Which PM Tool Shall I opt for?
Have you been considering using a project management tool to simplify and track your business tasks in one place? Have you been thinking about which software could best work for you among the many, including Trello, Basecamp, Teamwork, Bitrix, Monday, etc.? Asana is favored by many. If you need to have a to-do list, and a calendar, manage your workflow, and create systems and automation, you can get a lot more productive using Asana.
If you are working remotely, Asana can be a great asset. Asana is one of the project management tools that offer a free basic plan featuring many tools that could be enough for you. You can create and manage unlimited tasks, messages, projects, and file storage, among others. You should explore how it works for you and your business and if you need more features, you could upgrade to the Premium plan for $ 10.99 per month, or a business plan for $ 24.99 per month.
After a simple email sign-up, you can start working in Asana. Rather than using a private Gmail, or Yahoo account, you should use a custom business email. If you have a business domain, Google Workspace can help you set up your business email. The business email enables you to organize your tasks in a more advanced way in Asana. You can connect Asana with Microsoft Teams by adding Asana projects to your group chats, and turning conversations into action.
The Benefits of Using Asana
No matter the type of calendar you used, be it a physical, Google, or ICalendar, Asana can help you improve work performance. You can start at the bottom of the page by creating a project. If you managed to sign up with your custom email you can also see Teams, and Individual Projects under Teams. If you click on Create a project, you can choose a Blank Project, a Template, these serve as guidance on how to organize your project.
Start by clicking on the Blank project and giving it a title, for instance, Business Calendar. You should think of it as a database for larger projects or create a fixed project with start and end dates, or even an ongoing project. You can switch between the Board and Calendar view that can help you better oversee your projects. With a Premium or Business Plan, you can also use the Timeline view. Then click on Continue, and then on Go to Project.
Here, you can start creating your to-do list. For instance, Board Meeting. You can add individual tasks underneath by clicking on Add task, for instance, Write Agenda, Organize Meeting, Follow up. You may enter as many individual to-do’s as you need. Then on the top right go to Assignee, and assign all the tasks to yourself. After, you can set the Due Dates at the appropriate times. If you double click on Write Agenda, or Details, you can provide more details on the pop-up panel.
1. Planning Simplified
You can enter any information you find useful, including links. If you use a long link on how to create an agenda like this, you should make it shorter by entering it at the bottom on the home page of bitly.com, click Shorten, and it will create you a beautiful short replacement link. Then, you can add one or more Subtasks, such as Sending it to participants, Creating a presentation, etc. These are very helpful in your planning, what’s more, you can create templates for future use:
- It can save you time, make your work more effective, and save you headaches.
- Underneath Projects, you can add Tags, by writing Important, and assigning it a bright red or orange color.
- Then, click on the arrow on the top right side to close the panel, click on Customize on the top right, then turn the Tags panel on to add the tags to your list. (This list view is similar to the standard to-do lists.)
- You can switch to Board or Timeline view. In the Board view, you can drag the panels between the sections.
- You can change the Titles of the sections on the top. For instance, To do to Assignments, In Progress To Edit. And drag the particular task as it is processed.
2. The Calendar View
It can be one of the best features to help you plan and visualize your projects. And you can also use the Timeline view. Although it is more advanced in the Premium plan. After listing your projects, go to the arrow pointing down next to your projects’ title (Business Calendar). You can set your desired color and icon. When you are done, you can create a new project by clicking the + sign on the left of the page, then clicking on the Blank page.
3. Create Another Project
You could do the same process to practice, create a new project, for instance, a Brainstorming session. Task names can be Ideas, Budgets, Deadlines, then assign them to yourself for the tie being, and set due dates. Again, pick a color and icon you like on the top, for your new project. Now that you have projects with different colors and shapes, click on the My Tasks tab on the top left, and you’ll see all the tasks in one place in different colors.
And if you go to Calendar, you’ll get an amazing color-coded Calendar, listing all your to-do’s together with all your different projects. This could be a great help to your business. By bookmarking it, you can easily access it throughout your day, and you could start it here! You can see how Asana is a calendar and to-do list in one. You can hover over any tasks and check it when completed, then it will fade to the background, making you feel accomplished.
Keep exploring and using Asana to get more organized and effective!
