A project is stalled when the recent record shows no relevant movement and no deliberate pause. It is drifting when updates continue but do not change the outcome, resolve a blocker or produce a useful decision. Compute status from dated evidence; do not ask the owner to choose the label they would prefer.
Define movement before measuring quiet
Write the project's intended result, the next observable change and the longest quiet period that would require review. A project can be healthy without daily activity when its work follows a longer cycle. It can be drifting despite frequent updates when those updates only restate effort.
Record each update as progress, blocked, waiting or paused. Add the date and one sentence of evidence. “Worked on it” is not enough to distinguish movement from activity. “Supplier confirmed the revised delivery date” or “test failed at the import boundary” can change the state.
Separate a chosen pause from silent abandonment
A pause has an owner, reason and review date. Waiting names the dependency and the person or event that can change it. A block identifies the condition preventing the next step. Silence has none of those protections.
Use the quiet threshold as a trigger, not a verdict. When it is crossed, inspect the record and choose whether to resume, reshape, extend the pause or stop. Goal-adjustment research makes disengagement and re-engagement legitimate subjects of review; it does not choose the answer for a particular project.
What observable result is this project meant to produce?
Keeps activity separate from the intended change.
What changed in the latest update?
Requires evidence rather than a selected status.
Who or what can remove the current block?
Makes waiting and ownership visible.
When will pause, drift or silence trigger a decision?
Prevents an inactive project remaining open by default.
Use the status to make a decision
Healthy means recent evidence supports movement. Drifting means activity is present without relevant movement. Blocked means a named condition prevents the next step. Paused means stopping is explicit and reviewable. These labels describe the record; they do not diagnose a team or guarantee delivery.
The Project Reality Check calculates a status from the update history and a threshold you set. It stores the record locally in the browser. A short dated table can reproduce the method.
Frequently asked questions
There is no universal number. Set a threshold from the real work cycle and consequence, then treat it as a review trigger.
A block prevents the next step. A pause is a deliberate decision to stop work until a named review or condition.
Yes. Frequent activity can coexist with no changed outcome, resolved dependency or useful test.
What private and pay once mean
Private means the downloaded tool needs no account and makes no network requests, so the publisher receives no copy of what you enter. The record stays in the current browser unless you export it. Browser storage and exported backups are not encrypted or protected from another person who can use the same browser profile or read the file.
Pay once means you may keep reusing the version you downloaded without a subscription. Future major versions and continuing support are separate unless they are explicitly included. There is no cloud sync: export a backup before clearing browser data or changing device.
Use the smallest useful tool
The method above does not require a purchase. If a retained local record would reduce repeated setup, review the relevant interactive tool after its tested release.