As a follow-up to one of our Steps to Everyday Productivity Q&A calls, Jill, a member of the LearnDoBecome team, recorded this video to give us a peak into her Asana system.
Using the new “boards” feature, Jill organized and streamlined her “mind sweep” of ideas, projects, goals, needs and wants. While this is simply showing one way you can use Asana, we hope some of the ideas here can work for you. Watch the video to get all her tips for optimizing your system!
Time Stamps
0:00 – Introduction
1:00 – Setting up your routines in Asana
1:20 – Accounts: add family members to your “team”
3:00 – Organizing mind sweep in Asana
6:00 – Using Asana’s “boards” for current projects
7:30 – Adding a new project/task, subtasks
10:40 – Adding task to weekly Context Based Next Actions list
12:20 – Current projects in “list” section vs. “board” section
Other helpful tips Jill shared:
- You can move an entire section without losing your heading by clicking on a section heading, holding the shift key and using the arrow keys to go down as many rows as needed. Once the section is highlighted, drag and drop the section to where you want it!
- If you struggle with capturing ideas in the moment, consider using Siri (or another virtual assistant) to get the ideas into your phone – and then move them from Reminders into Asana during your weekly review.
- Jill loves to pair Asana with Evernote, creating a seamless system throughout your devices. She uses Evernote to keep long term items – kids’ sport schedules, recipes, handwritten notes and more! Evernote serves as an amazing online filing system, while Asana is an excellent tool for project management, breaking projects down into tasks.
- If you would like to use Asana for work and home, you can use two different browsers, so that it will automatically pull up the correct one, and you can easily toggle between both.
Do you want to review another way to set up Asana to manage routines and projects? Check out the podcast April recorded here!
Regardless of where you keep your projects, the key is to find what works best for you! We want you to invest some time optimizing your system, so that it fits your needs and preferences.
What are some things you’ve done to set yourself up for success in your projects – on paper or digitally? Share your tips in the comments below!
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Can you share an example of your daily/weekly/monthly/quarterly/semi-annually task list? I would love to see what you had in Evernote to get some inspiration based on your experience!
I’ve been setting up Asana since yesterday, and I am LOVING it so far!
Jill – I just started using Asana a month ago. I loved this video! What a great way to set up for cross-categorization. Thanks so much! Just wanted to say you can see your “done” tasks by clicking on view – all tasks (or completed or incomplete) on your boards.
Thanks, Victoria!
Are you using the paid or free version of Asana? I just can’t say enough of how much I love this handy application!!!
Thank you SO much for sharing this very useful and informative video! I had not heard of “Asana” until I saw this. I went right away to give it a look and I am LOVING it! Thanks for adding to my growing knowledge.
So very glad you are enjoying, Asana! I am in my account every day and it feels so good to get everything out of my brain and into an organized format that just “works” for me!
Thanks for sharing this, Jill! I’m excited to learn how to better use Asana.
Unrelated question: 🙂 How did you record the video with yourself in the corner? What software did you use? Thanks!
Hi, Andrea! I used Loom (useloom.com) and it is super quick and simple to get going!
Thanks, Jill!
Thanks so much Jill, for opening up your process and letting us see the utility range of Asana. These kinds of tutorials are very helpful and inspiring. I’m sure there are many more like me who have to see someone using apps to really see if they’re right for us and the way we think.
Love this!!!! Thank you!
Hi Jill,
Is there a way to take a subtask from a project and populate it on the next actions list? I’m following the recommendation of breaking projects down into individual tasks and the putting a specific task on my next action list. I would love to this with Asana!
Thanks,
Yes. Either by sharing the task with another project or using tags.
Outstanding video walkthrough & explanation, Jill. Thank you SO much! I’ve been a STEP member for almost two years now, and the high level of care coupled with the deep knowledge you all continually share with us never ceases to amaze me. Much gratitude!
Jill,
Thanks for the nice overview of how you are using ASANA. The boards look interesting.
