Discussion Forum > Focus/Whenever Lists
Seraphim:
Just because an idea has value doesn't automatically mean that it will come back up on its own. Part of the point of writing this stuff down is so that we DON'T have to keep track in our subconscious! ("Mind like water" and all that...)
Doesn't Cricket's hibernation idea fit in neatly with what you're saying?
Just because an idea has value doesn't automatically mean that it will come back up on its own. Part of the point of writing this stuff down is so that we DON'T have to keep track in our subconscious! ("Mind like water" and all that...)
Doesn't Cricket's hibernation idea fit in neatly with what you're saying?
September 13, 2013 at 21:41 |
Deven
Deven
<< Just because an idea has value doesn't automatically mean that it will come back up on its own. Part of the point of writing this stuff down is so that we DON'T have to keep track in our subconscious! ("Mind like water" and all that...) >>
The idea of dropping the item, and then expecting it to re-appear later on its own, is not supposed to mean you are tracking it subconsciously. I'd just DROP it.
A friend of mine didn't like throwing things away. Eventually he filled his garage with boxes. Then he rented a storage space for the extra boxes that didn't fit in the garage.
What was in the boxes? Mostly old magazines, or unfinished projects, or odds and ends he hadn't been able to sort out. Most boxes hadn't been opened in years. And it got to the point where the boxes COULD never be opened - there were just so many of them.
My AF lists turned into that. The list had so many tasks -- ideas and opportunities -- that seemed so pleasurable, I didn't want to get rid of them. I wished I had more time in the day, so I could pursue them. Their presence on my list created a mental burden. Moving them to a tickler list didn't help. The burden just got bigger, because the list itself got bigger.
Eventually I just decided to throw the list away. And the burden went away. I have no regrets. New ideas and new opportunities keep appearing all the time.
The temptation is to start hoarding those ideas and opportunities again, as they come up. But this creates a mental burden of things I'd like to do but WILL never do. It also becomes a burden to think about, manage, and optimize how to manage all those lists of unpursued opportunities. It's much less mental overhead just to let them pass by, unless I have a realistic expectation of engaging them in the near future, or working them into a current project.
<< Doesn't Cricket's hibernation idea fit in neatly with what you're saying? >>
Yes, I like Cricket's hibernation idea.
The idea of dropping the item, and then expecting it to re-appear later on its own, is not supposed to mean you are tracking it subconsciously. I'd just DROP it.
A friend of mine didn't like throwing things away. Eventually he filled his garage with boxes. Then he rented a storage space for the extra boxes that didn't fit in the garage.
What was in the boxes? Mostly old magazines, or unfinished projects, or odds and ends he hadn't been able to sort out. Most boxes hadn't been opened in years. And it got to the point where the boxes COULD never be opened - there were just so many of them.
My AF lists turned into that. The list had so many tasks -- ideas and opportunities -- that seemed so pleasurable, I didn't want to get rid of them. I wished I had more time in the day, so I could pursue them. Their presence on my list created a mental burden. Moving them to a tickler list didn't help. The burden just got bigger, because the list itself got bigger.
Eventually I just decided to throw the list away. And the burden went away. I have no regrets. New ideas and new opportunities keep appearing all the time.
The temptation is to start hoarding those ideas and opportunities again, as they come up. But this creates a mental burden of things I'd like to do but WILL never do. It also becomes a burden to think about, manage, and optimize how to manage all those lists of unpursued opportunities. It's much less mental overhead just to let them pass by, unless I have a realistic expectation of engaging them in the near future, or working them into a current project.
<< Doesn't Cricket's hibernation idea fit in neatly with what you're saying? >>
Yes, I like Cricket's hibernation idea.
September 14, 2013 at 0:56 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
What works well for me with physical stuff I'm not sure I need, is to 'quarantine' it apart from the everyday stuff.
Then after a time or after I've collected so much, I go through and say halve it, by retaining the most useful valuable stuff and letting go of the rest.
The basis for this is that it's MUCH easier - for me anyway :-) - to make relative decisions than absolute decisions, so much easier to decide 'This is more valuable/useful than that' than decide 'Do I need this or not?'
Maybe the same approach can be used where there's a large number of hibernated tasks or project ideas.
Then after a time or after I've collected so much, I go through and say halve it, by retaining the most useful valuable stuff and letting go of the rest.
