diff --git a/generatetask b/generatetask
index 2dfe6cf..16a8bb2 100644
--- a/generatetask
+++ b/generatetask
@@ -11,8 +11,12 @@ taskl() {
 		list
 }
 
+get_active_task_count() {
+	taskl +ACTIVE | wc -l
+}
+
 check_active_task() {
-	taskcount="$(taskl +ACTIVE | wc -l)"
+	taskcount="$(get_active_task_count)"
 
 	if test "$taskcount" -eq 0; then
 		return 1
diff --git a/tests/test_generatetask.sh b/tests/test_generatetask.sh
index 1c1f03f..c76ed2f 100644
--- a/tests/test_generatetask.sh
+++ b/tests/test_generatetask.sh
@@ -22,6 +22,16 @@ test_taskl_runs_task_with_custom_parameters() {
 	assert_equals "$expected" "$result"
 }
 
+test_get_active_task_count_calls_taskl_with_correct_filter() {
+	fake taskl 'echo "taskl ${FAKE_PARAMS[@]}"'
+	fake wc 'cat'
+	expected="taskl +ACTIVE"
+
+	result="$(get_active_task_count)"
+
+	assert_equals "$expected" "$result"
+}
+
 test_check_active_task_returns_1_when_no_active_task() {
 	fake task 'printf ""'
 	expected=1