Mine knots easily as it's so long so I feel your pain!
It's a bit pricey but nowadays I swear by the B&B invisible oil primer for getting tangles out (I actually used to love the Boots own brand coconut detangler but at some point they stopped selling it), combined with some sort of tangle brush (mine isn't an actual tangle teaser but similar).
I don't wash my hair every day as it's a pain, but I like to brush my hair before bed, put hair oil in the ends and put it in a loose braid overnight. For my hair at least, I've noticed it will tangle so much more easily if the ends are dry, so using hair oil really helps.
I have noticed hair bands can occasionally be an issue for me - but I think this is generally because any sort of rubbing will cause tangles/matting - so scarfs, coats, etc. in winter, potentially hair ties depending on how you wear them as well.
A few years back I was living in a drier country that got really cold in winter and I also had to deal with the air con/heating drying my hair out once I got to work. But doing the oil/braid thing at night and then not taking it out until I got to the office really helped, and then if it was really dry I would apply a bit more oil to the ends halfway through the day as well.
All that being said though - it probably all depends a lot on your hair type too. Mine is naturally straight but long and can get really dry at the ends. I'm guessing if you have curly hair you might need to treat it differently.