Connect Tasks to Projects

Connecting a task to a project does not mean making a copy of it, nor moving it away from somewhere else. It simply assigns ownership: which goal this task belongs to, and optionally which phase within that goal.

This distinction is important. You might have thought that once a task is added to a project, it should no longer appear in Today’s View or the Inbox. A more stable understanding is: the project defines goal ownership, the date determines whether it appears in Today or on the Calendar, and the Inbox tracks whether it has been scheduled.

Separate Three Questions

| Question | Determined by | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | Which long‑term goal does this task belong to? | Project | “Contact moving company” belongs to the “Move” project | | Which phase of the project does it fall under? | Milestone | Place it under “Packing and moving” | | Should it appear today? | Date | If set to today, it appears in Today’s View |

Once these three questions are separated, a lot of the confusion about “why is it still here” will diminish.

How to Connect

You can link tasks to a project in several ways:

| Method | When to Use | Result | | --- | --- | --- | | Select a project in the task details | You already have a task open and want to categorize it | The task is linked to the target project; you can optionally select a milestone | | Use “Add to Project” in the task list or inbox | You are organizing a batch of tasks | Usually requires selecting a specific milestone | | Create a new task in the project details | You are already planning next steps within the project | The new task automatically carries the current project and milestone |

If an action only comes to mind temporarily, don’t interrupt yourself just to categorize it. Drop it into the inbox first, then link it to a project later when you’re organizing.

Where a Task Appears After Being Linked

The same task may appear in multiple views at once. It remains the same task — it’s not duplicated.

| View | Why It Appears | What You Should Note | | --- | --- | --- | | Project page | It is linked to this project | If a milestone is selected, it appears under the corresponding phase | | Today view | Its date is today | Project assignment does not override the date | | Calendar view | It has a due date | You can still find it when browsing by date | | Inbox | It has no date and is still pending or in progress | The inbox is not a list of “unassigned to a project” |

Difference Between Linking to a Project and Linking to a Milestone

Linking to a project indicates which goal this task belongs to. Linking to a milestone indicates which phase of that goal it belongs to.

For example, “Prepare course release” is a project, “Recording completed” is a milestone, and “Record Lecture 3” is a task. When a task is linked only to the project, you know it belongs to the course release; when it is also linked to the milestone, you also know it belongs to the recording phase.

When using “Add to project” in the task list or inbox, GranoFlow usually requires you to select a specific milestone. This is done to prevent tasks from piling up under a large project without showing which phase they belong to.

How to Remove a Task from a Project

Open the task details and clear the project field.

After clearing it, if the task has no due date and is still in a to‑do or in‑progress state, it will reappear in the inbox. If it still has a due date, it will continue to appear by date in the Today view or Calendar view.

Can a task belong to multiple projects?

No. Each task can only belong to one project and one milestone within that project.

If you feel a task seems to belong to two projects simultaneously, it usually means it can be broken down further:

| Situation | More stable approach | | --- | --- | | Only one primary goal | Choose the more primary project | | Both projects require different outcomes | Split into two tasks, put into respective projects | | Just want to cross-reference similar information | Consider using tags instead of multiple projects |

Next steps

Once task connections are clear, a project becomes more like a route that can be continuously advanced. When a project is completed, paused, or no longer needed, refer to “Project Completion and Archiving” to choose to complete, archive, or delete.