How to Add Asana to Slack

Did you know you can integrate Asana and Slack, two of the leading tools for team and task management? In reality, many people are sleeping on Slack's many powerful integration options. But by connecting your favorite team management tools, you can enjoy a truly robust integration that will help keep your workflow streamlined, which in turn can boost your efficiency and productivity.

If you're not familiar with Slack or Asana yet, here's a quick rundown of what both are, and why you should be using them to manage your workspace. 

Slack is an online platform created so you can stay in communication with your team in just one place. You can create different Channels, which can house specific conversations so ideas don't get lost in a jumble of messages.

Asana is a project management platform that was designed to improve team collaboration because it helps teams manage tasks in just one tool. You can create projects, assign tasks to yourself and other teammates, set due dates, and send real-time updates and notifications about tasks within the one app.

So you can see by combining these two apps together, you and your team will be able to create Asana tasks from Slack messages, add those tasks to specific projects, set due dates and reminders for those due dates, and receive notifications about any changes. At first, it may seem complicated to integrate both apps together, but using Asana with Slack is actually super simple and intuitive! In this blog post, we’ll cover how to set up the Asana Slack integration and how to make the most out of the Asana Slack actions available.

Step 1: Grant permission to add Asana to Slack

First things first. In order for your Asana and Slack accounts to interact with each other, you’ll need to grant permissions. And don’t worry — you don't need extensive tech knowledge to get this done. It just takes a few clicks to add Asana to Slack.

To do this on your desktop, go to https://slack.com/apps and type Asana into the search bar. Once you see Asana appear in the drop-down menu, click on it. You’ll be redirected to Asana's app page. On the left, click the button Add to Slack and then Allow. From there, you can select the specific Slack Channels (or even Direct Messages) you want Asana to have access to. It’s important to note that everyone shared on the Asana Slack integration must log in to their Asana account from the Slack channel to share and update Asana tasks.

To grant permission in your Slack app, all you have to do is go to the Apps section on Slack, found on the left-hand side, underneath your Direct Messages section. Click on + Add Apps, type in Asana, and click Add. From there, Asana’s app page will open on the desktop version of Slack. Click the button, Add to Slack and Allow.

And there you have it! Both apps can ‘talk’ to each other, which means you can set up tasks, notifications, and streamline your workspace without leaving the app.

Pro-tip: To see which apps you have integrated with Asana, head over to the desktop app. Then, click on your profile photo to open your settings. You will see a menu on the top bar — click on Apps. In this tab, you can see if you have correctly added Slack to Asana and added Asana to Slack.

Step 2: Create new Asana tasks in Slack

Now that you’ve set up the Asana Slack integration, you can create new Asana tasks within the Slack app. Again, while these steps may sound intimidating at first, Slack has made using Asana with Slack simple and user-friendly! 

The first step is to go into one of your Channels or Direct Messages, and type this command into your message box: /asana create or /asanacreate. It doesn’t matter if you type it in as one word or two words — Slack will register the command either way. A drop-down menu will appear as you type — click on the one that says create a task with Asana. Once you click on that option, a new Asana task window will pop up.

From there, you can fill in all the details, including the task name, the assignee, the project, due date, and description. Once you're done filling in all the details, click create. Now you have a new Asana task created within the Slack app!

Pro-tip: If you can’t remember the command while trying to create a task, you have two easy options to create tasks:

First, you can click the little lightning bolt icon under the Asana message box. This will take you to some shortcuts. The drop-down menu will show you some suggestions and recently used commands. If you scroll to the bottom of the menu, you can also browse various commands by app. 

The second way you can create Asana tasks is by simply entering the command /asana. A message (that is only visible to you) will appear that lists the possible actions you can take. From there, you can click create a task.

Step 3: Turn a Slack message into a Asana tasks

Say a team member messages you about a possible next step in a project you’ve been working on. Both of you decide the next step is a great idea, and you want to quickly create an Asana task out of that Slack message, with all of the relevant information. Is it possible to do that without having to manually duplicate all of the information from Slack into Asana?

Yes! Slack has thought of everything to make using Asana with Slack super simple, so you can streamline all your projects in your workspace. Here is how to turn your Slack messages into tasks, so you never lost momentum:

Hover your cursor over the message you want to turn into a task. You will see several options appear, including emoji reactions and the reply button. To the far right, you'll also see the More actions icon, which looks like three horizontal dots. When you click on those three dots, a drop-down menu will appear. At the bottom of the menu, there's an option to Create a task — click on that option, and the same pop-up as the previous step will appear. From there, you can fill in and fix any details, and then click Create to generate the task!

Step 4: Turn on Asana notifications

So, now you know how to easily create Asana tasks within Slack, but what about receiving notifications? After all, creating tasks doesn't do any good without reminders of important due dates.

To set up Asana notifications, select the Channel or Direct Message you want to receive reminders. Then, enter the command /asana link or /asanalink. Again, Slack will register the command with or without the space. Hit enter on your keyboard to submit the command, and now you can select the project you want to link with the Channel or Direct Messages conversation. Once you select the project, notifications for Asana tasks — including new task assignments, changes to due dates, comments added, and any other updates — should work!

Step 5: Manage your workflow with Asana Slack actions

Hopefully by now, you're feeling like a pro with the Asana Slack integration because you know how to set up tasks and notifications. It’s time to make you your company's go-to Asana and Slack expert by going over one last important step you should know about, so you can make the most out of this integration: managing your workflow for tasks within the app using Asana Slack actions.

Once you have created a new task in a Channel or Direct Message, you can select an action (think of it like a status) for every Asana task by selecting more actions... After clicking more actions, a drop-down menu will appear, and you'll see the options mark complete, like this task, change assignee, change due date, and add to project. When you select an action, Slack will either notify you that the action is complete or a pop-up will appear so you can change any task details.

Using Asana with Slack has never been as convenient as it is right now because you won't have to have multiple tabs open and constantly switch between the two apps to update your tasks.

Bonus step: Supercharge your Slack + Asana integration with Clockwise

The only thing better than Slack + Asana is Slack + Asana + Clockwise. Clockwise is a smart calendar assistant that helps you make time for what matters. We automatically suggest the times to meet that preserve the most Focus Time for you and your team. And, we move your meetings and automatically resolve conflicts to open up even more Focus Time. 

Our Slack integration syncs your availability to your Slack status automatically based on your calendar. With it you can turn on an automatic Do Not Disturb response when someone messages you when you’re out of office, in Focus Time, or otherwise unavailable based on your calendar. This lets your teammates know when they shouldn’t expect a fast response. It’s especially handy for remote work or working from home where you might be collaborating across time zones. The Clockwise Slack sync also offers a daily forecast of your meetings to help you prepare for your day.

Our Asana integration makes it easy to add Asana tasks to your calendar with a few clicks. It’s never been easier to time block your calendar.

Now you’re an expert at adding Asana to Slack!

You made it to the end! That means you now know the Asana Slack integration isn't as intimidating as it seems, you feel confident in your ability to successfully set it up, and you’re ready to use both of these powerful tools to streamline your workflow! Say good-bye to manually creating tasks and frantically switching between tabs, and say hello to maximum efficiency and harmonious communication with your team. 

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Next, read on to find out about Slack AI integrations and how to integrate Asana and Outlook.