How to Migrate from Asana to Foci

Asana is a powerful project management platform built for teams — boards, timelines, dependencies, approvals, and dozens of integrations. But all that power comes with complexity. If you're an individual contributor who just wants to focus on your own tasks with a timer and zero distractions, Foci is a much lighter fit.

Here's how to bring your Asana tasks into Foci.

Why switch?

Asana is built for team coordination. Foci is built for individual deep work:

• No dashboards, no notifications from teammates — just your tasks and a focus timer
• Pomodoro timer built in — select any task and start a timed session
• Per-task time tracking — automatically logged, zero manual entry
• Works offline — no internet needed, no loading spinners
• Free and private — no team plan pricing, no account required to start

If you've been using Asana solo and want something faster and more focused, the switch is straightforward.

Step 1: Export your tasks from Asana

Asana lets you export any project as CSV:

1. Open the project you want to export in Asana
2. Click the dropdown arrow next to the project name (or the ⋯ menu)
3. Select Export/Print → CSV
4. Save the downloaded CSV file

Repeat for each project you want to migrate. Each export includes task names, assignees, due dates, sections, completion status, and more.

For a full account export:

1. Go to Admin Console → Settings (requires admin access)
2. Look for Export or use Asana's data export request feature
3. Download the resulting CSV files

Step 2: Import into Foci

1. Open Foci
2. Click the Settings gear icon
3. Scroll to Import & Export Tasks
4. Click Choose file to import and select your Asana CSV
5. Foci auto-detects the Asana format (it recognizes columns like Section, Assignee)
6. Preview your tasks — toggle whether to include completed ones
7. Click Import

Your Asana tasks are now in Foci, ready for focused work.

What gets imported

| Asana field | Foci field | |---|---| | Name | Title | | Completed At (present/empty) | Completed | | Due Date | Due date |

Fields like Assignee, Section, Tags, and Dependencies are Asana-specific and don't carry over. Foci's model is intentionally simpler — tasks, subtasks, and projects.

Step 3: Organize and focus

After import, your tasks land in the General project. To organize them:

1. Create projects in Foci's sidebar to match your Asana projects
2. Drag tasks into the right projects
3. Add subtasks to break down larger items
4. Set due dates on anything time-sensitive

Then start working:

1. Select a task → Start a Pomodoro session
2. Focus for 25–50 minutes (you choose the duration)
3. Take a break when the timer rings
4. Repeat — track your sessions and time spent automatically

When Foci makes more sense than Asana

Asana shines for team workflows — sprint planning, cross-functional projects, approval chains. But for these scenarios, Foci is the better tool:

• Solo deep work — studying, writing, coding, designing
• Personal task management — no team features you're not using
• Focus tracking — knowing how long you worked, not just what you did
• Distraction-free environment — no activity feeds, no comment threads, no notification badges

Tips for the transition

• Export one project at a time from Asana for cleaner imports
• Skip completed tasks during import unless you need the history
• Use Foci's export (JSON or CSV) to back up your data anytime
• Try both — you can keep Asana for team projects and use Foci for your personal focus sessions

Moving from a full project management suite to a focused productivity tool feels like clearing your desk. Less clutter, more clarity.

Try Foci →