The basis for this is that it's MUCH easier - for me anyway :-) - to make relative decisions than absolute decisions, so much easier to decide 'This is more valuable/useful than that' than decide 'Do I need this or not?'
Maybe the same approach can be used where there's a large number of hibernated tasks or project ideas.
September 14, 2013 at 1:08 |
smileypete
smileypete
I just discovered something really helpful that might be relevant to this discussion. I determined how many tasks I enter and then complete on an average day. After factoring in the fact that I do lots of work by routine that isn't added as a task into my system, the number I came up with for tasks I can complete daily is 6. The way it is, I've been entering one more task per day than I was getting done. No wonder I get buried!
In order to limit myself to 6, I'm going to have to start putting all the ideas I have in another system. I have an idea journal (an idea I got from Barbara Sher's Refuse to Choose), but I'm thinking of putting a lot of stuff into Evernote. Then I can make perusing my physical or virtual notebook part of my routine.
Seraphim, I used to keep magazines because I swore I was going to cut out every recipe I liked in them and create a recipe book from it. So glad I finally recycled them because now I always search for recipes online. :-) You're on the right track! I'm doing my final week of The 12 Week Year this week. http://www.psychowith6.com/can-gamification-help-you-get-more-done/
In order to limit myself to 6, I'm going to have to start putting all the ideas I have in another system. I have an idea journal (an idea I got from Barbara Sher's Refuse to Choose), but I'm thinking of putting a lot of stuff into Evernote. Then I can make perusing my physical or virtual notebook part of my routine.
Seraphim, I used to keep magazines because I swore I was going to cut out every recipe I liked in them and create a recipe book from it. So glad I finally recycled them because now I always search for recipes online. :-) You're on the right track! I'm doing my final week of The 12 Week Year this week. http://www.psychowith6.com/can-gamification-help-you-get-more-done/
September 14, 2013 at 1:54 |
Melanie Wilson
Melanie Wilson
Cricket's hibernation idea seems to be working well for me. I've decided that it's not worth the complexity of multiple hibernation lists for different target months because I generally wanted "next month" for almost everything. (After all, they're generally things I'd like to be done, but just don't realistically expect to get to soon.)
So the solution I'm using is to go through the hibernation process monthly, and I'm using a reminder in my tickler file for the first of the next month so I don't forget. The monthly hibernation process then consists of reviewing the Main list and the Hibernate lists and moving tasks between them as appropriate. (There is no need to review the Focus list.) For each task, I ask myself "Am I likely to work on this task this month?" to decide which tasks should be active. (Note that "likely" is the key concept here to avoid keeping too many tasks active.)
In practice, this worked exactly as intended yesterday -- I went through the process because I was reminded by the tickler file, and found a few new tasks to hibernate AND a few tasks on the Hibernate list to reactivate as well. I think this particular approach will help avoid the "graveyard effect" of my old Someday/Maybe list with GTD.
My next post will officially incorporate this idea into my evolving system, along with the tickler file.
So the solution I'm using is to go through the hibernation process monthly, and I'm using a reminder in my tickler file for the first of the next month so I don't forget. The monthly hibernation process then consists of reviewing the Main list and the Hibernate lists and moving tasks between them as appropriate. (There is no need to review the Focus list.) For each task, I ask myself "Am I likely to work on this task this month?" to decide which tasks should be active. (Note that "likely" is the key concept here to avoid keeping too many tasks active.)
In practice, this worked exactly as intended yesterday -- I went through the process because I was reminded by the tickler file, and found a few new tasks to hibernate AND a few tasks on the Hibernate list to reactivate as well. I think this particular approach will help avoid the "graveyard effect" of my old Someday/Maybe list with GTD.
My next post will officially incorporate this idea into my evolving system, along with the tickler file.
October 2, 2013 at 20:58 |
Deven
Deven
This post defines AF1NDF2, which adds a tickler file and hibernation process to AF1NDF1.
Here are the full rules:
* Keep four separate lists: a Main list, containing anything (universal capture); a short Focus list (preferably with fewer than 10 tasks -- or perhaps none!), containing only urgent tasks, current-day goals, tasks with hard deadlines and up to 3 other tasks which would otherwise belong on the Main list (allowing for a "Top 3" or "Current Initiative"); a Future list (i.e. tickler file), containing dated tasks to be activated on specific future dates; and a Hibernate list, containing inactive tasks which you are not likely to work on soon (i.e. Someday/Maybe tasks).
