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Save time in Asana

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Asana was designed to help you get work done, instead of doing work about work. Try out these features designed to help you save time.

Import project plans from spreadsheets

Ideally your team moves away from spreadsheet planning by directly planning in Asana, but you can import them with our CSV importer. The importer seamlessly takes your rows and columns and maps them to an Asana project with tasks, assignees, due dates, and more. You can add information from the CSV file into an empty or existing project.

screen of import csv option inside project menu
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Want to make sure information in other columns maps to your project? Create custom fields in your project before importing your file.

Bulk edit with multi-select

Most likely you’ve used multi-select in other programs, and it’s just as useful in Asana. In list view only to multi-select several tasks just click then hold down Shift and click the up or down arrow. In list and board views use Command or Control to select tasks individually.

Once you multi-select tasks, you can take mass actions on them:

Take action with keyboard shortcuts

One of the keys to saving time in Asana is learning keyboard shortcuts. You can see all keyboard shortcuts here or by typing Cmd+/ or Ctrl/ in Asana (it’s a keyboard shortcut for keyboard shortcuts!)

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A majority of Asana-specific shortcuts entail typing Tab + (a letter). Some letters correspond to the feature they’re shortcutting. For example, Tab+F adds a follower.

Check out our favorites:

  • Tab+Q - Quick Add task

  • Tab+M - Assign to me

  • Tab+X - Focus mode (so you can only see the task)

  • Tab+S - Add a subtask

  • Tab+N - Create a section

  • Tab+↵ - Jump to task list/main pane

Assign copies of a task

You can assign copies of a task to multiple teammates, or even to a whole team, with just a couple of clicks from the task assignee field. Click the assignee field in any task then select the assign copies icon. Next, type the names of the teammates or teams you want to assign the copies to.

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Task copies contain all of the same information as the original task. If you forgot something and need to bulk-edit them, use multi-select.

When to assign copies of a task:

  • When you need feedback on your work, assign copies of a review task to all the relevant stakeholders for comments or approval.
  • When routine work needs to get done, like open enrollment for benefits, assign task copies to make sure each teammate gets it done by the deadline and has all the information they need.
  • Assign copies for each team member to add agenda items to your team’s weekly meeting project prior to your next meeting.
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You can make numerous copies of any task, but each task will still only have one assignee.

Automate actions with rules

Want to reduce repetitive, manual work? Add rules for any project to help you assign tasks, update custom fields, and more. You can even add them to templates so your team always starts with the right steps and processes.

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How to save time with Asana features | Asana Help Center