Whether we’d like to admit it or not, meetings are a fact of work life. When conducted consciously, they can be a highly effective tool for sharing ideas or making decisions. Unfortunately too many of us have experienced “bad” meetings, the kind that turn into a laundry list of status updates rather than a productive meeting of the minds. So what’s a team to do when the best way for them to align is to meet in real time?

Some companies are struggling to keep up with our new normal. Research from Asana reveals nearly half of employees surveyed globally said company-wide goals had been deprioritised since remote working began, with 47 per cent saying those goals have changed at least once during that time – and 60 per cent haven’t increased communication on such issues. “I think the current new normal is coping,” says Alex Hood, CPO of Asana. “The next normal is thriving.”

Read this article in French, German, Portuguese, Spanish, or Japanese If your team has a work intake process, then you know how challenging it can be to manage requests in a timely, effective, and headache-free manner. In addition to making sure you get all of the information you need to complete the request, you also want to make sure every ask gets handled in the right order, and that no task gets lost in the shuffle. Luckily, there’s a better way.

We know from research that the average knowledge worker spends 60% of their day on “work about work” like searching for information, communicating project updates, and chasing down deliverables. It’s grinding, arduous work that’s been made even harder by the challenges of remote working, but it’s also a must-do for team leads who need to stay on top of project progress and status updates. Or is it?

Do you use your My Tasks in Asana? If not, you might be missing out on one of the easiest ways to reduce work about work. Think of My Tasks as your home base. In this view, you can see all of the tasks that are assigned to you, no matter what Team or project the tasks live in. In conjunction with your Inbox, My Tasks is designed to help you focus on and complete all of your high-impact work.

We’ve all had that project. You’re juggling shifting priorities and tight schedules, and asking yourself: Did I get that done? Where did I put that note? When was I supposed to finish that? No one likes navigating tight schedules and shifting priorities—but with Asana, you can sail through those treacherous waters without worrying that tasks are getting left behind. When all of your work is in one place, you and your team have a way to effortlessly track, execute, and report on work.

As a team lead, one of your most important responsibilities is to help team members prioritize the right work to support your organization’s goals. Easier said than done, we know. The fact is there are countless projects your team can be working on at any given time—not all of them high priority or impact. So how do you keep pesky low-priority work at bay and ensure everyone is using their limited time and energy effectively?

The global pandemic has left newly remote workers swimming in confusion and struggling to keep up. To shift from today’s state of surviving to a future where teams are thriving, we need tools that make coordinating and collaborating on work effortless. When teams aren’t clear on who is doing what by when and why they are doing it, they move slowly, miss deadlines, and fall short of their goals.