Project basics

Projects contain lists of tasks. Use a project for a larger goal and a task for an action someone on your team needs to take in order to achieve that goal.

For example, you might create a project called “Spring Convention” to track an upcoming event, and create all tasks related to that event in that project. As the event starts to come together, people will mark tasks complete, allowing you to see the progress toward the overall goal. Once the event has passed, you can archive the project to hide it from view.

Navigation

You can find your total list of projects in the left pane.

When you click on a project from the left pane, it will load in the center pane.

When you select a task, the Projects field in the right pane will show you which projects it belongs to. You can also click through to the project by clicking its name in the task pane.

Gantt charts and planning

Asana does not have a Gantt feature, but several planning options are available through third party integrations with our API. Check out Instagantt and more in the API & Integrations section of the Guide.

Creating projects

To create a project from the left pane in an Organization:

• Click the Projects + button in the left pane beneath the relevant Team or Workspace name
• Notice that a new project will appear in the left pane at the bottom of the list for the Team or Workspace in which you created it, and it will load in the center pane
• Type the project name
• Begin adding tasks in the center pane

To create a project from the task pane:

• Click into an existing task that you want associated with the new project
• Click the + icon in the Projects field
• Type the project name
• Press Enter
• Click the project name to load it in the center pane in order to add additional tasks

Add a description in the field below the project name to provide context for the project, or to give directions to your teammates for what types of tasks to include. Anyone can edit this field.

Adding and prioritizing tasks

Add tasks by typing in the center pane. Press enter to create a new task. Read more in the Tasks section of the Guide.

Typically, you’ll order tasks in a project by priority or the order in which your team expects those tasks to be completed.

Drag and drop tasks to rearrange them in the project list:

• Hover over the number to the left of the task name
• Click when the grid icon appears
• Drag the task up or down the list

You can also use Keyboard Shortcuts to move tasks up or down the list. Just select a task and hold Command/Control and the up or down arrows on your keyboard.

Tasks in multiple projects

Tasks can belong to multiple projects. You can see which projects a task belongs to in the Projects field in the task pane. Read more in the Tasks section of the Guide.

Project colors

If you have a lot of projects, but only a few are relevant or urgent to you, use the color feature to make those projects more visually distinct.

Choose, remove, or change a color for your project:

• Load the project in the center pane by clicking its name in the left, center, or task pane, or by finding it in search
• Click the down arrow at the top of the center pane
• Make a selection from the My Color section

This will give the project name a color in the center pane and the task pane.

Project colors are personal. If you choose a color for a project, only you will see this change.