Side projects don't run like jobs. There's no boss setting your sprint schedule, no product manager triaging your backlog, and no budget for a $20-a-seat project management suite. What you need is something closer to a corkboard — something you can glance at, move things around, and trust that nothing will fall through the cracks.
A visual job board for personal projects solves a specific problem: turning scattered to-dos, half-baked ideas, and active work into a single view you can actually navigate. The hard part is finding one that's genuinely built for solo creators and side hustlers, not just enterprise teams with lite plans bolted on as an afterthought.
What to Look for in a Visual Job Board for Side Projects
A visual job board is any tool that lets you see your work — not just list it. Instead of a flat text file or a numbered to-do list, you get cards, columns, or sticky notes arranged spatially so you can grasp the status of everything at a glance. For side projects specifically, the category spans everything from Kanban boards to digital sticky-note walls to simple drag-and-drop card decks.
Who actually needs one? Freelancers juggling multiple clients, indie developers shipping solo products, designers with active commissions, writers tracking pitches and drafts, and anyone who runs a side business alongside a full-time job. The common thread: you're managing real work without a team infrastructure, and the chaos compounds fast.
When picking a visual board for your own projects, three criteria actually matter:
- Visibility at a glance. The whole point of visual organization is that you shouldn't have to open each item to know where it stands. If the board is cluttered, color-coded into oblivion, or buried under menus, it's failing its core job.
- Reminders that surface when you need them. Side projects die because life gets in the way. A board without actionable reminders is just a pretty list. You need alerts that pull you back to the specific task, not a vague notification that something somewhere needs attention.
- Friction-free capture. The best ideas arrive when you're in the middle of something else. A good visual board lets you capture a thought, a URL, or a file in seconds — before the moment is gone.
TaskLoco as Your Side Project Command Center
TaskLoco's wall view is genuinely sticky-note-first. Each note is a card you can see, move, color, and act on directly from the board. There's no translation layer between your idea and the board — you type, it appears, and the wall reflects reality immediately. For side projects, that directness matters. You don't want to think about the tool; you want to think about the work.
What separates TaskLoco from a plain board is what lives inside each note. Premium notes can carry file attachments — up to 10GB of storage — so the mockup, the contract draft, the reference screenshot, and the invoice all live exactly where the task lives. No more hunting through Google Drive or a Downloads folder to find what a note is talking about.
The calendar view ties everything together chronologically. If you have a client deadline, a product launch, or a content publish date, it shows up on the calendar alongside everything else. Your visual board and your timeline are the same system, not two tabs you have to keep in sync.
The Chrome extension is worth calling out specifically for side-project work. When you're researching a competitor, reading a tutorial, or finding a tool you want to remember, one click captures the page directly into a note. No copy-paste, no email-to-self. The context is preserved right where you need it.
Reminders That Actually Bring You Back to the Work
The most common way side projects stall isn't losing interest — it's losing track. You meant to follow up on that client email. You meant to push that code update on Saturday. You meant to review that draft before sending. Meant-to doesn't ship anything.
TaskLoco Premium reminders are delivered as push notifications directly to your phone and computer. That alone is table stakes. What makes them useful for side projects is the deep-link: when the notification fires, tapping it takes you straight back to the note it belongs to. You don't land on a home screen and try to remember which project the reminder was for. You land on the exact card, with all the context — the file, the task, the description — already open.
If push notifications aren't enough, you can layer on optional email notifications or an optional SMS add-on. The core delivery is push; the others are extras for situations where you want redundancy or you're somewhere that push won't reach you reliably.
Capturing Everything Fast — Chrome Extension and File Attachments
Side project work is scattered by nature. Research happens in browser tabs. Reference files pile up in downloads. Inspiration screenshots live in camera rolls. A visual board is only useful if it actually contains the stuff you need — not just the titles of things you can't find.
The TaskLoco Chrome extension collapses the capture friction to a single click. Any webpage — a competitor's product page, a tutorial, a pricing reference, a portfolio you want to reference — gets saved as a note with the URL and context intact. For anyone doing market research, tracking inspiration, or building a swipe file, this is the kind of feature that changes how you browse.
File attachments in Premium go further. You can attach a design file, a contract, a voice memo, a spreadsheet — anything that belongs with a task, attached directly to the note. The 10GB of included storage is enough for most side projects to keep every relevant asset in the system. Add-on storage tiers go up to 1TB if your project grows into something bigger, and they're stackable.
The result is a board where your notes aren't just titles and checkboxes — they're living documents with context, files, and links attached. When you open a task card, everything you need to act on it is already there.
