Getting Things Done in Asana

I organize my work in Asana per David Allen’s Getting Things Done (summary) because it helps me keep track of and make progress on lots of things.

Here I describe the mechanics of how I implement Getting Things Done (GTD) in Asana in order to (hopefully) help others looking for ways to implement GTD.

Why Asana?

I use Asana because it’s digital, free, and I was already familiar with it from work. I originally kept track of all my work and tasks in a paper notebook. I made little boxes next to my tasks and it was a delight to cross off a box when I finished something. But I think digital is better than paper for organizing work because I can easily expand the space I use for something (e.g. if I want to add notes into the middle of a block of text) and it’s easier to copy and re-organize digital things.

How I use Asana

I create an Asana project for each of my GTD categories of Projects, Next Actions, Waiting for, Tickler, Someday, and Areas of focus. Note that the word “project” is overloaded here (ugh) and can refer to either an Asana project or a GTD project.

Projects

I use “Projects” for things that I want to work on now and plan to finish within the next year or so (e.g. Plan team retreat).

For each Asana task in “Projects”, I create an Asana sub-task for its GTD next action and add that sub-task to the Asana project “Next Actions”. I use Asana keyboard shortcuts to speed up this workflow. When in the detail view for a task, tab+s creates a sub-task. When selecting a sub-task, tab+right-arrow goes to the detail view for the sub-task. When in the detail view for a task, tab+p allows assigning the task to an Asana project.

If one of my GTD projects is blocked on something I’m waiting for, I create a sub-task for that project and add that sub-task to the “Waiting for” Asana project. If I should follow up on the blocker at some point, I assign the sub-task to myself and set the due date to when I should follow up. I also move the blocked GTD project to the “Waiting for” section within the “Projects” Asana project so that I won’t always see it when reviewing open GTD projects.

If one of my GTD projects is blocked on something that I can’t do now but will be able to do at some point in the future, I create a sub-task for that project, add that sub-task to the “Tickler” Asana project, assign that sub-task to myself, and set the due date of the sub-task to the date when I’ll be able to act on it. I also move the blocked GTD project to the “Tickler” section within the “Projects” Asana project.

Next Actions

I use “Next Actions” for the smallest next step that moves a particular GTD project forward. I create all the Asana tasks in “Next Actions” as part of the “Projects” workflow described above.

Waiting for

I use “Waiting for” for things that I’m waiting for someone else to do. If I should follow up by a certain date, I assign the task to myself and set the due date to when I should follow up. Tasks in “Waiting for” can be sub-tasks of tasks in “Projects” but can also be standalone.

Tickler

I use “Tickler” for things that I want to do at a specific point in the future (e.g. “Pay estimated taxes” or “When in DC, reach out to Christina”). For the tasks that I should do on a specific date, I assign the task to myself and set the due date. Tasks in “Tickler” can be sub-tasks of tasks in “Projects” but can also be standalone. When I can start working on something in “Tickler” (e.g. Pay estimated taxes), I sometimes move it to “Projects” and create its next action (e.g. Find estimated tax filing instructions).

Someday

I use “Someday” for things I might want to do at some point in the future. I have Asana sections within “Someday” for categories like Recipes, Books, etc.

Areas of focus

I use “Areas of focus” for high-level, important things that I want my specific actions to contribute to (e.g. Cultivate inspiration). I have around four areas of focus and I update them once or twice a year. It’s helpful for me to review my areas of focus as part of reviewing everything because I’m reminded of what’s important when prioritizing current and potential projects.

Example

You can see an example Asana workspace organized for GTD by logging into Asana using reverse-letters(elpmaxedtg+ronnoctj)@gmail.com and reverse-letters(enodsgnihtehtllagnitteg). Note to replace the reverse-letters() sections with the contained letters reversed, e.g. reverse-letters(cba) => abc.