* Add new tasks to the end of the appropriate list (usually the Main list by default).
* Move tasks between lists at will, subject to the intended purpose of each list.
* Tasks may be starred to indicate importance, but this does not affect the processing rules.
* Tasks may also be dated to record when the task was added to the system. (In this case, retaining the original date is recommended when rewriting the task, except for recurring tasks.)
* Tasks may be followed on the following line(s), with arrow indicators, by one or more specific actions (such as a GTD-style "next action") if desired (This is most likely to be helpful when the "task" is actually a larger project.)
* Page size does not matter. (For example, this system works well with 3x5 index cards, which can fit up to 10 tasks/card.)
* Pages should be dated and labeled with the appropriate list name. (Dedicating each page to a single list is recommended.)
* At the start of each day, review the Future list and rewrite all ready tasks (where the date of the task has arrived) on the Focus list. For recurring tasks (e.g. weekly or monthly), also rewrite the task on the Future list with the next recurring date.
* Keep a monthly recurring Hibernation task on the Future list as a reminder to process the Hibernate list regularly. For this Hibernation task, at the start of each month, review both the Main list and the Hibernate list, moving tasks between the lists as appropriate, based on whether or not you are LIKELY to select the task for action this month -- whether or not you want to, or hope to. (Optionally, a different interval may be used, such as a 2-3 week "sprint" instead of monthly.)
* To select a task to work on, always start at the beginning of the Focus list and consider each task in turn until a task "stands out". (Tasks which are no longer relevant should be deleted from the list as they are considered.)
* If no task on the Focus list "stands out", switch to the Main list and continue to consider each task until you find a task that "stands out". Ideally, this scan should resume after the last task previously considered on the Main list, but returning to the start of that page is acceptable.
* If no task on the Main list "stands out" either, you may choose to continue with the Hibernate list next. (This is optional.)
* If no task "stands out" on any list considered, then select the highest-resistance actionable task from the Focus list (or Main list if necessary) for action instead.
* Work on the selected task for as long as you feel like doing so. (At a minimum, "get out the folder".)
* Cross the task off the list, and rewrite it at the end of the appropriate list (usually the same list) if you haven’t finished it.
* Return to the start of the Focus list and repeat the procedure above to select the next task.
Here are the full rules:
* Keep four separate lists: a Main list, containing anything (universal capture); a short Focus list (preferably with fewer than 10 tasks -- or perhaps none!), containing only urgent tasks, current-day goals, tasks with hard deadlines and up to 3 other tasks which would otherwise belong on the Main list (allowing for a "Top 3" or "Current Initiative"); a Future list (i.e. tickler file), containing dated tasks to be activated on specific future dates; and a Hibernate list, containing inactive tasks which you are not likely to work on soon (i.e. Someday/Maybe tasks).
* Add new tasks to the end of the appropriate list (usually the Main list by default).
* Move tasks between lists at will, subject to the intended purpose of each list.
* Tasks may be starred to indicate importance, but this does not affect the processing rules.
* Tasks may also be dated to record when the task was added to the system. (In this case, retaining the original date is recommended when rewriting the task, except for recurring tasks.)
* Tasks may be followed on the following line(s), with arrow indicators, by one or more specific actions (such as a GTD-style "next action") if desired (This is most likely to be helpful when the "task" is actually a larger project.)
* Page size does not matter. (For example, this system works well with 3x5 index cards, which can fit up to 10 tasks/card.)
* Pages should be dated and labeled with the appropriate list name. (Dedicating each page to a single list is recommended.)
* At the start of each day, review the Future list and rewrite all ready tasks (where the date of the task has arrived) on the Focus list. For recurring tasks (e.g. weekly or monthly), also rewrite the task on the Future list with the next recurring date.
* Keep a monthly recurring Hibernation task on the Future list as a reminder to process the Hibernate list regularly. For this Hibernation task, at the start of each month, review both the Main list and the Hibernate list, moving tasks between the lists as appropriate, based on whether or not you are LIKELY to select the task for action this month -- whether or not you want to, or hope to. (Optionally, a different interval may be used, such as a 2-3 week "sprint" instead of monthly.)
* To select a task to work on, always start at the beginning of the Focus list and consider each task in turn until a task "stands out". (Tasks which are no longer relevant should be deleted from the list as they are considered.)
