()} 
+            className="px-4 py-2 bg-blue-600 text-white rounded-lg hover:bg-blue-700 transition-colors"
+          >
+            Retry
+          </button>
+        </div>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
+
+  // Show loading state while organization is loading
+  if (!isLoaded) {
+    return (
+      <div className="relative h-full flex items-center justify-center">
+        <div className="animate-spin h-8 w-8 border-2 border-blue-500 border-t-transparent rounded-full"></div>
+      </div>
+    );
+  }
 
   return (
     <>
diff --git a/components/error-boundary.tsx b/components/error-boundary.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1231b81
--- /dev/null
+++ b/components/error-boundary.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+"use client";
+
+import React from "react";
+import { Button } from "@/components/ui/button";
+
+interface ErrorBoundaryState {
+  hasError: boolean;
+  error?: Error;
+}
+
+interface ErrorBoundaryProps {
+  children: React.ReactNode;
+  fallback?: React.ComponentType<{ error?: Error; reset: () => void }>;
+}
+
+export class ErrorBoundary extends React.Component<ErrorBoundaryProps, ErrorBoundaryState> {
+  constructor(props: ErrorBoundaryProps) {
+    super(props);
+    this.state = { hasError: false };
+  }
+
+  static getDerivedStateFromError(error: Error): ErrorBoundaryState {
+    return { hasError: true, error };
+  }
+
+  componentDidCatch(error: Error, errorInfo: React.ErrorInfo) {
+    console.error("ErrorBoundary caught an error:", error, errorInfo);
+  }
+
+  reset = () => {
+    this.setState({ hasError: false, error: undefined });
+  };
+
+  render() {
+    if (this.state.hasError) {
+      const FallbackComponent = this.props.fallback || DefaultErrorFallback;
+      return <FallbackComponent error={this.state.error} reset={this.reset} />;
+    }
+
+    return this.props.children;
+  }
+}
+
+function DefaultErrorFallback({ error, reset }: { error?: Error; reset: () => void }) {
+  return (
+    <div className="relative h-full flex items-center justify-center p-6">
+      <div className="text-center space-y-4 max-w-md">
+        <div className="text-6xl">⚠️</div>
+        <h2 className="text-2xl font-semibold">Something went wrong</h2>
+        <p className="text-muted-foreground">
+          {error?.message || "An unexpected error occurred while loading this page."}
+        </p>
+        <div className="space-y-2">
+          <Button onClick={reset} className="w-full">
+            Try Again
+          </Button>
+          <Button 
+            variant="outline" 
+            onClick={() => window.location.reload()} 
+            className="w-full"
+          >
+            Reload Page
+          </Button>
+        </div>
+        {process.env.NODE_ENV === "development" && error && (
+          <details className="text-left text-xs text-muted-foreground mt-4">
+            <summary>Error Details</summary>
+            <pre className="mt-2 p-2 bg-muted rounded overflow-auto">
+              {error.stack}
+            </pre>
+          </details>
+        )}
+      </div>
+    </div>
+  );
+}
+
+export default ErrorBoundary;
diff --git a/middleware.ts b/middleware.ts
index d2b5c0a..569477d 100644
--- a/middleware.ts
+++ b/middleware.ts
@@ -1,8 +1,12 @@
-import { clerkMiddleware } from "@clerk/nextjs/server";
+import { clerkMiddleware, createRouteMatcher } from "@clerk/nextjs/server";
+
+const isPublicRoute = createRouteMatcher(["/", "/sign-in(.*)", "/sign-up(.*)"]);
 
 export default clerkMiddleware(async (auth, req) => {
   const { userId, redirectToSignIn } = await auth();
-  if (!userId) {
+  
+  // Protect routes that aren't public
+  if (!userId && !isPublicRoute(req)) {
     redirectToSignIn();
   }
 });