Why I Chose Asana for Content Project Management

I have tried many task and project management tools over the past decade, but none fully satisfied me. As a result, tasks remained as dead weight until I received a notification that my account would be deleted due to inactivity.

Why I need a task manager:

To create a content plan
Set up events and reminders
Plan my work schedule
Store notes, links, and attachments for both planned and completed publications
Assign tasks to myself and others
Use it as an archive for finding information

I eventually settled on the free version of Asana. I will share the features I like about Asana and explain why I recommend it to anyone working on content projects.

Free version is so nice

I used Basecamp for two years, but the clunky interface and awkward management of large lists put me off.

Switching to Asana, I was pleasantly surprised that everything in the free version works well, and accounts aren’t deleted after inactivity—at least, I haven’t encountered that issue.

The Premium subscription costs $10.99 per month, offering advanced reporting, improved security, and the ability to create automated workflows. But, to be honest, the free version is more than enough for the tasks I listed at the beginning of this post.

Flexible field customization

Asana’s interface is uncluttered and highly customizable, making task management super convenient.

For example, I don’t need all the fields in task lists—in Asana, you can hide them on a per-project basis.

To use additional fields, you can utilize custom fields and enable them for task lists. This allows you to customize the interface according to the specific needs of each project.

All tasks can be filtered by assignee and due date, helping you focus only on what’s important at the moment.

Easy to work with multiple projects

I currently manage about 10 projects in Asana, but I actively work on only 2–3.

Each project can have a different template and appearance. However, many of these conveniences—like Timeline and Dashboard—are available only in the Premium version.

The order of projects can be easily changed via drag-and-drop. If I stop working on a project for a while, I archive it and restore it when needed.

Collaboration

Most of the time, I work solo on my projects. However, if I need to add someone (e.g., a temporary collaborator), I can easily grant them limited permissions for a specific project and revoke them just as easily when the contract ends.

Tasks can be commented on, and other users can be mentioned using the @ symbol. The mentioned user will receive a notification.

Any user added to a project enjoys the same conveniences in terms of interface customization and task management, within their access rights.

Tasks can also be assigned and updated via email, with notifications sent to assignees for any task status changes, new tasks, etc.

Advanced search

One feature I really appreciate is Asana’s flexible search. I now use Asana as a database to find context about posts. For example, I might store links, tables with keywords, attachments, and images—all the materials related to a post—within a single task.

The search function can include attachments, text, status, and other parameters. If that’s not enough, you can apply filters to narrow down the results.

Easy task management

You can easily add attachments to tasks—images, other files, or links to Google Drive or Dropbox.

If a task is complex, you can break it down into smaller to-dos using subtasks, which is very convenient.

Additionally, you can:

Specify task durations
Assign color markers
Create recurring tasks with reminders
Manage ongoing tasks through "My Tasks"

Conclusion

I haven’t reviewed all the features of Asana, only the ones I use regularly. I don’t need every tool available, as I mainly focus on writing.