Support NOW() Variable in Formula Field Inputs

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Formula fields currently support a date variable for TODAY() but do not support a variable a datetime variable like NOW().

Adding support for NOW() would enable users to return accurate duration outputs.

Examples

Note: In the examples below, Datetime values for fields must be set using AI rules since the “Set date to…” rule actions only support the date this rule is triggered and not the date and time this rule is triggered.


Dwell Time

What it is: Dwell time is the elapsed time a work item (task) has spent in its current workflow state (e.g. a column/section, custom task status, etc.).
Why it matters: Knowing Dwell time is useful because it’s a leading indicator of flow risk and stuck work within a specific part of your workflow, letting you intervene before missed delivery happens.

A better metric to track would be Dwell Time for each workflow state—Asana does this to some extent on the backend as the dwell time could be calculated via the API using the most recent created_at value returned via a task’s story resource_type filtered on the resource_subtype = section_changed.

A user could use a custom date field called Updated that receives a datetime value via an AI Rule action whenever a field changes that indicates its status (e.g., custom task status, a single select field, or section).

With that rule in place, the user could then create a Dwell time formula custom field that calculates the difference between Now and Updated.

[[$NOW]] - [[$UPDATED]]

Using TODAY doesn’t work here because TODAY is calculated as the current date at midnight.

Work Item Age

What it is: Work Item Age is the the elapsed time since an incomplete work item (task) entered an “In progress” status of the workflow.
Why it matters: Knowing Work Item Age is valuable because it’s a leading indicator of flow risk and stuck work, letting you intervene before missed delivery happens.

A user could use a custom date field called Started that receives a datetime value via an AI Rule action whenever a field changes that indicates the task is now in progress (e.g., a custom task status, a single select field, or a section).

With that rule in place, the user could then create a Work item age formula custom field that calculates the difference between Now and Started.

[[$NOW]] - [[$STARTED]]

These fields would, in turn, help support calculating additional flow metrics like:

  • Lead time
  • Active time
  • Queue time
  • Cycle time
  • Flow efficiency
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