Asana is a great project management tool used by countless teams around the world. Despite most people logging into Asana with their Google ID, it doesn’t automatically sync with their Google Calendar without a few extra steps.
Below we’ll look at how to sync Asana with your Google Calendar without any third-party tools. Then we’ll touch on a third-party app to help make that sync work both ways.
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How to sync Asana and Google Calendar
To sync your Asana My Tasks with your Google Calendar, go to your My Tasks header and click the arrow to access the Actions Menu dropdown (Figure A).
From there, select Sync To Calendar which will launch a pop-up window containing a link (Figure B). Make sure to copy this entire link, as you’ll need it later when you switch to Google Calendar to complete the process.
Next, switch over to Google Calendar and navigate to the sidebar and click the + icon next to Other Calendars (Figure C). In the prompt that follows, select Add From URL.
A new window will open. Paste the URL you copied from Asana into the open URL field. You can choose to make the calendar publicly accessible by clicking the checkbox below the URL field, but otherwise, finish up by clicking Add Calendar (Figure D).
Now, your tasks will appear as full-day events in your Google Calendar, alerting you to when certain tasks are due.
How to sync Asana projects to Google Calendar
When logged into Asana, choose the project you want to sync (Figure E). Click the arrow in the header area to open the Actions Menu. Hold your cursor over the Export option, then choose Sync to calendar.
This will launch a pop-up window, which will contain a Google Calendar tab. Within that tab is a link, which you will need to copy and use later (Figure F).
Now switch to Google Calendar, and we’ll use the same process as with My Tasks.
Click the + icon next to Other Calendars. Choose the Add From URL option, then paste the URL from Asana into the field. Finish the process by clicking Add Calendar.
Now, your projects are synced with Google Calendar, and all important milestones will appear within your Calendar as they are due.
Asana and Google Calendar syncing limitations
As it stands, this sync method only works one way. This means changes to your My Tasks or My Projects in Asana will be reflected in Google Calendar. But, if you make any changes to your Google Calendar, it will not be reflected back in Asana.
There are some third-party apps to solve this problem, though.
How to use Zapier to sync Google Calendar with Asana
You can sign up for a free Zapier account, which gives you access to 100 tasks per month and 15 “Zaps” which is their term for connecting a project. More tasks and Zaps are available via monthly paid tiers.
Once signed up with Zapier, you’ll be taken to a wizard that will guide you through most of these steps. The first screen you will see after signing up allows you to choose the apps you plan on using (Figure G). In this case, search for Asana and Google Calendar, then click continue.
Next, you will see a screen asking you to either create a workflow or choose from common workflows, which Zapier suggests at the bottom of the page (Figure H). Choose Create New Asana Tasks from new Google Calendar events, and click Try It.
This next part may look a little complicated at first glance, but once you understand what’s happening, it’s actually easy to follow.
It’s essentially a flow chart where you choose your apps, then a “trigger” or event—in this case a Google Calendar entry (Figure I). And then, you test the connection.
So, here you’ll first select your Google Calendar account you want to connect. You’ll do the same for your Asana account.
Once connected, Zapier will automatically move to the next part of the wizard, allowing you to set up the trigger, which is a new entry or Google Calendar event. Once that is completed, Zapier will take you to the final part of the wizard, which is a test of the connection (Figure J).
Once you test the connection, you are set up, and everything is now working.
There are few things to note when using Zapier to sync both ways between Asana and Google Calendar.
First is that any old events in your Google Calendar will not be ported over once the connection is made. Only new events created after setting up Zapier will be synced in Asana.
Next, there is a delay when events are added to Google Calendar compared to when they show up in Asana. You can adjust this setting in Zapier, but it generally can update every few hours or once every 24 hours, depending on your needs.