Why it matters

Accurate capacity planning stops burnout, balances demand, and brings delivery dates back under control. Asana now offers Workload (in Portfolios), Universal Workload (org-wide from Reporting), Capacity Planning (allocate people to projects over longer horizons), and native Time Tracking.

Quick definitions (so you pick the right tool)

• Workload (Portfolio): See each person’s assigned tasks across projects in a portfolio, weighted by effort (hours or points) against personal capacity; rebalance with drag-and-drop.

• Universal Workload (Reporting): Create a workload view that spans all of Asana (not just one portfolio)—ideal when people work across many teams.

• Capacity Planning: Plan staffing by allocating people to projects (percent or hours) without assigning individual tasks—great for quarterly planning.

• Time Tracking (native): Estimate time, record actuals and report on estimated vs. actual.

The 30-minute setup (recommended flow)

1) Standardise effort + capacity

• Create a numeric custom field for effort (e.g., Hours or Points) and make it available to projects you’ll track.

• In Workload, use Add effort to bind that field; set per-person weekly capacity (e.g., 37.5h).

2) Organise projects into a Portfolio or use Universal Workload

• Portfolio route: Create a Portfolio and add the projects you want to monitor; open Workload.

• Org-wide route: Go to Reporting → Workload and build a view that pulls people and projects from across your org.

3) Populate tasks properly

For reliable workload maths, tasks should have assignee, start & due dates, and the effort field filled in. Use Workload filters to find tasks missing effort and fix them fast.

4) Set capacity & spot overloads

In Workload/Universal Workload, set each person’s weekly capacity (hours or points). Use the timeline to see who’s over/under and rebalance—drag to reschedule or reassign.

5) Layer on Capacity Planning for horizons

For quarterly/annual planning, open Capacity Planning to allocate people to projects by % or time—no task-level assignment required. Validate the plan, then push staffing decisions down to tasks.

6) Track estimated vs. actual time

Use native Time Tracking on tasks to enter estimates and log actuals. Report on variance to improve future capacity assumptions.

Tips, limits & gotchas

• Effort source of truth: Pick one unit (hours or points) across projects to avoid mixed maths.

• Portfolio scale: Very large portfolios can hit feature limits; Universal Workload helps when you outgrow a single portfolio view.

• Percent allocation: For programme-level planning use Capacity Planning (percentages) rather than forcing percent maths into task-level Workload.

Step-by-step (short version)

1. Create/choose effort field (hours or points) → Add it to relevant projects.

2. Portfolio or Reporting → Open Workload; click Add effort; set weekly capacity.

3. Complete task metadata (assignee, dates, effort); use filter to find missing effort.

4. Rebalance by dragging tasks; adjust capacity as policies change.

5. Plan headcount with Capacity Planning (percent or hours) for future periods.

6. Measure with Time Tracking (estimate vs actual) and tune capacity.

FAQ

Does Asana have native time tracking?
Yes—estimate and record actuals, then report on variance.

Do I need Portfolios to use Workload?
No—Universal Workload (Enterprise) lets you build org-wide views from Reporting. Portfolios still work well for team/programme views.

What’s the difference between Workload and Capacity Planning?
Workload manages task-level demand vs person capacity; Capacity Planning allocates people to projects/workstreams over longer horizons.