Standalone tasks are tasks that sit directly in an area or folder—without a project above them. They’re ideal for small tasks that don’t need their own project framework but still belong to an area of your life.
When to Use Standalone Tasks
Not every task deserves its own project. Making a doctor’s appointment, a quick phone call, answering an email—tasks like these fit directly into the right area as standalone tasks, without you having to build a project structure first.
Projects for initiatives, standalone tasks for errands. If a task stands on its own and doesn’t serve a larger goal, a standalone task is the right choice. If the effort grows, you can move it into a project with drag and drop at any time.
Showing and Hiding Standalone Tasks
You reach standalone tasks through the Standalone Tasks entry, which appears in the sidebar directly below the area (or folder) as soon as there are open standalone tasks there. If you want it to stay visible even without open standalone tasks, turn it on:
Sidebar › Right-click area or folder › Properties… › Show standalone tasks
Standalone tasks are never lost when the entry isn’t visible—in views, you find them, for example, with the Standalone Task field.
Creating a Standalone Task
From the sidebar—from the context menu of an area or folder; TandemLoop opens the standalone task list for this:
Sidebar › area › right-click › New Standalone Task
In the open standalone task list, you add more with New Task at the end of the list.
From the Inbox with drag and drop—drag an Inbox task directly onto an area (or its Standalone Tasks entry) in the sidebar. The task lands there as a standalone task.
Properties and Editing
Standalone tasks are regular tasks—they have the same fields and are edited in the Inspector the same way.
Next Steps
Tasks explains in detail how all of a task’s fields work. Reorganizing with Drag and Drop describes how to move tasks between the Inbox, projects, and areas.