How I Manage, Maintain & Run My Entire Business in Asana

So, you wanna know how I manage, maintain, and run my ENTIRE business in Asana?

Good, I’ll tell you!! 😉

But first, you must know that it wasn’t always like this.

I was once THE QUEEN of notebooks and sticky notes.

In school, I was the straight-A student who color-coded ALL of her school supplies by subject, took the neatest and most detailed hand-written notes in class, spent all of her free periods in the library, NEVER pulled an all-nighter, and hauled EVERYTHING around with her in a trapper keeper. (Remember those? I hear they’re making a comeback 🤗)

Honest to goodness, I thought THIS was the way to do it when I started my own business…

But boy, was I wrong!!

I don’t know what I was thinking, but for the first TWO years of my business, I ran MY ENTIRE BUSINESS from notebooks and sticky notes 🤦🏼‍♀️

Needless to say, I was OVERWHELMED, EXHAUSTED, and seriously BURNT OUT.

But the thought of paying a VA (aka virtual assistant) when I could barely pay myself STRESSED me the heck out!!

That’s when I discovered the magical world of project management tools (Trello first and then Asana) and chucked all of those notebooks and sticky notes in the trash!!

But it wasn’t until I started using SYSTEMS inside those project management tools that I was able to say, “SEE YA, BYE!” to those feelings of overwhelm, overwork, and burnout!!

If those feelings are AT ALL familiar to you, listen up: 👂🏻

The cute notebooks from Target and stack of colorful sticky notes aren’t cutting it anymore!! You own a BUSINESS now and you need more sophisticated systems that help you look and act the part of being TOTALLY on top of things and in control. Like a boss, you know?!

(This post may contain affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you if you make a purchase using these links.)

FROM THIS DAY FORWARD, I WANT YOU TO THINK OF ASANA LIKE A TRAPPER KEEPER, BUT IN DIGITAL FORM 🤭

(Stay with me now… because I LOVE a good analogy!!)

LET ME BREAK THIS DOWN FOR YOU:

• In its most basic form, Asana is made up of Teams, Projects, Sections, and Tasks.
• Whereas a trapper keeper is a binder with dividers and sheets of paper with stuff (i.e. headings and bullets or notes) written on them.

In this analogy, Asana is the binder, Teams are the dividers, Projects are the pieces of paper, Sections are the headings written on those pieces of paper, and Tasks are the bullet points written out under the headings. (If you’re a current or former Trello user, Teams are to Workspaces as Projects are to Boards as Sections are to Lists as Tasks are to Cards.)

Make sense? Cool!! 😎

NOW, LET ME TELL YOU ABOUT HOW I ORGANIZE MY BUSINESS IN ASANA

Before we dive in, I want to reiterate that Asana can be used for SO MUCH MORE than just task and project management in your business. It can also help you organize and keep track of ideas and information AS WELL AS streamline and house your workflows and systems!!

Let me show you what I mean by taking you behind-the-screen of my Asana dashboard…

First things first, I have my business broken down into what Asana calls Teams. But it’s not what you think!! Remember the trapper keeper analogy? Teams are like dividers!! (You can also think of them as categories, branches, or departments of your business.)

I HAVE *MY* BUSINESS BROKEN DOWN INTO THE FOLLOWING TEAMS:

• Executive
• Operations
• Clients
• Shop
• Content
• Personal
• Templates

Under those teams are more than TWO DOZEN strategic systems (built out in Asana projects) that help me streamline, organize, and keep on top of all the moving parts of my business including content, courses, and clients, flash sales, launches, and funnels, biz information and education, CEO systems, and goals!! (I actually created these systems in Trello and then moved them over to Asana and made them a million times better!! 🤩)

NOW, LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW I ACTUALLY RUN MY BUSINESS IN ASANA

My #AllThingsBusiness project is my hub for ALL of the business stuff I might need handy during my workday, including important links, brand files and information, happy notes and testimonials, affiliate links, and more. This is also where I schedule and keep track of stand-alone business meetings + events + appointments, recurring reminders, one-off tasks, and rainy day tasks. I also have an idea parking lot and a space for brain dumps that I call The Pensieve.

(I also have a #AllThingsPersonal project because my personal and life stuff is just as important as my business stuff!!)

I then have a project that helps me keep on top of all my monthly, quarterly, and yearly Business Expenses, so I know EXACTLY where my money is going in my business AND when that money is coming out of my account!!

I also have a Business Education project where I keep track of all the freebies, webinars, and challenges I’ve opted in for, all of the memberships I’ve been in, and all of the courses and coaching I’ve purchased!! I keep track of login details and all of my course notes there, too.

And then, because I’m no longer just answering questions about my courses via email (I get them via the chat box on my website and Instagram DM), I created a project for my Email Templates and FAQ Responses so I can answer questions quickly and easily no matter where I get them!!