* If no task on the Focus list "stands out", switch to the Main list and continue to consider each task until you find a task that "stands out". Ideally, this scan should resume after the last task previously considered on the Main list, but returning to the start of that page is acceptable.
* If no task on the Main list "stands out" either, you may choose to continue with the Hibernate list next. (This is optional.)
* If no task "stands out" on any list considered, then select the highest-resistance actionable task from the Focus list (or Main list if necessary) for action instead.
* Work on the selected task for as long as you feel like doing so. (At a minimum, "get out the folder".)
* Cross the task off the list, and rewrite it at the end of the appropriate list (usually the same list) if you haven’t finished it.
* Return to the start of the Focus list and repeat the procedure above to select the next task.
October 2, 2013 at 22:11 |
Deven
Deven
Based on Cricket's clothing example, I thought the idea of a Hibernation list was this:
(1) Take all the stuff you haven't touched in awhile, and put it on your Hibernation list.
(2) Determine how long you want the list to Hibernate (let's say 3 months). Hide away your list for that duration of time.
(3) If you recall there's something on that list you want to do, or you have some extra time and want to go look - then go ahead and crack open the list, reactivating whatever you want to reactivate. Put the rest back into a new hibernation period.
(4) If you don't open the list during the hibernation period, then you throw away the list without looking at it.
(5) The reason you don't look at it is to avoid the nostalgic feeling of "Oh yeah, that was a great idea, I should maybe pursue that," and overfilling your current list of tasks.
The main thing I like about this: it has helped me overcome the fear of outright deletion. It's much easier just to admit "This might be a great idea, but I'm never going to do it because all my time is taken up pursuing things that are even better!" and delete it immediately. It is very freeing, and allows me to focus on current opportunities rather than managing a catalog of old, stale opportunities.
(1) Take all the stuff you haven't touched in awhile, and put it on your Hibernation list.
(2) Determine how long you want the list to Hibernate (let's say 3 months). Hide away your list for that duration of time.
(3) If you recall there's something on that list you want to do, or you have some extra time and want to go look - then go ahead and crack open the list, reactivating whatever you want to reactivate. Put the rest back into a new hibernation period.
(4) If you don't open the list during the hibernation period, then you throw away the list without looking at it.
(5) The reason you don't look at it is to avoid the nostalgic feeling of "Oh yeah, that was a great idea, I should maybe pursue that," and overfilling your current list of tasks.
The main thing I like about this: it has helped me overcome the fear of outright deletion. It's much easier just to admit "This might be a great idea, but I'm never going to do it because all my time is taken up pursuing things that are even better!" and delete it immediately. It is very freeing, and allows me to focus on current opportunities rather than managing a catalog of old, stale opportunities.
October 4, 2013 at 1:43 |
Seraphim
Seraphim
Deven's experience matches mine about wanting "next month" for almost everything.
I don't have a set time to look at my hibernation list, but if I did, 3-6 months sounds good.
Absolutely don't look at the hibernation list more often than necessary. It's too tempting to reactivate things, and too sad to see all of those projects lying neglected.
The only reasons I can think of for reviewing the hibernation list are you have time to reactivate something, or you're worried about missing a deadline.
If you truly have time to reactivate a project and do it right, rather than just filling in a few moments that you could also fill with an active project, then yes, pick one from the list or elsewhere.
I sometimes plan when I'm going to reactivate a project. It goes in the same column as an active project. It's a carrot for finishing (or otherwise closing) the first one. It's not an excuse to flip between projects.
Even a project that seems like it can fit in your spare moments, can't. They lie. It will take up brain space and encourage you to do just one bit more -- at the expense of your other commitments and your sanity. (Not that this is easy to remember. A project is yelling at me pretty hard right now, and typing this is helping me remember why I can't reactivate it.)
As for missing a deadline for a hibernating project, look at your future commitments. Can you fit it in? If not, make the hard decision. If you can, then double-check there's nothing else on the hibernating list that entices you more, then fill in your milestone chart (or equivalent) and calendar as if you committed -- but in pencil. Include time to prepare for the deadline.
For example, you've wanted to take a course at the local school for several years, but never gotten around to it. Registration deadline is November, and the class starts in January. Plenty of time, and certainly not an active project -- therefore hibernating.
