Three Tips for Setting Up the Asana Project Management Tool
Systems are not the sexiest of topics when it comes to entrepreneurship, but let me tell you - they can be the biggest game changer. One system I can’t live without is Asana. Asana is a project management tool that allows you to essentially do a brain dump of every single task that must be completed in your business, organize those tasks in a way that actually makes sense, and communicate with your team efficiently (you literally assign your team tasks with due dates), all while keeping everyone on task and on time, without having to micromanage. No more sticky notes, hand-written to-do lists or emails to keep track of. Everything is all in one place, and everyone has access to it.
If you’re already using Asana, you may know some the benefits. If you aren’t yet, today is the day to download it and give it a try. Using Asana has so drastically improved my team’s productivity that I wanted to tell you all about it and share some pro tips.
But first, let’s backup and talk a bit about systems in general. Sound boring? It’s not! It’s the opposite of boring. Using systems is the only way to grow your business so you can do more of what you love, less of what you hate, and bring in serious cash as you grow and expand your empire.
Being a CEO of a small business can sometimes feel like the Wild Wild West. There are so few rules to follow that you really can chart your own course. I love that about being an entrepreneur… and sometimes it’s overwhelming. Which direction should I take? How can I grow this business into what I KNOW it can be? If and when I onboard someone, how will I even do that?
Enter, systems. You need to invest in systems and processes. It truly is the ONLY way to scale to a bigger, more successful, more lucrative company.
I strongly believe that one of the first systems to invest in is a project and task management system like Asana (Yes, there are others. But I’m not familiar with them so for the purposes of this post, we’re sticking with Asana). This project management tool lets you organize projects by subject, assign due dates within a task, and compile to-do lists by user. As they say... organize, prioritize, and assign. Asana is amazing, but it can be overwhelming at first. I'm sharing my best tips below so you can use it to its fullest potential!
My Top Three Tips for Setting up Asana:
- Start simple. Determine the broad categories in your business and use those as your main headers. For example, you may want to use: Business Information, Admin, Projects, and Clients to get started. Under each main header, include relevant and useful information within each board. For example, under Business Information, you may have subcategories like Tools + Apps, Team Contact, and Important Links.
- Collaborate with your team. Give everyone on your team access to Asana. Each person on your team should set up their own log-in and profile. Then, set the expectation that they log into Asana daily, and complete their tasks listed. Tip: you can have Asana email you every time you get assigned to or are tagged in a task, and you can even have them email you your to-do list daily. Everyone can then check their own “my tasks” section to see what they need to accomplish that day. You can communicate with each other directly in Asana by tagging (using @) and writing a message relevant to that task.
- Plan ahead. Before starting a large project, assign one person to outline and create all tasks (yes, create a task to assign tasks - brilliant!) in the relevant Asana board. Be sure that person adds due dates and assignees to each task they create. You can do this weeks or even months in advance of a project, so everyone can plan ahead.
Yes, it can take a hot minute to set up and adjust to. But once it’s up and running, I guarantee it will improve your efficiency, and will allow you to manage multiple projects and clients at once.
Download the Free Asana Template
If you feel like this is a lot to take in all at once (or like you need a visual to figure out what the heck I’m talking about), no worries! You can download my free Asana template, which also gives you access to a video that walks you through how to set up the template! It’s a step by step guide that takes out all the guesswork.
In the training, I share my tips and best practices (and even how we make it look pretty). Asana really is worth the upfront investment in your efforts for all the time and productivity you and your team will gain in the long run! Click here to get started with my free Asana Template.
