Frequently asked questions about thinking, epistemology, and cognitive tools. 9738 answers
Treating input curation as information avoidance. The goal is not to consume less — it is to consume deliberately. People who overcorrect turn curation into a monk-like information fast, cutting themselves off from serendipity, relevant news, and the ambient awareness that keeps them connected to.
Deliberately choose your information sources rather than accepting whatever arrives.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Choose one inbox — email, physical mail, a notes app, a read-it-later queue, whatever has the most accumulated items. Set a timer for 25 minutes. Go through each item top to bottom and make exactly one decision per item: act on it now (if it takes less than two minutes), schedule a specific time.
Confusing reading with processing. You scan through your inbox, your notes, your bookmarks, and you feel like you have dealt with them because you have seen them. But seeing is not deciding. Each time you look at an item without making a decision, you pay the cognitive cost of re-engaging with it.
Every piece of information needs a decision — act on it, store it, or discard it.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Conduct a reference filing audit and build your initial system. Step 1: Gather every place you currently store reference information — your notes app, your email, your bookmarks, your desktop folders, your physical files, your phone photos, your browser tabs, your 'save for later' lists. List them.
The most common failure is building a filing system optimized for input rather than retrieval. You create an elaborate folder hierarchy — twelve top-level categories, each with four subcategories, each with nested sub-subcategories — and you spend three minutes deciding where each new item.
Information you might need later goes into a searchable reference system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.
Information that requires action goes into your task management system.