Flagging a Blocked Task in TaskRely

There's a difference between "this is waiting on another task" and "this is just stuck" - waiting on a client, a decision, someone outside the board entirely. Dependencies handle the first case. Blockers handle the second.

How to mark something blocked

Open the task and look just under the status row for a Mark blocked button. Click it and you'll be asked for a reason - it's not optional, since a blocker with no explanation isn't something anyone can act on. Once saved, the task shows a "Blocked" badge with that reason attached, and an Unblock button sits in its place for whenever it's ready to clear.

That signal follows the card back to the board too - a blocked task gets a red left edge and a small "Blocked" badge, with the reason available on hover. You shouldn't have to open a card to know it's stuck.

Not the same as a dependency

A dependency is a link between two tasks inside TaskRely. A blocker is a manual flag for anything stopping progress, including things with no task of their own - a client email you're still waiting on, an approval that hasn't come through. Marking or clearing a blocker just needs edit access on the project, the same level used for changing a priority or a date - not a separate permission.

Why blocked time matters

If your organization uses performance scoring, blocked time isn't held against the person doing the work. The scoring engine tracks how long a task actually spent blocked and extends the effective deadline by that amount - so a task stuck on a client response for four days doesn't quietly turn into a missed deadline on someone's record.