Task fields

All task fields can be found and modified from the right pane. Click any task to reveal its details in the right paneright pane The right pane holds the details of a task or Conversation. Read more .

From the right pane, you can:

  1. AssignAssign The person responsible for the task or subtask. Asana allows one assignee per task or subtask. Read more the task
  2. Set a due datedue date The date that a task or subtask is due. Read more & due time
  3. Heart the task
  4. Identify what project the task is in
  5. Mark the task completecomplete To mark a task with a checkmark to indicate that it is done. Read more or incomplete
  6. Add a description to give the task more context
  7. Build a list of subtaskssubtasks Subtasks break a task into smaller pieces. Subtasks, like tasks, have assignees, due dates, comments, and hearts. Read more
  8. Upload attachmentsattachments A file that is attached to a task or conversation. Read more
  9. Post a commentcomment Comment on a task or conversation to offer help, answer questions, and help move work forward. Read more
  10. FollowFollow Add followers to any task and they will receive notifications about updates to the task. Read more or unfollow the task

Task Name

Task names are often the calls to action for the task.

You can change the name of a task either:

  1. Inline from the main panemain pane When you select a project, tag, or person, you will see the relevant list of tasks in the main pane. Read more
  2. From the task name field in the right paneright pane The right pane holds the details of a task or Conversation. Read more

Mark tasks complete or incomplete

Mark a task complete to indicate that it is done.

You can mark a task complete by either:

  1. Clicking the check icon from the main pane
  2. Clicking the check icon from the right pane

Conversely, you can mark a task incomplete again if there is still work to be done.

To mark a task incomplete again:

Click the check icon from the right pane

By default, only incomplete tasks will appear in your My Tasks and projects. You can change the View to also show completed tasks. With completed tasks shown, you can also mark a task incomplete from the main pane.

Task Due Date & Due Time

Set a due date or due time to let your teammates know when a task should be completed by.

Due Dates

To set a due date:

Click the Due Date field and either type a date or select it from the Calendar.

Press Tab+D to focus on the due date field.

To remove a due date:

Hover over the due date field and click the X icon that appears.

Due Times

Along with due dates, you can set a due time for each task.

To set a due time:

  1. Click into the Due Date field
  2. Select Add due time

To remove a due time:

  1. Click into the Due Date field
  2. Click the X icon next to the due time

If you only set a task due time with no due date, the due date will default to today’s date.

Recurring or repeating tasks

If you have a task that you need to complete on a regular basis, you can set it up as a recurring task.

Your Calendar will only display the next occurrence of a recurring task.

When a recurring task is marked complete, it will duplicate all the information into a new task with a new due date. The interval you’ve set for your task’s recurrence will determine the new due date.

All fields (except task comments) are copied over when a recurring task copies itself, including subtasks.

To set a task as a recurring task:

  1. Click into the Due Date field
  2. Select Set to repeat

If you set a parent task to repeat, do not set any of its subtasks to repeat as well. Doing so will result in the recurring subtask to duplicate exponentially.

From here, you can:

  1. Repeat - set how often you want the task to repeat (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly, periodically)
  2. Interval - recurring tasks repeated weekly, monthly, or periodically also have an option to set an interval

Due dates for periodically recurring tasks are determined by the date the task was last completed.

Recurring Task Quick Tips

  • If you want a task to repeat on weekdays, set the task to repeat Weekly then check the MTWTF boxes
  • If you want a task to repeat quarterly, set the task to repeat Monthly and select to repeat every 3 months
  • If you want a task to repeat bi-annually, set the task to repeat Monthly and select to repeat every 6 months

You can also stop a recurring task from repeating ever again.

To stop a recurring task from repeating:

  1. Click into the Due Date field
  2. Click the Repeat field
  3. Select Never

Alternatively, removing the entire due date from the task will stop the task from repeating again.

Shift multiple due dates in a list

If a whole project’s deadlines change, you can adjust the due dates of all its tasks with this shortcut:

  • Click the View menu at the top of the main panemain pane When you select a project, tag, or person, you will see the relevant list of tasks in the main pane. Read more
  • Select Tasks by Due Date
  • Multi-selectMulti-select Multi-select allows you to take action on multiple tasks at once. Read more your desired tasks
  • Press and hold the ⌘ ( on Mac) or Ctrl (on PC) key on your keyboard, then use the up/down arrows to adjust all of the due dates a day at a time

A task’s associated projects

A task can belong to more than one project. You can see all projects a task belongs to in the projects field in the right pane.

A task’s associated projects will appear:

  1. Next to the task’s name in the main panemain pane When you select a project, tag, or person, you will see the relevant list of tasks in the main pane. Read more
  2. Above the task’s name in the right paneright pane The right pane holds the details of a task or Conversation. Read more

You will see the task in every project that it is associated with. This is useful when a task might be relevant to concurrent goals and when its due date and completion is relevant to multiple projects.

