Asana Cheat Sheet

Updated 2026-04-29

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Asana is a collaborative work management platform that helps teams organize, track, and manage their work—from daily tasks to strategic initiatives. Founded in 2008 by Dustin Moskovitz and Justin Rosenstein, it combines project planning, task assignments, timelines, AI-powered automation, and reporting in a single cloud-based workspace. Unlike simpler to-do lists, Asana enables multi-layered project hierarchies (tasks, subtasks, sections, projects, portfolios, goals) so teams can link day-to-day execution directly to company-wide objectives. Key mental model: everything is either a task, a project that contains tasks, or a portfolio that contains projects—and as of 2026, AI Teammates and AI Studio add a collaborative AI layer on top of this structure to automate and accelerate complex work.

What This Cheat Sheet Covers

This topic spans 20 focused tables and 193 indexed concepts. Below is a complete table-by-table outline of this topic, spanning foundational concepts through advanced details.

Table 1: Core Work UnitsTable 2: Task Management EssentialsTable 3: Communication and CollaborationTable 4: Organization and StructureTable 5: Project ViewsTable 6: Custom Fields and DataTable 7: Automation and RulesTable 8: Automation ActionsTable 9: Advanced FeaturesTable 10: Goals and OKRsTable 11: Reporting and AnalyticsTable 12: Integrations and ExtensionsTable 13: Keyboard ShortcutsTable 14: Permissions and AccessTable 15: Inbox and NotificationsTable 16: Search and FilteringTable 17: Task Templates and BundlesTable 18: Tips, Tricks, and Best PracticesTable 19: Mobile App FeaturesTable 20: Pricing Plans

Table 1: Core Work Units

Concept	Example	Description
Task	`Create landing page mockup`	• Basic unit of work with a single assignee, due date, description, and attachments • can contain subtasks and have collaborators.
Subtask	`Design hero section` `Write CTA copy` `Export assets`	• Breaks a task into smaller steps • functions as an independent task nested under a parent • can have its own assignee and due date.
Project	`Q2 Website Redesign`	• Container for related tasks organized by sections or columns • acts as the central hub for a discrete initiative with start/end dates.
Section	`To Do` → `In Progress` → `Done` or `Phase 1` → `Phase 2`	• Divider within a project to group tasks by status, phase, assignee, or any custom logic • visible in list and board views.

Table 1: Core Work Units

Concept	Example	Description
Task	`Create landing page mockup`	• Basic unit of work with a single assignee, due date, description, and attachments • can contain subtasks and have collaborators.
Subtask	`Design hero section` `Write CTA copy` `Export assets`	• Breaks a task into smaller steps • functions as an independent task nested under a parent • can have its own assignee and due date.
Project	`Q2 Website Redesign`	• Container for related tasks organized by sections or columns • acts as the central hub for a discrete initiative with start/end dates.
Section	`To Do` → `In Progress` → `Done` or `Phase 1` → `Phase 2`	• Divider within a project to group tasks by status, phase, assignee, or any custom logic • visible in list and board views.