[Rule for subtask - days BEFORE parent task] a workaround

[Arthur_BEGOU]

Hi all

You might have faced that issue :

Create a rule for a subtask to be due a certain number of days BEFORE the parent task's due date

It would be great if it were possible to create a rule that triggers a sub task’s due date to be a certain number of days BEFORE the parent task’s due date. As far as I can see, it is only possible to set the due date based on the trigger time, start date of the task, creation time, and due date (i.e. number of days AFTER the due date of the trigger task).

Well, good news is that Asana is working on it and we can hope for a future fix (source).

The other good news is that, meanwhile the fix is implemented, there is workaround that was found by my brilliant colleague @Cyril-iDO

(Available from the plan Advanced)

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1) The ingredients:

• A custom field Formula
• A rule with action “Create subtasks”
• The recent ability to use date fields as variables

2) Step by step guide

a- Add a Formula Custom Field that calculate a date in the past via the function “DateSubstract”. That date will be the calculated start date of your workflow (X days minus the date of the task), in my example I took 100 days.

b- Create the workflow via a rule

First subtask is day 0 days after the Calculated date, but actually minus 100 days

Second subtask is 40 days after the Calculated date, but actually minus 60 days

Etc…

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Remark:
The only flaw I can see (apart from the hassle of creating this whole backwards workaround) is that we can’t prevent the system from counting weekends and assigning tasks on weekend days.
But this specific problem is nicely solved by Flowsana
CC @Phil_Seeman

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Hope that was useful

Arthur from iDO

[Rashad_Issa]

Vry useful. Thanks @Arthur_BEGOU

[Claire_Tighe1]

I tried this but got confused based on my subtasks - I lost track of what the date calculate should be set as…any recommendations?

[Phil_Seeman]

@Claire_Tighe1,

@Claire_Tighe1

any recommendations?

You can use the Add subtasks rule action in our Flowsana integration, which supports your “before” use case.

[Claire_Tighe1]

Thank you so much, Phil! I tried Flowsana and want to keep trying it. I might be in touch!

[Arthur_BEGOU]

This workaround is not needed anymore, thanks to …

New Date actions in Rules!

Hi everyone! Based on user feedback, we’re rolling out improvements to our automation capabilities, providing a consistent and flexible experience for managing due dates. You can now set dates relative to any other date, including past dates, offering more precision in automating project timelines. 1- Consistent design and functionality across all date actions: We’ve unified the user interface and functionality across all date-related actions. Whether updating an existing task, creatin…