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Does the plugin prioritize due-today items?

Does the plugin still prioritise items that are due today over older items? This always caused my older items to get buried and never surface again. (username Morte_, Sept 19, 2025, Reddit)

No, the plugin is designed to prevent older, overdue items from getting buried. The primary factor for sorting is the Priority value you set on a Rem, not how long it has been due. You also have direct control over the queue's predictability via the "Sorting Randomness" setting.

How the Plugin Prioritizes Due Items

Here is a complete breakdown of how the plugin decides which incremental item to show you next. The process balances strict priority with controlled variability.

  1. Sorts All Items by Priority First The plugin begins by gathering all of your incremental rems—both due and not yet due—and sorts them into a master list. This initial sort is based purely on the Priority value you have set. Items with a lower number are considered higher priority and are moved to the front of the line. The due date is completely ignored during this step.

  2. Filters for Due Items Next, the plugin takes this priority-sorted list and filters it down, keeping only the items that are currently ready for review. It does this by checking if an item's nextRepDate is today or any day in the past. The result is a perfectly ordered list of all your due items, with the highest-priority ones at the top.

  3. Applies Controlled Randomness (The Priority-Weighted Lottery) This is where the "Sorting Randomness" setting comes into play. After creating the perfectly sorted list of due items, the plugin randomizes a portion of it.

    • At 0% randomness: No shuffling occurs. The list remains perfectly sorted by priority, and the plugin will deterministically show you the highest-priority due item.
    • At 20% (the default) and above: The plugin randomizes a slice of the list via a priority-weighted lottery. Rather than blind swaps, the items pulled forward are drawn with probability proportional to their priority weight, so a higher-priority (but lower-ranked) item is far more likely to surface than a deep, low-priority one — while every item keeps a real, non-zero chance. This preserves strict priorities with a controlled bit of serendipity, and because it is priority-weighted, higher settings stay safe. Note: the slider is non-linear (eases in), so the left portion finely tunes small amounts while the middle reaches a meaningful ~25%.

  4. Selects the Top Card Finally, the plugin picks the item at the very top of this final, potentially shuffled list and presents it to you in the queue.

Summary

To address your concern directly: by default, older items will not get buried. The system is built to surface your highest-priority due material first, regardless of how long it has been overdue. The Sorting Randomness setting is a tool that allows you to introduce variability, preventing the queue from becoming too rigid and ensuring that even lower-priority items get a chance to surface over time.

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