Timed triggers can likely be a workaround for this: Introducing Scheduled Triggers - Automate Your Workflows with Time-Based Rules!
Hey everyone,
Thanks to the revelation @Arthur_BEGOU shared that we can ‘trick’ Asana into firing Rules on recurring tasks, I did some experimenting and came up with two viable solutions for this. I’ve already implemented this for a few of my clients successfully. I figured many of you following this thread might find it meaningful as well. Let me know what you think!
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I am still caught in the “Expectation meets reality” disappointment, when dealing with recurring tasks in combination with rules (that are not working).
I really appreciate the efforts for workarounds like shown from @Wayne_Hedlund1 - but they don’t seem to be applicable for my current issue.
I have two problems with recurring tasks in the way they work as an “instance” (not a duplicate although stated in the comment) of a task after completion:
- There´s no way to specify elements that should be included in the new instance - like its done by manually duplicating tasks. Therefor all custom fields and attachements (!) … are always included in the new instance too
- Since there´s no rule to trigger new instances of recurring tasks I have no way to clear this information afterward
So - here´s a brief overview of our project setup (that shows why the available workarounds don’t fit for us imho):
- We have a board with sections for daily, weekly, 14-days and monthly tasks that have to be completed. In total there are 31 tasks to be handled, all of them recurring
- We use these task to assure things of being done regularly, in addition we wanted to add some kind of “quality control” documentation too, therefore
- User should add Images if any reasons for complaint are found
- User shoud select options in a custom field to keep track of things that have to be reworked
- In the dashboard we added some charts to mesure the “reworked” tasks and topic for completed tasks.
Currently this doesn’t work since attachements should only be available in the completed tasks and the selected options for the “rework” custom field cannot be cleard by a rule afterwards.
The new timebased trigger is (at the moment) no solution because of the limited actions and missing “Check if” options.
I really would love to have the possibility to choose “New Instance of recurring tasks” as a source of the “Tasks added to the project”-Trigger for example (since “All tasks” do not include instances) or anything else to refer to created instances of recurring tasks.
Thanks for consideration 
Andreas
Hi @Andreas_Schumann
I understand completely the challenge you’re facing and it’s quite common. In the instances where each recurring task is going to house a lot of unique data, I recommend working toward something I call a Rule-Based Recurring Task or Rule-Based Task Template. Here’s how it works.
So let’s say we have a monthly task of ‘Check Inventory’ with 2-3 subtasks. The task needs to be independent since sometimes more subtasks are added during the month, along with attachments or details in the Description area. So a recurring task isn’t ideal.
Instead of setting the task as a recurring task, we might create a custom field that holds a unique value for that field recurring type… let’s say “Monthly Check Inventory.” Or if there won’t be much in the way of details around the task other than the date and task name, you might even just have the custom field set to ‘Monthly Recurring’. The custom field is important for the rule to work.
Next we’ll create one or more Rules that look something like this:
Trigger: When task marked as complete. OR One week before due date.
Condition: Check if Custom Field = “Monthly Check Inventory” OR “Monthly Recurring’.
Action: Create new task.
- Task name = “Check Inventory” OR Dynamic - Task Name
- Task due date = 1 month from due date OR 4 weeks from due date, etc.
- Task details = “Check Inventory Instructions” OR blank
- Subtasks = Unique inventory subtasks (with due dates relative to task due date)
Only add details or subtasks if the new task is from a unique custom field for that specific use case (i.e. Check Inventory).
For the most part, this will work as I think you’re hoping. The only caveat is the relative due dates aren’t as specific as we sometimes want. If you’re good with it always being an exact month from the previous month (ex. 4th), it’ll work. Or if you’re good with it being the exact number of weeks (2 weeks or 6 weeks), it’ll work. But if you want it to be every first Monday of the month, it won’t quite work (though there are other more advanced solutions.)
Hope that made sense. If not, let me know and I’m happy to discuss helping you with it. Or, perhaps someone else has a better solution!
Wayne
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Hello Wayne,
I’ve just read into most of this forum and I’m also facing the same issue.
I have a monthly recurring task (as well as a weekly one) that recurs on the date rather than the day (i.e. 1st of the month vs the first Monday of that month). My issue is that I’ve created a rule where any new task added to My Tasks and have the field value of “Recurring” will be automatically to the section I’ve created for all recurring tasks.
The problem is - and I may have missed the point from your comment and others’ comments - that when I manually click on completed (because I want it to complete as and when I actually complete the task) it just goes into the “Recently assigned” section and that’s it, the rule doesnt get triggered. I dont think this should be that complicated. I’m happy with removing the “Recurring” element in the due date section. I’ll try your method to see if it works.
Hello all!
I have a simple request - let recurring tasks (or the new tasks duplicated automatically from the previous ones) trigger automations. That way we can clear fields or do other actions related to the new tasks.
Thanks!
Stilyan
FYI I’ve merged your post (and your vote!) with an existing topic for this recurring-tasks request.
“new tasks duplicated automatically from the previous ones” would be a different scenario; I didn’t realize those didn’t fire rules but if that’s the case, I would recommend making a separate English Forum > Product Feedback post for that specific case.
Hi @Andreas_Schumann , You’ve taken the words right out of my mouth - and this isn’t the only instance where I’ve been disappointed by the details of how Asana is implemented.
And this isn’t the first thread that’s been open for years with no action taken, even though it’s obvious that this situation needs to be changed urgently.
If there is a rule trigger that reads “When a task is added to this project,” then this must always be valid, even for tasks added by the system as a result of a recurring sibling task. To prevent compatibility issues with rules created earlier, this could be achieved with a simple toggle (checkbox) within the rule trigger (e.g., titled “Include recurring tasks”).
So, at this point, I have an urgent request for Asana Support: Please implement the ability to react on tasks created by Asana within a project.
Small update:
Since the last updates for timebased triggers bring up filters for actions on multiple tasks I am able to clear the custom fields for recurring tasks by clearing those fields for any incomplete task every morning.
- This still not solves the problem with “duplicated” attachements (pictures) in new instances of recurring tasks. (Would be possible with some kind of “remove attachements from task” action)
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I still think using scheduled triggers as a workaround to create recurring tasks is a good workaround. Rules set to “Trigger via other rules” should run on this.
It’s a bit unintuitive, but if you create the schedule and then ignore the scope, you can select “create task” to have it run once per trigger. (Using the scope allows it to run “for all of these tasks”, 150 max. currently)
I’m tired of juggling workarounds because of incomprehensible implementation details. At least there is something like a workaround in this case …
Another question at this point: For a custom time period with a 2-week cycle in the “Scheduled Time Period Occurs” trigger, how can I specify which week to start with—that is, an odd or even week (based on a 52-week year)?