The task will exist simultaneously in all of those projects. This will not duplicate the task - if you complete the task in one project, it will be completed in all projects it is associated with.

To add the task to another project:

Hover over the project name in your task pane, and click the pencil or + icon. The pencil icon will only appear for tasks that are associated with one project.

Press Tab+P on your keyboard to quickly focus on the projects field.

To remove the task from a project:

Hover over the project name in your task pane. Click the X icon next to the project, or click the + icon to add it to a another project.

Task Description

Task descriptions allow you to describe, give directions, or add any other context for a task.

The descriptions field is in the right pane of each task. Click into the field to begin editing it.

Task Descriptions support rich text and emojis.  

Hearts

Use a heart to express enthusiasm for a task, offer agreement with someone’s comment, or express gratitude for a task completion.

Press Tab+H on your keyboard to quickly heart a task.

To heart a task:

Click the heart icon from the right pane.

You can also heart tasks via Inbox notifications.

Once the task is hearted, it will appear:

  1. Next to the task’s name in the main panemain pane When you select a project, tag, or person, you will see the relevant list of tasks in the main pane. Read more
  2. At the top of the right paneright pane The right pane holds the details of a task or Conversation. Read more

To un-heart the task, simply click the Heart icon again.

You will see a heart option for:

  • Tasks
  • Task commentscomments Comment on a task or conversation to offer help, answer questions, and help move work forward. Read more
  • Task attachmentsattachments A file that is attached to a task or conversation. Read more
  • Task completion

Tags

Tags allow you to give tasks additional context or to group similar tasks for easy viewing.

You might use a tag to track the state of a task or to categorize them.

Tags on a given task will appear to the right of the task name or in the tags field in the right pane.

Click the tag’s name to view a full list of tasks associated to that tag.

To add a tag to a task, either:

  1. Click the tags icon from the top of the right pane
  2. Click the + icon next to the tag field in the right pane

Press Tab+T to focus on the tag field.

To remove a tag from a task:

Hover over the tag’s name and click the X icon that appears.

Create Tags

To create a tag:

  1. Click the + icon next to the tag field in the right pane
  2. Enter the name of your tag
  3. Select New Tag from the autocomplete results

When typing the tag name, you will see a drop down menu of existing tags with similar names. Select a tag from the drop down if you are looking to add the task to an existing tag.

Rename Tags

To edit a tag’s name:

  1. Click the tag’s name from the right pane (or main pane). Notice that a list of tasks associated to the tag appear in the main pane.
  2. Click the drop down arrow from the headerheader The header is part of the user interface between the top bar and the main pane and lets users navigate projects. Read more
  3. Select Rename Tag

Tag Colors

Use tag colors to make your tags more visually distinct.

To edit a tag’s color:

  1. Click the tag’s name from the right pane (or main pane). Notice that a list of tasks associated to the tag appear in the main pane.
  2. Click the drop down arrow from the header
  3. Select Set Highlight Color This will give the tag name a color in the main pane and the right pane.

Delete Tags

Delete a tag much like you would delete a project.

To delete a tag:

  1. Click the tag’s name from the right pane (or main pane). Notice that a list of tasks associated to the tag appear in the main pane.
  2. Click the drop down arrow from the header
  3. Select Delete Tag

Once deleted, all tag followers will get an email notification about the deletion with the tag ID. If the deletion was in error, anyone can contact us with the ID to have the tag restored.

Tag Permissions

Tags inherit the permissions of the tasks they are associated with:

  • Tags associated with a private taskprivate task A private task is only visible to task followers. Tasks created in My Tasks are private by default. Read more will be private to the assignee and followers of that task
  • Tags associated with tasks within a private projectprivate project Private Projects are visible to the Project Members only. Read more will be private to the Members of that project

Learn more in the permissions section of the Guide.

If someone attempts to use a tag that exists within a project or task they do not have permissions to, a duplicate tag will be created.

Using tags vs. custom fields

Tags and custom fields allow you to categorize, filter, and denote information in Asana. We strongly advocate for custom fields for standard use across an Organization because they are more visible and robust, while tags are more informal. Here some scenarios to help you decide:

Use custom fields if you:

  • Want to add certain data to all the tasks in a project
  • Have standard information you need to track on tasks across projects (e.g., priority level, time costing, work stage)
  • Want to make sure your teammates fill out certain information for each task in a project
  • Need to sort or search by specific data fields

Use tags if you:

  • Need ad-hoc tagging, you have unlimited options, or aren’t quite sure what needs to be tagged at the time of creation
  • Need to see the tag from My Tasks
  • Only need to mark a few tasks within a project
  • Want to mark template tasks

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Asana Lessons

Learn the Asana basics in less than 15 minutes with these quick lessons

Tasks

Tasks Lessons

Track all of your work

3 Minutes

My Tasks

My Tasks Lessons

Always know what to do next

3 Minutes

Projects

Projects Lessons

Work with teammates

3 Minutes

Inbox

Inbox Lessons

Communicate even faster

3 Minutes

You can use tasks to track, collaborate on, and organize all your work.

