Reviews
A review is a moment to look at a Matter as a whole: is it still moving, does it have a next step, is the outcome still right? The plugin reminds you when one is due, walks you through the Matters that need a look, and remembers when you last did it and anything you wanted to keep in mind.
Set a rhythm
Choose how often when you create the Matter, or edit it in the Matter’s overview: weekly, every two weeks, monthly, or a custom number of days, weeks or months. Months are calendar months. A Matter without a rhythm is never due.
When it’s due
The lane header on the board says when the Matter was last reviewed (“Reviewed 12 days ago”) and stands out when a review is due. A Matter with a rhythm that has never been reviewed counts as due.
The Today page counts the active Matters whose review is due. Select the count to start a review.
Review your Matters
The review session takes you through the Matters that are due, one at a time, with the same few questions for each. Start it from:
- the command Review Matters,
- Reviews due on the Today page,
- Review now in a lane’s menu or in a Matter’s overview, for that Matter alone.
Before you start
The first screen lists the Matters to review, most overdue first, with when each was last reviewed. From a board focused on one Sphere, only that Sphere’s Matters come up.
- When the Inbox has open Actions, Process the Inbox first sorts them before the review, so they’re in the Matters you’re about to look at. When you close it, the review opens again.
- Review all N active Matters instead adds every active Matter, due or not.
Select Start.
One Matter at a time
Each step shows the Matter, its Sphere and when it was last reviewed, then what was done since: the Actions closed since its last review, or in the last 30 days if it has never had one. If you left a note last time, it shows here too (“Last time, 9 Oct”), with its text.
Needs a look gathers what’s worth your attention: late Actions, Actions waiting on someone for two weeks or more, and No next Action when nothing is moving. When there is none of that, it says “Nothing late, nothing stuck.”
Then five questions:
| Question | What you can do |
|---|---|
| Is this still the outcome? | Edit the Matter’s outcome, or write one |
| What’s the next step? | See the Actions in your next-step status (Next, by default), and add one with New Action. With none, the step shows What’s the next step?, as on the board |
| Still on your mind? | Keep the Matter active, make it dormant, or close it |
| Look again in… | Change the rhythm. The step shows when the next review would be |
| Anything to remember? | Write one line for next time, if you want. See Notes for next time |
Every answer is saved as you give it. Edits you make elsewhere meanwhile, in quick add or the inspector, show up in the step.
To move on:
- Reviewed, next records today as the Matter’s last review and goes to the next one (Enter).
- Skip leaves it due, so it comes up next time (→).
- Open Matter closes the session and opens the Matter’s overview.
Dormant Matters
A dormant Matter whose review is due comes up after the active ones, in a lighter step: the outcome, one choice, the rhythm and a note. Wake up puts it back on the board as active, Keep dormant leaves it out of sight until its next review, and Close is for when you’re done with it.
At the end
The last screen tallies what you did: Matters reviewed, next steps added, outcomes edited, notes kept (“2 notes kept”), Matters woken up, made dormant or closed, and any you skipped. It lists the next review dates of the Matters you reviewed, and the longest waits across all your Matters, so you can chase them. Open board takes you back to the board.
A review of one Matter (Review now) ends with a notice of the next review date instead.
Notes for next time
Anything to remember? takes one line: what you’d want to know when this Matter comes up again. It is saved when you press Enter or leave the field, as the last line of the Matter’s note:
- Reviewed 2026-10-09: Charlie can start once the worktop is ordered.Change the line in the same review and the note changes with it; empty it and it goes. Notes from earlier reviews stay where they are, one line each, so the Matter’s note keeps a short history. They are ordinary text: edit or delete them like anything else in the note.
The latest note shows in the next review (“Last time, 9 Oct”) and in the Matter’s overview, under the review rhythm (“Last note, 9 Oct”).
Mark as reviewed
To record a review without the session, select Mark as reviewed on the lane, in the overview, or run the command. It records today’s date in mtm-last-reviewed.
A review never adds properties of its own: it writes the review date, what you change, and the note you write, if any.
The Inbox has no reviews: process it instead.