When I was working one-on-one with coaching clients and offering done-for-you services, I took on such a limited number of clients that robust CRMs like Honeybook and Dubsado were just too much for me. So I created everything I needed to manage my clients WELL in Asana!!

I had a Lead Tracker that helped me keep on top of inquiries, discovery calls, and follow-up emails AND a Coaching Client Manager to keep tabs on all of my coaching clients (their pain points and our solutions as well as what they were working on and accomplishing).

I also used my own One Client, Many Projects template when I worked on a bunch of custom projects for the same client and then used the One Service, Many Clients template when I was whipping out Asana Installations + Set Ups!!

Since I decided to put the done-for-you service and coaching side of my business on hold to focus exclusively on The Systems Shop, I’ve added SO MANY ideas to my Product Pipeline (where I map out all of my digital product ideas in an organized timeline and then store EVERYTHING related to those digital products for easy access).

I actually spent most of the last year working on massive updates for Asana Assistant and Fresh Start Systems!! I used my own Product Builder template to plan and build out the brand new, fully loaded versions and keep track of my creation schedule and timeline!!

I’ll then use my own Launch Planner template to plan and schedule my pre-launch runway and launch content so I can launch my updated programs with confidence 👊🏻!! (I also have a Flash Sale Planner and Black Friday Sale Planner to help me organize and streamline mini sales and BIG sales for the shop, too!!)

In addition, I have a Content Idea Bank, where I keep ALL of my content ideas for my blog, which is my main source of content (aka pillar or hero content). I organize my ideas by topic, service, and/or product, so I can quickly and easily find what I need when I’m planning my content. (Did I mention Asana is searchable?! I can’t BELIEVE I ever used to keep track of my content ideas in a notebook!! 🤦🏼‍♀️)

I then use my Marketing Map to plan and schedule ALL of the content I want to create on a regular basis (i.e. blog posts, emails, Instagram Feed Posts, Instagram Stories, and Instagram Reels). I update this project each month so I can see how ALL of my content flows and works together (and keep all of my workflows and checklists handy so I can get each piece of content out without worrying that something is missing).

I also have a Reel Idea Bank that makes keeping track of reel ideas and AUDIOS super easy!! My video-hating self has finally come to terms with the fact that Reels aren’t going anywhere and I’m going to have to make an effort with them to appease the Instagram algorithm. But instead of just saving audios in the app and forgetting WHY I saved them in the first place, I put all of my ideas in Asana with direct links to the audios to save myself a whole bunch of time when it comes time to film them!! 🙌🏻

I’ve also developed a Funnel Mapper template because I’m working on a whole new lead magnet and evergreen sales funnel strategy (and I don’t have the wall space for a giant whiteboard)!! I’ll also be dusting off my Website Design template later this year because The Productivity Zone is in SERIOUS need of a glow up!!

I could go on and on and on because I have systems, projects, and templates for pretty much EVERYTHING!! And I’m always tinkering, trying new things, and figuring out new ways to be more organized and efficient in my business!!

Anything and everything I decide to do in the future, you can bet there will be an Asana project, system, and/or template for it!! Because where there’s Asana, there’s a way!! 😉

AND FINALLY, LET’S TALK ABOUT HOW ASANA MY TASKS HELPS ME STAY FOCUSED ALL DAY, EVERY DAY.

Because I color-code my Teams and Projects, I’m able to know EXACTLY what’s going on and what I’m working on each day based on the colors of the tasks scheduled!!

I like to use my brand colors to denote different areas of my business. Pink is for general business stuff, blush is for business education, yellow is for content, blue is for The Systems Shop, navy is for sales/launches, and green is for clients. I also use my favorite color, purple, for personal stuff.

Each task that I give a due date to and assign to myself shows up in My Tasks in the color I’ve assigned to the project from which that task comes. I can then see at-a-glance what client projects or calls I have that day, what content is going live, what lessons I’m working on in a course, what phase of a launch I’m in, and more.

In order to stay focused and not get distracted during my workday, I actually have Asana My Tasks set as my default browser homepage. That way, when I sit down at my desk and open my browser, I immediately see what I have to do that day and get right to work!!

If reading about how I manage, maintain, and run my ENTIRE business in Asana is giving you 😍, then you’re going to want to get on the waitlist for the BRAND NEW, FULLY LOADED Asana Assistant (Version 3.0)!!

Strategy AND systems collide in this (one-of-a-kind) template-studded program that will take you from a burnt out, stressed out, one-woman show using all the digital tools, notebooks, whiteboards, and sticky notes to a streamlined solopreneur who can RUN and RULE her business from just ONE place!!

🎉 Asana Assistant launches MONDAY, JUNE 26th at 9am EST!! And because June is also The Productivity Zone’s birthday month, I’ve decided to celebrate in a BIG (LIKE HUGE) way!! 🥳 We’re talking about a special price AND a super special limited-time bonus!! I expect that bonus to go FAST and waitlisters get first dibs… So, what are you waiting for?! Get your name on the waitlist and be the first to know when everything is live!!

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