How to get your team to actually use Asana
(Without Nagging or Extra Meetings)
If your team has Asana (technically), but work is still being delegated via Slack, email, DMs, and stand-ups, you’re leaving money (and your sanity) on the table.
When founders ask me how to get their team to actually use Asana, they usually assume the answer is more reminders, more automation, or a better training deck.
It’s not.
The number one issue I see with teams who struggle to use Asana is that they don’t use it to its full potential. Tasks technically live in Asana, but communication, context, vision, and decision-making live everywhere else. That split turns Asana into a graveyard where tasks “go to die,” rather than the collaborative command center it’s designed to be.
You don’t get your team to actually use Asana through rules or policing.
You get your team to actually use Asana through leadership.
Here’s how to build real, lasting Asana adoption without becoming the software police.
1. Lead by Example (This Is Non-Negotiable)
Leaders set the tone for how tools are used. Always.
If leadership says “please use Asana,” but continues to assign work in Slack, text ideas during meetings, or keep a private to-do list elsewhere, the message your team actually hears is simple:
“Asana is optional”
“Do as I say, not as I do” is not leadership, and it’s not motivating.
Asana is a collaborative workload management tool, not a personal to-do list. Its value only shows up when it’s used consistently and publicly.
A few practical ways to model this:
If a team member asks you to do something, respond with: “Can you drop that in Asana so it doesn’t get lost?”
If you need a team member to do something, don’t put it in Slack. Put it in Asana.
If an idea comes to you in the middle of the night, put it in Asana. Not your Notes app.
During 1:1s or planning conversations, share your screen and type directly into Asana as you talk.
The Notes tab in Asana is especially powerful here. It lets people see decisions being captured in real time instead of disappearing into meeting notes.
When leaders treat Asana as the source of truth, teams follow. Not because they’re forced to, but because it becomes the easiest way to work.
2. Stop Treating Asana Like a Cryptogram
One of the fastest ways to kill Asana use is unclear task titles and expectations.
If tasks are vague, unrealistic, or hard to interpret, people will quietly stop trusting the system and work around it.
A few simple best practices make an outsized difference:
Start every task with a verb
“Prepare onboarding checklist” is actionable.
“Onboarding checklist” is not.
Include realistic due dates
Not aspirational dates.
Not “sometime next week.”
Dates signal priority and sequencing. They should not be used to apply pressure.
Define what “done” actually means in the task description
A task without a definition of done invites frustration, rework, and delays.
For example:
“Draft client proposal” could mean
“First draft, ~500 words, shared in Google Docs and linked here”
“Review website copy” could mean
“Comments added directly in the doc, no rewrite needed”
When people know what finished looks like, they get it done right the first time.
That clarity alone builds trust in the system and saves hours of unnecessary follow-ups.
3. Train, Retrain, Then Train Again
Here’s the motto I use early and often: The adult mind learns through repetition.
One kickoff call or “go-live party” is not enough. Ever.
Most teams need repeated reinforcement to form a new habit, especially when they’re unlearning years of email- and Slack-based workflows.
Training does not need to be formal or heavy. In fact, the most effective moments are casual and consistent:
“Did you put that in Asana?”
“Where does that live in Asana?”
“Let’s capture that real quick in Asana so we don’t forget”
You might feel repetitive. What you’re actually doing is normalizing the tool.
Over time, your team starts asking those questions before you do. That’s the moment Asana stops being “the software” and starts being “how we work.”
4. Remember What You’re Really Building
If you’re focused on teaching people which buttons to click, you’re aiming too low.
The real goal is building shared habits around clarity, accountability, and follow-through.
When Asana is used well:
Work gets done without constant follow-ups
People stop interrupting each other for status updates
Leaders stop carrying everything in their heads
Teams trust the system instead of second-guessing it
That level of calm doesn’t come from features.
It comes from consistent behavior, clear expectations, and a tool that’s used the same way by everyone, starting at the top.
If your team isn’t using Asana, the question usually isn’t:
“What feature are we missing?”
It’s:
“What behavior are we modeling?”