Checklist-Items in the texteditor would reduce list of unrelevant Tasks.
︎ This
︎ That
︎ and this
Tasks as a checklist increase the number of tasks and decrease the overview in your own tasks.
Thank you for your feedback, @Jürgens. 
Wouldn’t adding subtasks to a task function as an effective working checklist for a task? Myself and many Asana users I often use subtasks in this way and it’s very functional, including the ability to complete subtasks with CTRL+Enter. This also keeps actionable and assignable tasks in one place within each task, rather than adding additional lists of tasks to the Description and/or Comments areas, which might get muddy and overwhelming for the users.
I very much agree with you @Jürgens! Creating a subtask for every minor detail I don’t want to forget is sometimes very time consuming. Creating bullet points is an option, but not quit enough. A checklist will do the trick.
I am surprised that this feature, as implemented in Trello, for example, has still not been implemented (as of December 2024). There are already a huge number of posts about it.
4 Likes
A checklist feature in the Description field would be a massive improvement. For developers, ticking off functional requirements as they work is crucial for staying on target. For high-level tracking, keeping everything consolidated to one Task would vastly simplify things (e.g., prep for client meeting: 
write agenda / schedule Zoom call / confirm slide deck / 
invite CEO). Subtasks are easy to lose and include too much functionality (e.g., its own separate due date and description field) for quick ticking. Preferably, ticking a checkbox would strikethrough the copy on that line; additionally, you could make multiple layers in a checklist, just like the Bullet or Numbered lists that exist today.
The text editor in Description is so powerful, yet a basic checklist is glaringly absent. Google Docs and Google Keep have great examples of this functionality.
Alternatively, checklists could be an optional separate component added only to cards that need them (looking at you, Trello). In this approach, ideally the user could expand the checklist in Board view or hide it if not relevant.
3 Likes
Hi @kev-moore,
I merged your post into an existing request on this topic. Be sure to add your vote for it at the top of the thread!
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@kev-moore i appreciate all the use case specific detail in your request! 
Improving the Text Editor is top of mind for me the next few quarters and this comes up often. Your feedback definitely helps me with the text editor checklist vs subtask consideration.
Checklists are key for breaking down long tasks that require many small steps, whose order, amount, and priority can change during execution. Being able to group bullet points into sections, nest them, and edit them quickly while keeping everything visible is crucial to my team’s workflow.
Other features—like assigning owners (collaborators) to bullet points, or show task progress percent based on completed bullets—are very useful, though not essential.
ClickUp’s and Trello’s checklists are excellent references. Asana needs this functionality to remain competitive.
@Daniel_Serna_PA please know this is not me being defensive, I’m genuinely curious: Today you can assign subtasks to break down work which enables the flexibility to assign the work and set expectations around timing. Are you looking for an unconnected to-do style checklist, or would a “Task Table” that is connected to Asana objects also address what you’re asking for?
@Garrett_Knoll - I’ll chime in here and say that yes, I would like to have an unconnected todo style checkbox support in the task description.
Use Case
I don’t always necessarily want to create/instantiate subtask objects for what effectively amounts to a checklist.
Especially when:
- The checklist item is something that only takes a few seconds because it’s true a “check” and not a task.
- The checklist items are something the owner of the task will do.
Creating subtasks for these sorts of things just creates unnecessary load and noise in the system since they would also need all their custom fields values added.
Yes, I would appreciate this feature too.
Now, I ham-hand it myself, usually in a bullet list, like this Option+v on Mac:
- √ Do first
- √ Do second
- Do third
Or use two emoji to represent checked/not checked states. But both solutions take multiple keystrokes and some cognitive load. The above is easiest, but it doesn’t align so it’s hard to scan, and I’m marking things complete with a square root sign and subject to mockery now that I’ve gone public with this!
Subtasks lists are inferior to the above; they don’t offer:
- Compact: Subtasks take up a lot of vertical space,
- Placement Choice: I want to decide where to put the checklist, not just in the Task Description (or Comment, or Project Description), but in a particular place in the large text area, or
- Lightweight: I don’t always need assignee, due date, full task functionality.
It’s not that I can’t survive without it, but if it was there I’d benefit and use it a fair amount.
Thanks,
Larry
2 Likes
@lpb - I see I’m not the only one that has a makeshift way of doing this. 
I have a text snippet set to expand when I type scheck, like this: ✓
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Funny–I didn’t mention it, but I too have a text expansion for formal occasions!:
/echeck
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Very actively listening here. I can’t promise anything, but genuinely appreciate what you’re sharing with us!
3 Likes
I would also find this helpful. It’s not a critical need, but sometimes I just want a short list of items that aren’t really distinct tasks, & don’t need to be assigned to others, but can be helpful in tracking progress on things.
My use case: we have a client that’s offboarding. I need to provide them with access to their social media accounts. Some of them are straightforward, but for others, I need to do some follow up work, request additional info for transferring ownership, etc. Listing each platform out in a checklist would be simpler than creating separate tasks or subtasks for everything.
I know that creating subtasks is a viable workaround, but this would be a nice-to-have that would remove a (small) friction point.
For now I’ve done this, which is effective, but as noted above is extra keystrokes & cognitive load….
2 Likes
I’m asking for something like this:
- Multi-level nesting.
- All nesting levels are visible at the same time. (Impossible with subtasks)
- Multi-sections. (Impossible with subtasks)
- Reorder or nest with drag and drop. (Move+nest is impossible with subtasks in the task window)
- Do/pending progress.
image taken from ClickUp
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@Daniel_Serna_PA, I’m pretty all but the last bullet will be possible in Asana soon. This request is marked “In Development” and has some more specifics in it:
I’m not a ClickUp user so I don’t know what “Do/pending progress” is. Is that covered by Custom Task Types or more of a progress bar?
Thanks,
Larry
This exists in every one of your competitors. It’s straightforward, I can’t figure out for the life of me why it’s not been implemented yet.