How TaskLoco Compares
| Feature | TaskLoco | Trello |
|---|---|---|
| Visual board / wall view | Sticky-note wall with drag-and-drop, color coding, and spatial layout | Kanban-style card columns |
| Free tier | Two free tiers — Lite (20 notes, no sign-in, native app) and Lite Plus+ (30 notes, synced, web + Chrome extension) FREE | Free tier available with limited cards and power-ups |
| Capture from browser | Chrome extension — one-click webpage capture into a note, free FREE | Available via Power-Up or third-party integration |
| Reminders | Push notifications that deep-link back to the exact note; optional email and SMS add-on | Due dates with notifications on paid plans |
| File attachments | 10GB included with Premium; add-on tiers up to 1TB | Attachments available but storage limits vary by plan |
| Calendar view | Full calendar view included with Premium | Calendar Power-Up available; requires configuration |
| Note / task limit (free) | Up to 30 notes synced free with Lite Plus+ FREE | Unlimited cards on free tier but limited Power-Ups |
| Unlimited notes (paid) | Unlimited notes, tasks, and calendar events with Premium | Unlimited cards included on paid plans |
| Anonymous / no sign-in option | TaskLoco Lite — completely anonymous, no account, no sign-in FREE | Account required to use |
| Team sharing | Yes — included with Premium. Each team member requires a separate subscription — currently $9.99/month per person, but TaskLoco is offering a Charter Member special: 50% off for life, currently $4.99/month per person for the first 500 subscribers with code CHARTER50. | Board sharing and member permissions built in |
| Cross-device sync (free) | Lite Plus+ syncs across all devices free with Google sign-in FREE | Syncs across devices on free and paid plans |
| Native mobile app | TaskLoco Lite is a native iPhone and Android app; Premium is accessed via mobile browser | Full-featured native iOS and Android apps on all plans |
| Gantt charts / timelines | Not available | Timeline view available on paid plans |
| Full-text search | Full-text search across all notes and attachments | Search available across cards and boards |
| API / integrations | Limited integrations | Extensive Power-Ups and third-party integrations |
| 7-day free trial (paid) | 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8, cancel anytime FREE | Trial availability varies |
| Push notification reminders | Push notifications to phone and computer; deep-links to the exact note | Notifications available but no deep-link to specific card context |
Who Should Use Each
Use TaskLoco if…
- You want a sticky-note-style visual board that feels fast and personal, not like a scaled-down enterprise tool
- You need reminders that fire as push notifications and drop you directly back into the right note
- You want file attachments, calendar view, and unlimited notes all in one subscription per person
- You do research in the browser and want one-click capture via the Chrome extension
- You want to start completely free and anonymously before committing to anything
- You share work with collaborators and want them to own their copy without access-level headaches
Use Trello if…
- You need Gantt charts, project timelines, or task dependencies for complex multi-stage projects
- Your workflow depends on a large ecosystem of third-party Power-Up integrations
- You need a full-featured native mobile app for your primary workspace on all plan levels
TaskLoco Premium is regularly $9.99/month per person. Right now, charter members can lock in 50% off the regular price — forever. That means $4.99/month per person today. And if our price ever goes up, you still pay half. Always.
Code CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout. First 500 spots only — once they're gone, this offer is gone permanently. Act fast while spots last.
Every Premium subscription includes unlimited notes, 10GB file storage, reminders, calendar, and team sharing. Each team member requires a separate subscription. 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8. Cancel anytime.
Free Options: TaskLoco
TaskLoco Lite
- Native iPhone & Android app
- Completely anonymous — no sign-in
- Data stays on your device
- Up to 20 notes
- Free forever
TaskLoco Lite Plus+
- Web app + Chrome extension
- Sign in with Google
- Wall syncs across all devices
- Up to 30 notes
- Free forever
Lock In 50% Off — Forever
7-day free trial. No charge until day 8. CHARTER50 auto-applies at checkout.
🔒 Lock In My Charter SpotSee TaskLoco in Action
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a visual job board for side projects?
A visual job board for side projects is a digital workspace where your tasks, ideas, and active work are arranged spatially — as cards, sticky notes, or columns — so you can see everything at once without opening individual items. Unlike a flat to-do list, a visual board shows you the status and shape of your work at a glance, which is especially useful when you're juggling multiple projects solo.
How is TaskLoco different from a standard Kanban board?
TaskLoco uses a sticky-note wall as its core metaphor, which feels more flexible and less process-heavy than a rigid Kanban column structure. Each note is a full card that can carry file attachments, reminders, and contextual detail. Reminders fire as push notifications and deep-link directly back to the note they belong to — so you land in context, not on a home screen. The Chrome extension also lets you capture any webpage into a note in one click, which most Kanban tools don't offer natively.
Can I use TaskLoco for free to track my side projects?
Yes. TaskLoco Lite is a completely free native iPhone and Android app — no account, no sign-in, stores up to 20 notes on your device. TaskLoco Lite Plus+ is also free, syncs across all your devices via the web app and Chrome extension, and supports up to 30 notes. Neither free tier includes reminders, file attachments, or unlimited notes — those are Premium features. But for getting started and capturing ideas, both free tiers are genuinely useful.
What does TaskLoco Premium include for side project work?
TaskLoco Premium includes unlimited notes, tasks, and calendar events; 10GB of file storage for attachments; reminders delivered as push notifications that deep-link back to the exact note; a calendar view; team sharing; and optional email and SMS notification add-ons. Each person requires their own subscription. $9.99/month per person (currently $4.99/month per person for first 500 charter members with code CHARTER50)
Does the Chrome extension work for side project research?
Yes, and it's one of the most useful features for solo creators. While browsing — reading tutorials, researching tools, scouting competitors — one click on the Chrome extension saves the page directly into a TaskLoco note with the URL and context preserved. It's available free with Lite Plus+ and Premium, and it eliminates the copy-paste-email-to-self loop that makes browser research so messy.
Can I attach files to my project notes in TaskLoco?
Yes — with TaskLoco Premium. You can attach design files, contracts, screenshots, audio, spreadsheets, or any file type directly to a note. Premium includes 10GB of file storage, and add-on tiers are available up to 1TB if your project grows. The file lives exactly where the task lives, so you never have to hunt across folders to find what a note is referring to.
How do TaskLoco reminders work for side project deadlines?
TaskLoco reminders are delivered as push notifications to your phone and computer. The key feature for side project work is the deep-link: when the notification fires, tapping it takes you directly to the note the reminder belongs to — not the app home screen, not a list of tasks. You land in context. Optional email notifications are also available, and an optional SMS add-on is available for additional coverage. Reminders are a Premium feature.
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TaskLoco is available on iPhone, Android, Chrome, and every web browser.