# Automation in a Project

**URL:** <https://forum.asana.com/t/automation-in-a-project/1158459>\
**Category:** Ask the Community\
**Tags:** projects, rules, agentic-work-management\
**Created:** [13 October 2026 20:28 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/automation-in-a-project/1158459 "2026-10-13T20:28:53Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Ciara\_Sabud1](https://luna1.co/8d76cd.png) [@Ciara\_Sabud1](https://forum.asana.com/u/Ciara_Sabud1)\
**Post date:** [13 October 2026 20:28 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/automation-in-a-project/1158459/1 "2026-10-13T20:28:53Z")

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In our Asana project, we have multiple sections (Capture, Assigned / One-off, Recurring, etc.). I set up an automation so that every time a task is added to the project, it’s automatically placed in the “Assigned / One-off” section.

 ![image](https://us1.discourse-cdn.com/asana/original/4X/e/d/f/edff95a084898c97d216149cbea6b5417d96600e.png)

However, every time a task is reassigned to another person, it moves back to the “Assigned / One-off” section. For example, we moved a task from “Assigned / One-off” to “Recurring,” but every time we reassign that task, it moves back to “Assigned / One-off.”

Is there a way for a task to stay in its current section even when it’s modified? If so, could you share how to update our automation? Thank you.

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**Author:** ![Larry\_Berger\_lpb](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/larry_berger_lpb/32/276017_2.png) [@Larry\_Berger\_lpb](https://forum.asana.com/u/Larry_Berger_lpb)\
**Post date:** [13 October 2026 22:16 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/automation-in-a-project/1158459/2 "2026-10-13T22:16:36Z")

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Welcome, @Ciara_Sabud1,

For one of those tasks where that happened, open the Task Details pane and scoll to the bottom. Click the All activity tab if it’s not already selected. Look for (you may need to expand collapsed stories) an explanation, perhaps with lightning bolt icon indicating an automation, of why the section movement happened. It might be that a rule trigger is casting a wider net than you think and triggering when you don’t expect.

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**Author:** ![nigelyong](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/nigelyong/32/292709_2.png) [@nigelyong](https://forum.asana.com/u/nigelyong)\
**Post date:** [16 October 2026 15:50 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/automation-in-a-project/1158459/3 "2026-10-16T15:50:46Z")

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Larry’s tip about All activity is the best first step, since it shows which rule moved the task. If it’s the ‘Task added to this project’ rule, check whether reassigning is re-adding the task to the project (for example a second rule or a form/template that multi-homes it). Also open the project’s Customize \> Rules list and look for any rule triggered by ‘Assignee changed’. If your plan has rule conditions, you can add a check so the rule only moves tasks that aren’t already in Recurring or another section, and leaves sorted tasks alone.

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**Author:** ![Asjad\_Aamir](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/asana/user_avatar/forum.asana.com/asjad_aamir/32/292722_2.png) [@Asjad\_Aamir](https://forum.asana.com/u/Asjad_Aamir)\
**Post date:** [20 October 2026 02:03 UTC](https://forum.asana.com/t/automation-in-a-project/1158459/4 "2026-10-20T02:03:40Z")

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This happened to me too, and the culprit was exactly what Nigel described: reassigning a task was re-triggering my “task added to project” rule, so it kept getting yanked back. I ended up narrowing the trigger so the rule only runs on tasks actually created in this project, which left multi-homed and moved-in tasks alone. The All activity check Larry mentioned was what finally showed me which rule was grabbing it.