WWW… Wednesday! Asana

Asana is a project management tool designed to help teams stay organized and get more done. Assigning tasks, organizing files, and getting approval no longer requires you to switch between three different tools, which not only takes too much time but makes keeping track of everything a headache. By combining the functionality of several tools into one, Asana cuts down on redundancy and makes finding what you’re looking for faster and easier.

Asana provides a personalized dashboard that collects all the info you need across different teams and projects so you can stay on top of what’s left to be done at a glance. Tasks can be viewed in several different ways to match your work style. Lists allow for easy grouping of tasks by the date they were assigned or when they’re due. Boards organize your tasks into kanban-style vertical columns to more easily visualize each task’s status. Lastly, the calendar provides a bird’s eye view of what’s happening this week as well as what’s in store for the future.

Workspaces are where all the important project-specific planning and organization takes place. Projects and team members can be organized into separate workspaces, each with its own dedicated calendar and message tabs. This helps to keep each channel of communication more focused and avoid overwhelming calendars with so many tasks that they become unusable.

Asana also has a fully-featured messaging tool that makes it easy to reference tasks, projects, or team members, generating a direct link to provide context from anywhere within the tool. Messages can be as simple or complex as you need them to be. In addition to linking the message to Asana-based content, you can also attach files or images the same as you would in any email client. You can also record video via Vimeo integration for sending messages or recording screen captures for things like demonstrations or reporting bugs.

Everything in Asana happens in real-time and its robust reporting tab allows you to track progress on both an individual and project basis, providing the insights you need to make any necessary adjustments. The portfolio tab is used for tracking those internal projects and key initiatives that can be tricky to keep an eye on. Whether you’re aiming to grow the size of your team or improve the sales experience, having a dedicated space to track those more nebulous projects makes actually realizing them much more manageable.

Similar to the portfolio tab is the goals tab, which serves a similar function but is a bit more granular. Goals can be set on an individual or team basis and outlined with actionable sub-goals that contribute to their completion.

You can try Asana for free here.