Now that you are a few months in, are using them more or less? Just curious, a best practice is always evolving. Thanks.
Hi, Darin!
I am continuing to use and evolve my system, and I am finding myself more thankful than EVER for Asana! It is just fantastic to have a place to store, organize, and have a task list all in one. I don’t know of any other application as efficient as Asana! Now, getting my kids involved and using Asana has proved to be a bit more of a challenge this summer, but for me personally, I continue to love the integration of the flowchart, projects, and weekly next actions list. I hope you are enjoying Asana as well!
Jill, thank you for the video. I kept pausing it to take your examples and set up my own. So helpful and clear.
I’m late getting into Asana, but finding it may be great for my personal and maybe work organization! Thank you!
Fantastic tutorial!!! Thanks so much for sharing. I’m finally ready to explore ASANA both personally and for my business:)
Hi Jill, just curious if you have made any changes to your process since you recorded this? Thanks!
Hi, Maui! Thank you for asking! I do use some parts still the same, but with the flow chart, I have found it just as easy to track my current and next in line projects all within my “Jill’s Projects” list view. Then my someday list is basically my mind sweep which I keep below my current and next in line projects. I do still use my weekly next actions as well. Let me know if you have any further questions! ~Jill
I am a very visual (out-of sight, out-of-mind) person living in a rural area with very slow/tenuous internet connectivity. I have few questions:
1) Is Asana an online only app, or is it downloaded on to the user’s computer?
2) Would I have to be online to access my account or account content?
3) Can I develop my Asana notes, flow charts, etc on the computer, then print them out to use them in paper format?
Great questions, Darla! Asana is a website and a downloadable app that is available for both platforms you mentioned. You can access and update your information while offline and it will updated when you are connected to the internet. You can also print from Asana so that you have a paper format to work with. We hope this helps! Feel free to reach out with follow-up questions via email or in the Facebook group if you’re part of our Mastery program. Thanks for being with us!
I forgot to ask, Is Asana android & Windows compatible?
I’m working on this setup now, but it looks like Asana has changed quite a bit in the last 3 years. I’m making sections for my mindsweep like you have in the video, but it won’t let me make subtasks to sections like you have for Books to Read. I can only add tasks beneath the section header. Could you make an updated video for this setup on today’s Asana platform? Would be much appriciated!
Hi Ashley! We’re glad to hear this has been helpful to you. You can find an updated video here, https://learndobecome.com/set-up-asana. Enjoy!
I have a question; just moving from Trello to Asana – I am leaving some things in Trello (my half time gig/residency work – leaving my steps there for now with flow of receiving depotits, sending travel receipts, etc seems easiest) and I’m cleaning up my Evernote, thanks to you all.
Here’s my question – I work for a big org 1/2, they don’t use these systems – so I’m only one; but I am hoping to use Asana and Evernote (Dropbox stores a ton of files and music) to keep myself organized. But I have projects for my JOB and my own consulting/gigs/personal projects.
Where do you keep work product/flow/notes? In other words, if I have a meeting with a team-mate and want to take notes, or I’m leading a zoom meeting and I have a schedule or notes about who was there, or great things I heard live – or I’m planning a teaching/coaching/performance and I’m writing out content …. would I do that in Evernote? And label by Project (thanks to Carl Pullein)? I assume not Asana – that’s more organizing tasks and steps in tasks. My question for Jill and April, is where does your actual typed “work” or drafts or content go for the work itself?
Great question, Rosalie! There are a few options. You could take your notes directly in Evernote, or you could take your notes on paper and then add that into Evernote. You can learn more about how April does this here, https://learndobecome.com/the-app-i-use-to-organize-practically-everything. This podcast episode may offer some additional suggestions as well, https://learndobecome.com/episode33.
Feel free to reach out to our team with any additional questions, email(at)learndobecome(dot)com. If you are part of our STEP Mastery program, you could also reach out there to get suggestions from the community. Thanks for being with us!