Review and Improve

Your first Smart Loop - Day 5 resource

Today: turn delegated work into progress that survives review.
Start from the same outcome note you used yesterday.
Found this page without the email series? Start here: Your first Smart Loop

Today's note change

The review makes the outcome note stronger, or confirms a usable deliverable that is saved or linked where the work lives.

Instead of accepting the AI response because it sounds complete, you review it against What Done Looks Like so you decide what actually became progress.

Before you start

Required:

The outcome note has a What Done Looks Like section.
Delegated work is attached to the outcome note.
There is an AI response, draft, result, or thread to review.

Optional:

Smart Chat is installed and enabled if you want to mark the reviewed thread done.
The usable deliverable has a clear place where it should be saved or linked.

What your note should show

Before:

AI output exists
the response has not changed the outcome note
the deliverable has not been saved or linked where the work lives
the next action may still be unclear

After:

the response has been reviewed against What Done Looks Like
the note is clearer, the context is better, the next action is sharper, or the deliverable is saved or linked
the next delegation can start from a stronger note

The outcome note should show reviewed output becoming note progress or a usable deliverable.

Add this to your note

Copy this section into your outcome note before you review. Use it to help decide what actually changed because of the delegated result.

## Review

- What helped:
	- [what the delegated result got right]
- What needed fixing:
	- [what was missing, wrong, unclear, or risky]
- What the note failed to make clear:
	- [finish-line, context, or next-action gap]
- What changes before the next delegation:
	- [note improvement, context improvement, clearer next action, or saved/linked deliverable]

Use this for practice

As you become more familiar with the Smart Loop the "Review" section can be skipped in favor of directly editing the "What Done Looks Like," "Context," and "Next actions" sections of the note. For now, use this section to practice your review process.

Brainstorming questions

What part of the delegated result might be best?
What missing context or unclear detail might have caused the problem?
What assumption might need to be added to What Done Looks Like?
What next action might be best?

Make the change

Start from the same outcome note.
Open the delegated result from the Delegated work section.
Compare the result against What Done Looks Like.
Choose one path.

Result	What it means	What to do next
Rejected	The output exposed a gap.	Improve `What Done Avoid manually editing the deliverable. Add detail to the note then delegate again. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. n. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s. s.

Make at least one durable change: clearer criteria, better context, sharper next action, or saved/linked deliverable.
If using Smart Chat, mark the reviewed thread done after review is complete.

The "almost" trap

An "almost" result can be tempting to accept. But, "I just need to change this" can quickly turn into a lot of manual work. The goal of the Smart Loop is to delegate the work, so instead of jumping in and doing the work yourself, prefer updating the note and delegating the assignment again.

Weak vs stronger

Weak:

the response sounds good, so it is treated as finished
the note does not change
the next delegation would start from the same weak starting point

Stronger:

the response is judged against the finish line
the note records what was accepted, corrected, rejected, improved, saved, linked, or delegated next
even a weak result improves the next loop

You know it worked when...

The delegated result was reviewed, and the note improved or the deliverable was saved/linked where the work lives.

Use Smart Plugins to make this easier

Smart Chat enables reviewing and keeping track of threads that are active/done without leaving the note.

Reference: How I manage chat threads in my Obsidian notes

Smart Plugins reduce friction. The note change is what matters.

If you get stuck

Stuck on...	Do this
Missing the previous step	Go back to Delegate the work and attach delegated work to the note.
The output is weak or generic	Improve the starting note before copying more context.
The output is almost usable	Add the missing criteria or context to the note before asking for another pass.
You cannot decide whether it is good	Tighten `What Done Looks Like` until review becomes easier.
The result is useful but not trusted	Keep it in `Review notes` or `Unreviewed / workspace` until it earns trust.

How this same move scales

Bigger outcomes may need many review passes. The first delegation does not need to finish the whole outcome.

The move stays the same: use review to make the note, next delegation, or final deliverable stronger.

Additional resources

Video resource

Continue the Smart Loop

Review the full workflow: Smart Loop