I'll turn to the back of my planner and book the study time and class time now, and time to prepare the application package. In pencil. "4 hours studying per week" is enough detail at that distance. If a friend asks me tomorrow to commit to something in March, looking at my plan tells me I need to make a decision.
(Be pessimistic for future dates, especially for real commitments. You never know what might turn up between now and then.)
This is much scarier than saying, "If I have time," and, just like last year, not having the time and wondering why you never get around to taking it.
It also means you don't have to reopen all the wounds caused by putting things into hibernation on a regular basis.
If the project is truly the right one for you, you won't forget it, even if you toss the hibernation list entirely.
I don't have a set time to look at my hibernation list, but if I did, 3-6 months sounds good.
Absolutely don't look at the hibernation list more often than necessary. It's too tempting to reactivate things, and too sad to see all of those projects lying neglected.
The only reasons I can think of for reviewing the hibernation list are you have time to reactivate something, or you're worried about missing a deadline.
If you truly have time to reactivate a project and do it right, rather than just filling in a few moments that you could also fill with an active project, then yes, pick one from the list or elsewhere.
I sometimes plan when I'm going to reactivate a project. It goes in the same column as an active project. It's a carrot for finishing (or otherwise closing) the first one. It's not an excuse to flip between projects.
Even a project that seems like it can fit in your spare moments, can't. They lie. It will take up brain space and encourage you to do just one bit more -- at the expense of your other commitments and your sanity. (Not that this is easy to remember. A project is yelling at me pretty hard right now, and typing this is helping me remember why I can't reactivate it.)
As for missing a deadline for a hibernating project, look at your future commitments. Can you fit it in? If not, make the hard decision. If you can, then double-check there's nothing else on the hibernating list that entices you more, then fill in your milestone chart (or equivalent) and calendar as if you committed -- but in pencil. Include time to prepare for the deadline.
For example, you've wanted to take a course at the local school for several years, but never gotten around to it. Registration deadline is November, and the class starts in January. Plenty of time, and certainly not an active project -- therefore hibernating.
I'll turn to the back of my planner and book the study time and class time now, and time to prepare the application package. In pencil. "4 hours studying per week" is enough detail at that distance. If a friend asks me tomorrow to commit to something in March, looking at my plan tells me I need to make a decision.
(Be pessimistic for future dates, especially for real commitments. You never know what might turn up between now and then.)
This is much scarier than saying, "If I have time," and, just like last year, not having the time and wondering why you never get around to taking it.
It also means you don't have to reopen all the wounds caused by putting things into hibernation on a regular basis.
If the project is truly the right one for you, you won't forget it, even if you toss the hibernation list entirely.
October 4, 2013 at 3:33 |
Cricket
Cricket
Perhaps I've twisted Cricket's idea a bit; I'm using it as more of an "Inactive" list than a true long-term hibernation list. Perhaps a retroactive renaming may be in order. I'm also starting to wonder if a weekly review would be better than my initial idea of monthly, which would be even less like what Cricket is actually doing. :)
October 7, 2013 at 15:50 |
Deven
Deven
I can call mine long-term hibernation. That's how I use it. Things I want to get to sometime, but probably won't do in the current time-unit, well, to be honest they're on the uncompleted lists from previous weeks, which I review weekly or even daily. Not elegant, but it works.
October 7, 2013 at 16:14 |
Cricket
Cricket
Hibernation implies long-term to me. Therefore, let's consider the Hibernate list in AF1NDF2 to be retroactively renamed to Pending, which is a more accurate description. That way, if someone wants to add long-term hibernation, they can call it a Hibernate list without conflict.
Also, I'm changing the recommendation to a weekly review of the Pending list, rather than monthly. I realized that I have a better handle on "this week" than "this month", but it still keeps the pending tasks out of sight most of the time.
Interestingly, now that I've switched to a weekly horizon, I now have 69 Pending tasks, 3 Main tasks and 5 Focus tasks for my Work system. This means that 90% of my list is "out of sight, out of mind" and not distracting me from the few things that I'm likely to actually work on this week. So far, so good!
For my Home system, I currently have 6 Main tasks and 10 Focus tasks and dozens of Pending tasks. I can't check the exact count right now because I keep the list of Pending tasks at home. (The other lists are on index cards in my pocket.)
Also, I'm changing the recommendation to a weekly review of the Pending list, rather than monthly. I realized that I have a better handle on "this week" than "this month", but it still keeps the pending tasks out of sight most of the time.
