An Asana workflow is a project set up to mirror how your work moves: sections for stages or time buckets, tasks for each request or output, custom fields for status, and automations that move and update tasks for you. Automations, the part that makes it run on its own, are available on Asana Starter, Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise+ as of October 2026, plus the legacy Premium, Business and Legacy Enterprise tiers.
The catch is who can build it. Asana's help articles list automations and custom task types from Starter upward, not on the Personal plan, and custom task types are only available to people with Project admin or Editor permissions. So a teammate on the right plan can still be blocked if they don't have those rights on the project.
Picking the right project pattern
Asana's own guide starts with one question: is this work tied to a deadline, or is it an ongoing process? The answer decides your sections and your default view.
| Deadline-bound outcome | Ongoing process | |
|---|---|---|
| Example | Event planning | Request intake |
| Sections | Time buckets counting down to the date, ending with Event week | Stages such as New, In review, Staffing approval and Completed |
| Tasks | The work needed to hit the date, like Venue booked or Catering confirmed | Each incoming request |
| Default view | List or timeline, so timing is front and centre | Board or list, so items visibly move across stages |
Then open the project's Customize menu and add the fields you'll need for reporting later. Asana suggests a Status or Stage field if you work in list view, Priority, and a single-select Requester or Department field, plus cost fields for event and campaign projects. These fields can go into project templates so new work inherits the same structure. Asana's advice is to build the simplest version that reflects your real steps, and keep section names and field choices short so rules are easy to build and read.
Making tasks move between stages on their own
Asana's worked example follows a social media post request through four stages: planning, writing, review and publication. You create four sections in board view, then a single-select custom field called Workflow stage with the options Begin planning, Begin writing, Needs review and Ready for publication. Each option matches a section.
- In the project, click Customize in the top-right corner, then Automations.
- Click Add, then Start from scratch.
- Choose the trigger Workflow stage is changed.
- Add four conditions, one for each custom field value.
- For each condition, add the action that moves the task to the matching section.
- Click Publish to save and switch the automation on.
From then on, changing the Workflow stage field moves the task for you. You can stack more actions on top, such as reassigning the task, multi-homing it into another project or marking it as an approval. In Asana's example, a post marked Needs review is also multi-homed into the legal team's own project so their review starts, and nothing looks different to the original project's members.
Triggers, actions and the AI rule builder
Every automation needs a trigger that sets it off and an action that runs automatically. Asana's common actions are Move task, which sends a task to a set section, for example an Urgent section when a field changes to Urgent; Change task field, which can reassign a task or change its due date; and Create new task, which adds tasks with a title and assignee you define in advance, useful for breaking a big piece of work into steps.
If you'd rather describe it than click through the builder, the smart automation creator writes the automation from plain language. Go to the automation builder, select Start from scratch, click Create automation with AI in the top right, then type what you want or pick a suggestion. You get a preview to discard or publish. Asana lists it on Starter, Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise+ as of October 2026, plus legacy Business and Legacy Enterprise.
Custom task types and statuses
Custom task types let you standardise a kind of task, such as a marketing request, with its own status options and rules for which statuses count as complete. You build one in the project's Customize menu under Task templates: click Add, then New type, name it, define statuses like Submitted, In review, Sent for translation and Published, pick a colour for each, and click Create type.
- In automations: a status change such as In review can be the trigger or a condition, and AI Studio can read and update the status too.
- As the default: set it in Project settings, and the Add task button becomes Add plus your task type's name.
- In bundles: add task types to a bundle, and every project using that bundle gets them.
- Across projects: a task can only ever have one type, and it keeps its type and status when multi-homed into another project.
- Sharing: use Manage access to share a type with people in your organization.
You can also sort, group and filter a project by task type or status, for example to show only marketing requests that are Approved.
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Where everyday habits fit in Asana
Asana's own migration guide maps familiar habits to features. Your to-do list becomes My Tasks. Sticky notes become board view, where you drag tasks between columns. Meeting agendas become a meeting project with a task per topic and a follow up section for action items, and a key decision goes in a comment you pin to the top of the task. Private notes go in a project set to private to members, and tasks created without a project are private by default.
Is building workflows in Asana worth it?
I'd build a workflow in Asana if your team handles repeat requests, like content, design or campaign work, that pass through the same stages every time, and you're on Starter or above so automations can do the moving. I'd skip the automation layer if you're on the Personal plan or the process changes every week; start with sections and fields, and add rules once the steps settle. If you're still choosing a plan, here's how Asana's plans compare, and if you're new to the tool, start with my beginner's guide to Asana.
Mapping a process into stages, fields and rules is the same thinking that makes any workflow automation stick. I run AI training and workshops for teams, and help businesses with AI enablement and workflow automation, so the busywork runs itself and people get time back. Most of that work is with SaaS marketing teams and small businesses. Here's how we can work together.
Frequently asked questions
Which Asana plans include automations?
As of October 2026, automations are on Asana Starter, Advanced, Enterprise and Enterprise+, plus the legacy Premium, Business and Legacy Enterprise tiers.
Can Asana build an automation from a written description?
Yes. The smart automation creator lets you type plain-language instructions or pick a suggestion, then shows a preview you can publish or discard.
Who can create custom task types in Asana?
Only users with Project admin or Editor permissions, on Starter, Advanced, Enterprise or Enterprise+ as of October 2026.
Can a task have more than one custom task type?
No. A task can only ever have one task type, and it keeps that type and its status even when multi-homed into another project.
How do I move Asana tasks between sections automatically?
Create a single-select custom field for your stages, then an automation triggered when that field changes, with one condition and one Move task action per stage.
