# Question about Flows

**URL:** <https://community.directus.com/t/question-about-flows/834>\
**Category:** Help\
**Created:** [July 24, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://community.directus.com/t/question-about-flows/834 "2025-07-24T19:18:29Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 2\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Peter\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9f8e36/32.png) [@Peter\_K](https://community.directus.com/u/Peter_K)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 7:18pm UTC](https://community.directus.com/t/question-about-flows/834/1 "2025-07-24T19:18:29Z")

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Hello, this might sound a bit dumb, but im struggeling with setting up a Flow.

I have a collection named find\_quotes. In this collection are 2 Fields which are relevant for the Flow  
1: status  
2: published\_at  
The status Field is a Dropdown with 2 Options Draft and Published (for now, we might add scheduled later but that doesnt matter for now)  
I want the flow to write the current timestamp in the published\_at when the status is changed to published.  
I set up the trigger and its working, in my update\_data modul i wrote this in my payload

{  
“published\_at”: “{{$NOW}}”  
}  
But for some reason the timestamp isnt written in the published\_at field.  
This is the relevant log section  
{  
“permissions”: “$full”,  
“emitEvents”: false,  
“collection”: “find\_quotes”,  
“key”: [  
[  
“b209ebd9-cf67-4767-8326-daf42ee1ccd6”  
]  
],  
“payload”: {  
“published\_at”: “undefined”  
},  
“query”: {  
“status”: {  
“\_eq”: “published”  
}  
}  
}

and ofcourse an undefined string cant be written into a timestamp field  
{  
“name”: “error”,  
“message”: “update "find\_quotes" set "published\_at" = $1, "modified\_at" = $2 where "id" in (($3)) - invalid input syntax for type timestamp with time zone: "0NaN-NaN-NaNTNaN:NaN:NaN.NaN+NaN:NaN"”  
}

Thanks in Advance

---

<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Nik](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/6de8d8/32.png) [@Nik](https://community.directus.com/u/Nik)\
**Post date:** [July 24, 2025, 7:46pm UTC](https://community.directus.com/t/question-about-flows/834/2 "2025-07-24T19:46:55Z")

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I think dynamic variables like $NOW are not interpreted inside the json query of a flow.  
But you can definitely calculate the current date in the previous operation and then use the passed value afterwards.

I’m describing a [similar case](https://community.directus.com/t/how-to-filter-today-on-weekday/725/2) passing the weekday to the next operation. You would want to pass the complete date instead of course.