diff --git a/lua/pending/buffer.lua b/lua/pending/buffer.lua
index 8fdcbe1..827ff82 100644
--- a/lua/pending/buffer.lua
+++ b/lua/pending/buffer.lua
@@ -303,6 +303,12 @@ function M.render(bufnr)
     lines, line_meta = views.category_view(tasks)
   end
 
+  if #lines == 0 and #_filter_predicates == 0 then
+    local default_cat = config.get().default_category
+    lines = { '# ' .. default_cat }
+    line_meta = { { type = 'header', category = default_cat } }
+  end
+
   if #_filter_predicates > 0 then
     table.insert(lines, 1, 'FILTER: ' .. table.concat(_filter_predicates, ' '))
     table.insert(line_meta, 1, { type = 'filter' })