diff --git a/src/rules.cpp b/src/rules.cpp
index 685a6f858..16b19eb18 100644
--- a/src/rules.cpp
+++ b/src/rules.cpp
@@ -165,7 +165,7 @@ static void colorizeProject (Task& task, const std::string& rule, const Color& b
 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
 static void colorizeProjectNone (Task& task, const Color& base, Color& c, bool merge)
 {
-  if (task.get ("project") == "")
+  if(!task.has ("project"))
     applyColor (base, c, merge);
 }