Tasks can be to-dos, ideas, notes, or reminders.

Assign a task to yourself or a teammate.

Press Tab+M to quickly assign a task to yourself.

Add a due date so your deadline is clear.

Add instructions and expectations in the task description field.

Type @ to link to other tasks, people, conversations, or projects.

When you @mention someone, they’ll be added to your task as a follower.

Followers get notified when new comments or attachments are added.

Add anyone who needs to stay up to date on your task as a follower.

They can always unfollow to stop getting notifications on your task.

Add comments to ask questions or give followers updates.

Heart a comment to let followers know you’ve seen it.

Add relevant files or irrelevant GIFs as attachments.

You can also attach directly from Dropbox, Google Drive, or Box.

Create subtasks to break your task into smaller steps.

When you’ve added a subtask, press enter to add another.

Subtasks can contain all the same details as regular tasks.

Click the comment bubble to add comments or attachments to a subtask.

You can create tasks from any screen using your top bar.

Every Task has a unique URL to easily copy and share.

Congrats! Looks like you’re up to the task.

On to the next lesson!

Always know what to do next with My Tasks.

My Tasks is a list of every task assigned to you.

It makes managing your work simple.

Click on your My Tasks list and start typing to add tasks.

Like a text document, add a new line for each new task or paste in any list.

Forward to x@mail.asana.com to turn your emails into tasks

Asana will translate your email into a task, including your attachments.

New tasks will appear at the top of your list in New Tasks.

Tasks you add to My Tasks are private to you.

Click Make Public to share them with your team.

Prioritize tasks as Today, Upcoming, or Later.

Click on the blue dot next to the task, to quickly sort it.

Mark the tasks you’ll have time for Today.

Teammates can view your My Tasks list to see what you’re up to.

They’ll only see tasks you’ve made public or shared in a project (more on projects later).

Mark tasks due within a week as Upcoming so you can see what will be due soon.

On its due date, your task will move from Upcoming to Today.

Just like magic.

Mark tasks due in more than a week for Later.

They’ll be out of your way until their due date approaches.

Your tasks will move from Later to Upcoming a week before they’re due.

Keep My Tasks prioritized to always know what to work on and what’s coming next.

Now you know how to track and plan your work!

Next, learn how to work with your team in Asana.

Work together on groups of tasks with projects.

Projects help you track and organize the steps in a process or initiative.

Like an event plan, product launch, or editorial calendar.

Like My Tasks, simply click and type to add tasks to your project.

If you have your steps in a document or email already, paste in that list.

Add tasks to your project from email.

View your project’s unique email address from the project dropdown menu.

Add your tasks to other related projects.

Tasks can be included in multiple projects.

Add sections to organize tasks in a list project.

Type : at the end of any task title to make it a section.

Or, add columns to organize tasks in a boards project.

Drag and drop tasks between or within columns to reorder.

Assign your tasks and set due dates.

Never miss a deadline with your project calendar.

Drag and drop tasks on your calendar to change their due dates.

Add everyone who needs to stay updated on your project as members.

Project members will get notified of new conversations, statuses, and tasks.

Post conversations to make announcements or start discussions.

Your post will be sent to all project members.

Use Progress to see how your project is moving forward.

Set a project status to update your team on how it’s going.

The Project Owner will be reminded to set a status once a week.

Open and organize projects from your sidebar.

Favorite projects to pin them to the top of your sidebar.

Click the star button on the left of your project name to favorite it.

Create new projects from any screen using your top bar.

Now you can move projects forward with your team.

Just one more lesson before you dive in.

Communicate and coordinate faster with Inbox.

Check Inbox to quickly read and respond to your latest updates.

Inbox will notify you when you have a task due…

and when teammates update tasks, conversations, and projects you follow.

Open and respond to updates without leaving Inbox.

Click an update and you’ll have all the context you need to respond.

Archive updates you’re ready to dismiss.

Click the X that appears on the right of an update to archive it.

Open Archive to move dismissed updates back to your Inbox.

Click the arrow that appears on the right of an archived update to move it back to Inbox.

Unfollow tasks or projects to stop recieving updates about them.

You ultimately have control over all the updates you receive (or choose not to receive 😉)

When you’re ready, you can turn Asana’s Email notifications off.

Most communication with your team can be more easily managed from Inbox. Just remember to check it often.

Congratulations! Now you’re ready to have a great work day with Asana.