Interestingly, now that I've switched to a weekly horizon, I now have 69 Pending tasks, 3 Main tasks and 5 Focus tasks for my Work system. This means that 90% of my list is "out of sight, out of mind" and not distracting me from the few things that I'm likely to actually work on this week. So far, so good!
For my Home system, I currently have 6 Main tasks and 10 Focus tasks and dozens of Pending tasks. I can't check the exact count right now because I keep the list of Pending tasks at home. (The other lists are on index cards in my pocket.)
October 8, 2013 at 15:48 |
Deven
Deven
I you count my old lists as Pending, then yes, a weekly review is about right for me. I keep coming home to a full review of all outstanding (but not hibernating) tasks every week, with the option to read them again when nothing on the current list stands out.
(My old lists consist of things I'd hoped to do when planning, and things that I thought of but didn't expect to do immediately. I write those at the bottom of today's list even if I don't expect to do them. That way they're in the system.)
69 pending? That's a lot.
This week l'm excited about focusing on one project until it's done. "Just do a bit" doesn't build excitement. "Yeah, I'll do a bit, big deal," vs "Finally get this monkey off my back." Have to be careful, though, since too far the other way leads to burnout and not getting more urgent things done. I picked one of my slow-and-steady projects. The rest are still pending, but might move to hibernation, since they don't have firm deadlines and I want to get the current one done before activating them.
(My old lists consist of things I'd hoped to do when planning, and things that I thought of but didn't expect to do immediately. I write those at the bottom of today's list even if I don't expect to do them. That way they're in the system.)
69 pending? That's a lot.
This week l'm excited about focusing on one project until it's done. "Just do a bit" doesn't build excitement. "Yeah, I'll do a bit, big deal," vs "Finally get this monkey off my back." Have to be careful, though, since too far the other way leads to burnout and not getting more urgent things done. I picked one of my slow-and-steady projects. The rest are still pending, but might move to hibernation, since they don't have firm deadlines and I want to get the current one done before activating them.
October 8, 2013 at 17:30 |
Cricket
Cricket
Yes, it sounds like your list of outstanding tasks is functionally equivalent to my Pending list (called the Hibernate list in the rules post), and it seems we're in agreement that weekly is a good frequency for review.
As for the size of the list, I'd rather have those 69 tasks on my Pending list, reviewed once a week, rather than on my Main list (where they previously were). Most of them are older, of course (some even years old), but they're still at least somewhat relevant. But generally they lack hard deadlines. I want to pare them down, of course...
As for the size of the list, I'd rather have those 69 tasks on my Pending list, reviewed once a week, rather than on my Main list (where they previously were). Most of them are older, of course (some even years old), but they're still at least somewhat relevant. But generally they lack hard deadlines. I want to pare them down, of course...
October 8, 2013 at 20:00 |
Deven
Deven
I like to look at tasks as "opportunities". This works especially well with the older, less-immediately-relevant tasks that I would really like to explore further or keep on reference somewhere. They are "opportunities" - things that might bring me great value, if I decide to pursue them.
The problem with keeping all these "old" opportunities on our lists is they tend to make it harder to be open to the more-relevant, more-likely-to-add-value opportunities in the PRESENT.
Here's something I've been trying to do: Apply "next action" thinking to these kinds of tasks. This helps me categorize it, and helps me relate it to other major things going on in my life or work. I can then put it on a more relevant list that ties it more closely with other work.
For example, sometimes I find myself hoarding a stack of magazine articles, because something of interest caught my attention, something I want to explore further. Let's say it's a review about some interesting iPhone app. If I force myself to think, "what would be the next action on this, if I were to pursue it right away?", it helps me realize where it fits into the rest of my life. If that shows some immediate value, then fine, I can keep it on my task list -- and now I have a concrete action to take. But if the only next action I can think of, is something like "maybe this will help with NNN project", then I can file it with that project and evaluate it in that context. And sometimes I realize the next action is "install this and try it out and compare it to the tools you are already using", and I just don't want to take the time to do that, then I can just finally delete it and get rid of it. This whole thought process takes 1-2 minutes per item and weeds down my lists substantially.
The key insight for me is that 80% of those magazine articles fall into that last category -- yes, there might be something worth exploring, but the value isn't worth the work, so I may as well toss the whole stack, and focus on FRESH and CURRENT opportunities instead.