Have you set up rules in your project tool that chase updates for you?

Asana, Monday, Jira and Smartsheet can remind task owners before deadlines and alert you when things are late, so you stop sending "any update?" messages.

How to automate it

How to automate “update project plans, timelines and trackers”

Here are 2 ways to spend less time on this, best first. Each comes with steps you can follow today and, for AI fixes, a prompt to copy.

45 min

typically, a few times a week

50%

of the time can be automated

Easy

to set up

Fix 1 of 2

Software featureBest fix

Set up rules in your project tool to chase updates and move tasks

Asana, Monday.com, Jira, ClickUp and Smartsheet can remind owners before due dates, flag overdue work, and write AI status summaries, so you stop chasing by hand.

Typically saves about 45% of the time1 h to set up

1Make sure every task has one owner and a due date.
2Add rules: remind the owner two days before due, notify you when overdue, move tasks when a field changes.
3Turn on the tool's AI status summary (Asana AI, Monday AI, Jira or Smartsheet AI) for weekly roll-ups.
4Ask the team to update the tool, not you, and stop accepting updates by email.

Tools: Asana rules · Monday.com automations · Jira automation · ClickUp automations · Smartsheet workflows

Fix 2 of 2

Have AI turn meeting notes into tasks with owners and dates

Paste notes or a transcript and get back a task list ready to import into your project tool.

Typically saves about 40% of the time5 min to set up

1Get the meeting notes or transcript.
2Paste it with the prompt below.
3Fix owners and dates, then import the CSV or paste into your tool.

Prompt to copy

From the notes below, list every action item as a table with columns: Task (verb first), Owner, Due date, Depends on, Project phase. Use only names and dates mentioned; write [UNASSIGNED] or [NO DATE] if missing. Then list decisions made and open questions separately.

Notes:
[PASTE]

Tools: ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini or Microsoft Copilot · Asana, Monday or Jira AI

Quick wins

Have you tried…

Have you set up rules in your project tool that chase updates for you?: Asana, Monday, Jira and Smartsheet can remind task owners before deadlines and alert you when things are late, so you stop sending "any update?" messages.

Who does this task

Roles in our library that list this as one of their common tasks. Each guide covers the rest of that role’s week.

Project manager Operations coordinator

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