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Asana Notifications: What's Built-in vs What's Missing
March 2026 · 6 min read
Asana's notification system is one of the most common questions from new users and a frequent source of frustration for experienced ones. This guide breaks down exactly what Asana notifies you about, what it doesn't, and how to fill the gaps.
What Asana notifies you about (built-in)
Asana sends notifications through three channels: inbox, email, and mobile push. Here's what triggers them:
Task activity
- A task is assigned to you
- Someone comments on a task you follow
- A task you follow is completed
- Attachments are added to a task you follow
- A task's due date, assignee, or custom field is changed
Project activity
- Status updates on projects you're a member of
- Tasks added to or removed from projects you follow
- Project membership changes
Mentions and approvals
- Someone @mentions you in a task or comment
- An approval request is sent to you
- Someone likes your comment or task
Due date reminders
Asana can send a reminder before a task is due (the day of, or the day before, depending on your settings). This is an approaching-deadline reminder, not an overdue one. Once the due date passes, these reminders stop.
What Asana doesn't notify you about
There are several common scenarios where Asana's notification system goes silent:
Overdue tasks
This is the biggest gap. Once a task's due date passes, Asana does not send any notification or reminder. The task turns red in the UI, but you won't get an email, inbox message, or push notification about it. If you don't actively look, you won't know.
Recurring overdue patterns
If a task is overdue for days or weeks, there's no escalation or repeated reminder. Asana shows it as overdue in the UI once and moves on.
Digest of overdue work
There's no way to get a daily or weekly email summary of all your overdue tasks. Asana's email digest covers activity (comments, assignments) but not overdue status.
Threshold-based alerts
You can't configure alerts based on how overdue something is — for example, “notify me only if a task is more than 7 days overdue.”
Asana notification settings you should know
Before adding third-party tools, make sure your Asana notification settings are optimized. Go to Profile photo → Settings → Notifications:
- Email notifications — choose between individual emails, daily digest, or both
- Do Not Disturb — pause notifications during off-hours
- Project notifications — set per-project to reduce noise
- Activity updates — toggle which actions trigger inbox notifications
Even with everything turned on, none of these settings add overdue task reminders — that feature simply doesn't exist in Asana.
Filling the gap with TaskPoke
TaskPoke is an Asana integration built specifically to solve the overdue notification problem. It connects to your Asana account (read-only) and sends email reminders when tasks slip past their due date.
| Notification type | Asana | TaskPoke |
|---|---|---|
| Task assigned to you | ✓ | — |
| Comments and @mentions | ✓ | — |
| Due date approaching | ✓ | — |
| Task is now overdue | ✗ | ✓ |
| Daily/weekly overdue digest | ✗ | ✓ |
| Custom overdue threshold | ✗ | ✓ |
| Filter by tag or project | ✗ | ✓ |
TaskPoke doesn't replace Asana's built-in notifications — it adds the one thing that's missing. Asana handles activity notifications well; TaskPoke handles overdue reminders.
Getting started
Setup takes under two minutes:
- Visit taskpoke.com and sign in with your Asana account
- Enable email reminders and set your overdue threshold
- Optionally filter by specific tags or projects
- TaskPoke checks daily (Pro) or weekly (Free) and emails you a summary
The free plan supports up to 5 overdue tasks with weekly reminders. Pro ($5/mo) adds daily reminders, unlimited tasks, custom thresholds, tag/project filters, and notification history.
Add overdue reminders to Asana
Asana handles activity notifications. Let TaskPoke handle the overdue ones.
Get started free