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Asana + Google Calendar Synchronization

Writer's picture: Project ProcsProject Procs

Integrating with a calendar solution is a necessity for many users of Asana, and there is already an existing integration that Asana provides. It allows you to synchronize your tasks from Asana into Google Calendar. You can find out more about it here.


However, there are some limitations with the current calendar synchronization. Some of the major limitations are listed below:

  • The synchronization is not real-time and the calendar sometimes takes up to 24 hours to update.

  • All tasks appear as all day events.

  • The calendar is read-only so you cannot move tasks around to be due at a different time.

While for many users these limitations do not pose any major problems. However, for any Asana users that need more full featured integration with Google Calendar, we have built an integration that eliminates these problems.


Project Procs Integration


Real-Time Integration

First off, our integration is real-time. As you add tasks into Asana, they will appear in Google Calendar after just a few seconds. You no longer have to be concerned about your calendar not being up to date with updates being made in Asana.


No More All-Day Events

There are several options available to you when configuring the synchronization into the calendar. The default configuration uses the Due Date from Asana. This field in Asana has an optional time component. If populated in Asana, we will utilize the time component to ensure that the event shows at the appropriate time on the calendar as well. See below for an example of what a task would show as on the calendar.


As you can see from the image, the task appears as completing by noon, and will no longer appear as an all day event.


Tasks in Asana that do not have a time component can be setup to have a default start time on the calendar, or appear as an all day event.



Reminders

Asana currently sends you an email summary of tasks that are due on a specific day. However, for time sensitive tasks, there is no reminder right before a task due date and time. Utilizing our calendar synchronization provides a workaround for this as well. Since Google Calendar has reminders which can also work on your mobile device, you can always be alerted for time sensitive tasks that need to be completed.


Bi-Directional Synchronization

Suppose you have completed your planning in Asana, and all of your tasks for the week have their due dates, times, assignments, etc. complete for the week. While planning might have gone perfectly, the actual dates might differ a little from the plan.


Suppose you have a task that is going a little longer than expected. You can simply drag and drop the task to a new spot on the calendar. This will then update Asana indicating the new due date and time as well. This synchronization from Google Calendar into Asana also takes just a few seconds.


Custom Configurations

Custom configurations are available which utilize custom fields to determine the duration of the task on the calendar, the color, or just to append the details in a custom field into the name or description of a task.


To get started, register for a free trial here.


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