Asana: The Team Tool Used Alone
Asana is fantastic for teams. Coordinating projects with 10 people? Tracking dependencies? Managing sprints? Asana shines.
But here's what happens: People use Asana for work, love it, and think "I'll use this for my personal life too!"
Big mistake. Using Asana for personal tasks is like using Excel to write a diary. Technically possible. Completely wrong tool.
What Asana Does Brilliantly
- Team Collaboration: Assign tasks. Comment. Tag people. Perfect for teams.
- Project Views: List, Board, Timeline, Calendar. Multiple ways to visualize work.
- Dependencies: "Task B can't start until Task A is done." Great for complex projects.
- Integrations: Slack, Gmail, Zoom, everything your team uses.
- Reporting: Dashboards, charts, progress tracking. Manager-friendly.
- Automation: Rules like "When task is completed, notify team." Powerful.
For managing work projects with teams, Asana is excellent.
The Personal Use Problem
Here's what happened when I tried using Asana for personal tasks:
I created a "Personal Life" project. Added tasks: "Go to gym", "Call mom", "Read book".
Asana asked me: "Who's assigned to this?" Me. "What's the due date?" Uh, today? "What project section?" I... don't know?
Asana treats your personal life like a work project. It feels formal. Clinical. Like you're managing yourself as an employee.
Life Balance: Asana Doesn't Care
Asana has "Projects" and "Sections". You could theoretically create:
- Work project
- Health project
- Family project
But Asana won't show you that "Work" has 94 tasks and "Health" has 2. It just shows projects equally.
Funtasking's Purpose Wheel visualizes that imbalance instantly. Work is crushing everything. Body is empty.
The Celebration Creatures Joke
Asana has "gamification" – cute animated creatures that pop up when you complete tasks. Yeti, Phoenix, Narwhal.
It's adorable. For about 3 seconds. Then it's just... weird. You completed "Go to gym" and a cartoon narwhal celebrates? Okay?
Funtasking's coins actually mean something. Earn coins. Spend on rewards you define. Real motivation, not cartoon animals.
Overkill for Personal Planning
Asana has:
- Custom fields
- Task dependencies
- Milestones
- Portfolios
- Workload management
- Approval workflows
For personal daily planning? Total overkill. It's like buying a semi-truck to drive to the grocery store.
When Asana Wins
- You're managing team projects at work
- You need collaboration with 5+ people
- You have complex dependencies and workflows
- You need dashboards and reporting
- You're already using it for work
When Funtasking Wins
- You want personal daily planning, not work PM
- You need life balance visualization
- You want rewards that feel real
- You prefer simple over complex
- You need burnout prevention, not project tracking
- You don't want to manage your life like a work project
Can You Use Both?
Yes! Lots of people do.
Asana: Work projects, team collaboration, complex workflows.
Funtasking: Personal daily planning, life balance, self-care tracking.
Keep work in Asana. Keep life in Funtasking. Different contexts, different tools.
The Formality Problem
Asana feels corporate. Even for personal tasks. You're assigning yourself tasks with due dates and subtasks and dependencies.
Life isn't a corporate project. "Call mom" doesn't need a due date, three subtasks, and a project timeline.
Funtasking feels personal. Warm. Like a tool designed for humans, not employees.
Pricing Reality
Asana: Free for individuals (15 users max). Premium is $11/user/month for teams.
Funtasking: Free with full features. Premium coming soon.
Both have free options. But Asana's power features are for teams. Funtasking's power is life balance – free for everyone.
Final Thoughts
Asana is brilliant for what it's designed for: team project management. Use it for work. Keep using it.
But don't use a work project management tool for your personal life. It'll make your life feel like... more work.
Funtasking is designed for personal daily planning and life balance. That's a fundamentally different job.