When it comes to creating daily tasks or a daily routine for the mytasks… Do you include all of the small tasks such as “make breakfast”… Such as the smallest most simple tasks - brush teeth.
Or do you leave these out and only focus on more important & practical tasks instead.
Wasn’t sure if I’m being too OCD or overthinking this stuff. I figured it might help from a sequential flow to not really think about things. However, I wasn’t sure if I’m creating more work for myself at the same time. Just go through the day using the app clicking even the most simple of tasks off the list incase I get distracted or something.
Trying to learn what to do and what not to do. Probably is a highly subjective topic.
Wasn’t sure if there is such thing as having too many tasks in the “mytasks”.
I was thinking about pre planning out tomorrow by adding every simple task that comes to mind.
- Make bed
- Meditate
- Journal
- Make breakfast
- Do dishes
- Take out trash
- Go on 2 mile run
- Shower
- Read 1 hour
- (… And so on for as many tasks I can think of for the entire day)
Basically, planning literally everything out the day before in sequential order or just putting mostly more important tasks. I’m kinda unsure if this is a waste of time to do this or is it helping in a more productive way to list literally everything in Mytasks.
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Hi @Ethan_Schneider,
I think there is such a thing as too many tasks in the My Task area. In fact, that space doesn’t work for me at all. Instead I focus on the projects assigned to me and the Inbox area for collaboration. If you are just using for your personal life I think the My Task area could get really cluttered, however not as much if you are utilizing recurring task options. Think about what you need reminders to do daily and weekly rather than cataloging your whole day. Also, think about the burden a workflow might add before creating that workflow (i.e. having to check off mundane tasks throughout the day, etc). Would you forget to eat breakfast if you weren’t reminded? Do you need to track that task for any reason? If other people are sharing the Asana space and you are creating workflows for multiple people ask yourself if it necessary for me to know they have completed the task and/or if I need to track it for a reason and how much burden will it be for myself and/or others to document in Asana. These are things I always keep in mind while developing business processes and workflows. There will be some trial and error though, so experiment a bit and see what works best for you. Everyone is a little different and Asana is very flexible.
Good luck!
Katie
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Great Question @Ethan_Schneider. We use Asana for many businesses and also for running our household. So the question is very relevant for personal work.
I also live in the " My task" section for task management (All tasks assigned to me) and would refer to projects only when I’m in project management mode (eg. Planning a project or doing project overview)
In the My Task the best is to only use tasks that either takes large timeblock or that you need reminded of. I would also use subtasks as reminder for smaller next actions.
In my view your tasks should help you help you do things by giving you a reminder or context/ info you need to do it. A good tool is just to use time slots in your calendar on recurring base.
I’ have many other ideas on personal productivity, so do not hesitate to reach you to me with more Questions.
Hope this helps.
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Thank you @Katie_Reynolds @Paul_Grobler
I will try and focus more on things that are more a reminder rather than adding any little task.
I’m still trying to learn more about Asana. Slowly learning more each day.
I’m more focusing on getting the hang of using My Tasks first then expanding into the projects section / teams. I’m probably going to take things slowly and just be more mindful while I organize all my thoughts on this.
I will just keep experimenting and studying this forum & other sources of information. Eventually put the puzzle together.
Yes, I’m curious to hear your ideas! Thank you!
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The right task list is the one that helps you live your life the way you want to. For me, many of the items on your list are what I would call a routine - they are self-reinforcing in the sense that if I don’t make breakfast, then I surely won’t be eating breakfast and I’ll know not to make that mistake again.
Although most people may find it overkill to have a task list that includes 30 or 40 items a day, it’s perfectly OK to do so if that truly works for you. I would just caution that, the longer the list, the more times you need to look at it per day. If you have 1-3 items, a single morning glance may suffice. If you have 40 items on which you plan to take action per day, you probably need to look at your list and/or read timely reminders at least 20 times per day, and maybe more.
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Yes, I see how a routine could be different than most other type of tasks. I think decision fatigue is one thing that could probably happen with a daily routine task overload. Seeing a checklist of +40 items would take a lot of manual thinking vs automatic thinking.
I guess with routines it’s something that is more automatic or habituated. Not really thought about. Initially it would be ok for a small list. It’s an interesting balance with all of this. I believe it’s necessary to be aware of some tasks but others it’s best to not think as much about.
Only have so much energy per day sooo it probably make sense to automate some thinking. Being able to focus more on the important tasks that make a difference. Not wasting energy on a large quantity of tasks.
Using Asana is more like the type 2 side I believe or possibly both. Meant for type 2 thinking.
I’d like to have a daily routine to install good habits but I also see how this can mess with the RAM on the mind.
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Hi Ethan,
First you need to set a boundary of task time. Most PMs won’t allow tasks that take under a certain time to complete be listed as you tend to then have more overhead managing the task manager.
Next is how you view your day. You may have Morning Routine as a task that has a bulleted list within the description as what is needed each morning. If that is too general, then a couple subtasks for Grooming Housekeeping Nourishment.
Make bed, do dishes, take out trash would be inside Housekeeping. Shower and get dressed would be within grooming. Group efforts.
The idea being if you don’t need specific directions, especially on recurring tasks, then some bullets within the description as reminder is sufficient. If you constantly forget a todo within the description, then consider moving it to a subtask.
There is a balance between getting stuff done and managing a task management software. You don’t want a task called check off all tasks in Asana 
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