Hide sidebar or show small side bar for web app

I am looking for feedback on the navigation structure for a web application.

In the application, we have:

  • A sidebar on the left where all the projects are listed
  • A list of views with all the tasks of the selected project
  • A task card detail

We have an issue with real estate when the 3 columns are open.

I like the idea to be on focus mode and I have proposed the idea to drill down the navigation to show only what is relevant to the user.

If a user opens a task card detail, the sidebar disappears. The goal is to allow the user to focus on the project: enter image description here

The other option (which is really popular) is to collapse the sidebar. The issue is the user may open the sidebar and end up with 3 columns which can be overwhelming enter image description here

What do you think? Which option works best? Thanks

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