How to Turn Emails Into Tasks in Asana (2026 Guide)
Most work still arrives by email. Asana gives you three ways to get those requests off your inbox and into a task list — from a quick forward to full automation. Here’s each one.
1. Forward an Email to Asana
The fastest method, no setup beyond using the right address:
- Forward any email to
x@mail.asana.com. - Asana creates a task in the My Tasks of the account matching the email address you sent from.
- The email subject becomes the task name; the body becomes the task description; attachments come along.
Tips:
- Send from the email address tied to your Asana login, or Asana won’t know whose My Tasks to use.
- The new task lands in My Tasks unassigned to a project — move it into the right project afterward, or use the add-in (below) to set the project up front.
2. Create Tasks from Gmail
The Asana for Gmail add-in turns any message into a fully-specified task without leaving your inbox:
- Install Asana for Gmail from the Google Workspace Marketplace.
- Open an email and click the Asana icon in the right-hand add-in panel.
- Create a task: set the name, project, assignee, and due date.
- The email link and context attach to the task.
3. Create Tasks from Outlook
The Asana for Outlook add-in works the same way:
- Install Asana for Outlook from Microsoft AppSource.
- Open a message and click the Asana add-in.
- Fill in the task’s project, assignee, and due date, and create it.
4. Automate It (So You Don’t Have to Forward)
Forwarding is manual and the add-in still needs a click. For inboxes where the same kinds of requests arrive all day, automate the capture so qualifying emails become Asana tasks on their own — already routed to the right project, assigned, and dated. That’s where an assistant like Carly comes in: it reads the email, decides whether it’s a task, extracts the action and due date, and creates it in Asana via Carly’s Asana integration — no forward, no add-in click.
5. Troubleshooting
My forwarded email didn’t create a task
You forwarded from an address Asana doesn’t recognize. Send from the exact email on your Asana account, or add the address to your account first.
The task went to My Tasks, not my project
Forwarding always lands in My Tasks. Use the Gmail/Outlook add-in to choose the project at creation, or move the task afterward.
Attachments didn’t come through
Large or inline-only attachments sometimes drop. Re-send, or attach the file directly to the task in Asana.
The add-in panel is empty
Reconnect the add-in: remove and reinstall it, then sign in to Asana again from the inbox panel.
Too many emails to forward by hand
That’s the signal to automate. Route the repetitive ones automatically with Carly’s Asana integration and reserve manual capture for one-offs.
More on Asana: How to set a recurring task in Asana · How to use subtasks in Asana · How to use custom fields in Asana · How to create a form in Asana. For more on capturing work automatically, see the best AI workflow automation tools.
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