# What is the most important thing you wish you knew right away when starting Asana **URL:** \ **Category:** Ask the Community\ **Created:** [19 January 2024 17:34 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858 "2024-01-19T17:34:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dana\_Musselman](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Dana\_Musselman](https://forum.asana.com/u/Dana_Musselman)\ **Post date:** [19 January 2024 17:34 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/1 "2024-01-19T17:34:58Z")
Hi! I am new to Asana and will be using it for new job as a project change management lead. Curious to know what you wish you knew or did when you first started out with Asana. As I am new and learning things, I want to learn from those on this forum. Thanks, Dana ---
**Author:** ![Michele\_King](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/michele_king/32/48499_2.png) [@Michele\_King](https://forum.asana.com/u/Michele_King)\ **Post date:** [19 January 2024 17:55 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/2 "2024-01-19T17:55:30Z")
A few things come to mind…When I started using Asana six years ago many of these functions were not yet available and it also depends on which tier you are using but if I were start today, I would say: - leverage the rules and custom field capabilities - use the custom fields to create helpful dashboard views - bundle related projects together in a portfolio, or if your project has many complex moving parts you can create multiple projects and treat the portfolio like the entry point to all the facets of the work - forms / reporting are underused in my organization but can do some really cool things for you - star your frequently used projects so they are at the top of your nav bar - keep archiving / closing out projects that are no longer active - if you are a big Outlook user, many folks I know like to sync Outlook with Asana so that you can see tasks in your calendar, create tasks from emails, etc. Hope this helps! ---
**Author:** ![anon91170507](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@anon91170507](https://forum.asana.com/u/anon91170507)\ **Post date:** [19 January 2024 19:01 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/3 "2024-01-19T19:01:25Z")
1. Asana has a fair number of affordances for complicating your implementation. I’d avoid any temptation to use them all right away. Start with the simplest possible structures, and understand them fully. Then build out Teams, Projects, Rules, Templates etc. organically, only as the need arises and you understand that the basics aren’t enough anymore. 2. Be user-centric. If you’re a superuser setting up Asana for your org, learn your users’ most important wishes and deliverables, and then build out specific Asana behaviors and workflows to meet them. ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Musselman](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Dana\_Musselman](https://forum.asana.com/u/Dana_Musselman)\ **Post date:** [19 January 2024 19:28 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/4 "2024-01-19T19:28:38Z")
> [@Michele\_King](#): > > your frequently used projects so they are at the top of your nav bar Thanks. This is all great advice. I had no idea Outlook can sync and love outlook so that’s very helpful. I appreciate you taking the time to respond. ---
**Author:** ![Dana\_Musselman](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Dana\_Musselman](https://forum.asana.com/u/Dana_Musselman)\ **Post date:** [19 January 2024 19:30 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/5 "2024-01-19T19:30:04Z")
Really good advice. I think by nature we tend to overcomplicate things so it’s a good reminder. And love mentioning gearing it to your user’s most important wishes. Thank you for commenting. ---
**Author:** ![Finley\_Logan](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Finley\_Logan](https://forum.asana.com/u/Finley_Logan)\ **Post date:** [20 January 2024 00:42 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/6 "2024-01-20T00:42:49Z")
Great tips. As a newer Asana user myself, could you please elaborate more on how to integrate Outlook with Asana? I have my Asana notifications set up to notify me, via Outlook, of any new tasks/mentions related to me, but would love to utilize this feature more. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Berger\_lpb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/larry_berger_lpb/32/276017_2.png) [@Larry\_Berger\_lpb](https://forum.asana.com/u/Larry_Berger_lpb)\ **Post date:** [20 January 2024 16:29 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/7 "2024-01-20T16:29:00Z")
Welcome, @Dana_Musselman, I recommend making sure you are using My Tasks effectively. You might find my article on this helpful: > [@Your Simple (or Advanced) Strategy for Asana’s My Tasks](https://forum.asana.com/t/your-simple-or-advanced-strategy-for-asana-s-my-tasks/121623): > > Note: Most recent article update: April 2024 I’ve just published the article linked above to Medium (free access). I hope both existing Asana users grappling with My Tasks version 2 (currently being deployed), as well as new users to Asana, will check it out because it was written with all of you in mind. This comprehensive article on My Tasks: Outlines a simple but highly functional My Tasks setup with brief, step-by-step setup and use instructions, Explores an advanced My Tasks approach… Also, understanding how to use Asana Inbox and Notifications in Asana. Thanks, Larry ---
**Author:** ![system](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/system/32/276370_2.png) [@system](https://forum.asana.com/u/system)\ **Post date:** [30 May 2025 19:00 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/what-is-the-most-important-thing-you-wish-you-knew-right-away-when-starting-asana/670858/8 "2025-05-30T19:00:39Z")