After completing The 5 minute status update article I was wondering if I could make status updates even more straightforward.
If you haven’t read that article I suggest you start there.
The challenge
I was challenged by the following thoughts:
- How much waste can I remove from the status-update process if I take it to the extreme?
- What’s the fastest someone could reasonably post a status update?
The challenge was however, that there are no keyboard shortcuts for status updates.
So I made my own, and achieved 10 seconds for a status update.
Here I’ll show you how I did it.
The assumptions:
- You are using the Asana desktop app on Windows
- Hitting the shortcut for a status update is the first thing you do after opening the project
- You use one sentence for a status update
- You already know what you are going to type
- You are decent at blind typing
- This is not the first status update you post (or the selection will be off by 1)
The help
With the help of AutoHotkey (free open source automation software for Windows) I think I shaved down the the actions for posting a status update in the Asana desktop app for Windows to the absolute bare minimum.
The process
- Select project
- Use shortcut to set status update
a.F1]
On track
b.[F2] 
At risk
c.[F3] 
Off track
d.[F4] 
On hold
e.[F5] 
Complete - Type your update
- Hit
[ctrl]+[enter]to post
You’ll notice you only need to use your mouse to select the project in step 1.
The Script
This is the script I used:
#SingleInstance Force ; Running this script replaces a previous version
#IfWinActive ahk_exe Asana.exe ; Script only active when Asana desktop app has focus
; STATUS UPDATES
~F1:: ; ON TRACK
SetKeyDelay 50
Send {Tab 4}{Enter}{Down}{Enter}
return
~F2:: ; AT RISK
SetKeyDelay 50
Send {Tab 4}{Enter}{Down 2}{Enter}
return
~F3:: ; OFF TRACK
SetKeyDelay 50
Send {Tab 4}{Enter}{Down 3}{Enter}
return
~F4:: ; ON HOLD
SetKeyDelay 50
Send {Tab 4}{Enter}{Down 4}{Enter}
return
~F5:: ; COMPLETE
SetKeyDelay 50
Send {Tab 4}{Enter}{Down 5}{Enter}
return
~Ctrl & Enter::Send {Shift Down}{Tab}{Shift Up}{Enter} ; POST (assumes cursor in title position)position)
Running the script on startup
- Hit
[windows]+[r], typeshell:startup, and hit[enter]. - Save your script (or shortcut to your script) at this location.
Windows will now run the script every time you start-up your PC.
Jan-Rienk - Asana Expert @ Improving Every Day
Changelog
- 2024-08-29
– Added delay between keypresses for accuracy (need one less tab now)
– Compensated for selecting the right status when it is not the first status update. Otherwise only first status update would be correct, and all others would be off by 1
– Changed from [tab]+[Fkeys] to [Fkeys] only for simplicity.
