If you’re new to Asana, one of the biggest mistakes you can make is jumping straight into creating tasks and projects without thinking about structure.
Asana is powerful, but only if your account is set up in a way that mirrors how your business actually works. Get this part right, and Asana feels intuitive. Get it wrong, and it quickly becomes cluttered, confusing, and hard to maintain.
In the video above, we walk through Asana step by step. In this article, we’re going to zoom in on one of the most important foundations: teams, projects, and how to structure your account from day one.
Start with Teams (Think: Folders, Not Permissions)
Asana changes that by letting you:In Asana, teams are best thought of as folders, not security walls.
A common beginner mistake is creating lots of teams just to keep projects private. You don’t need to do that. Individual projects can be private on their own.
Instead, teams should usually represent:
- Departments (Marketing, Operations, Finance), or
- Broad areas of work (Internal Work, Client Work)
For example, at MinorCo we keep things deliberately simple:
- One team for internal work
- One team for client-facing work
That’s it.
Keeping your team structure minimal makes Asana much easier to navigate and scale over time.
Projects Are Where the Work Lives
Once your teams are in place, projects are where real work happens.
In Asana, projects generally fall into three useful categories:
1. Evergreen projects
These never really end. Think leadership, operations, content planning, or sales. They act as ongoing containers for related tasks.
2. Workflow or process projects
These follow a repeatable flow, often in a board (Kanban) view. Examples include design requests, content approvals, or internal support queues.
3. One-off projects
These have a clear start and finish, such as launching a website, running an event, or delivering client work.
Understanding which type of project you’re creating helps you choose the right layout and level of detail from the start.
Use Sections to Create Clarity
Inside a project, sections are how you organise tasks.
They can represent:
- Phases of a project (Onboarding → Production → Delivery), or
- Categories of work (Admin, Reviews, Client Feedback)
There’s no single “right” answer, but the goal is the same:
someone should be able to open the project and immediately understand how the work flows.
If a project feels messy, it’s usually because sections weren’t thought through.
Keep It Simple at the Beginning
Asana has powerful features like rules, custom fields, timelines, and automations. They’re useful, but not on day one.
Our advice for beginners is always the same:
- Start with teams, projects, sections, and tasks
- Get comfortable using My Tasks daily
- Build habits before adding complexity
You’ll know when you need more advanced features because the limitations will become obvious.
Watch the Full Asana Beginner Tutorial
This article covers the why behind good Asana structure.
The video shows you the how, step by step, using real examples.
If you’re setting up Asana for the first time, or cleaning up an account that’s grown messy, it’s worth watching from the beginning.
And if you want help structuring Asana properly for your business, you can book a 30-minute introductory call with our team to talk through your setup and next steps.
Next Steps
If you want help getting your team set up properly in Asana or need tailored consulting, book an introductory call with our team using the link below. https://minorco.com/asana
Need help setting up Asana and optimising it for your business? Join my Master Asana program!
Leave a Reply