I subscribe to quite a number of RSS feeds and newsletters. Every day I get a lot of fresh new articles sent to my inbox. Plus, I enjoy browsing the web and save intersting articles while wandering around. It’s a real hassle to manage all the content from different sources.

I used to use Cubox to solve this chaos. By gathering all content in one place, I get simpler reading experience. But this was not perfect. First of all, the subscription was not cheap. Besides, though it can receive newsletters, giving me a cleaner email inbox, it’s not an RSS reader. I had to use Inoreader alongside it to receive RSS updates.

Cubox did made me linger for a long time because of its categorization system, cross-platform apps and plugins, AI summary and other smooth features.

It was when I realized such features did not help boost productivity nor enhance my reading that I finally switched to a much simpler tool, Reading List on Safari.

My requirements are simple. The only thing I need is a place for temporary storage of articles I want to read. After months of using Apple’s Reading List, here are some principles that I grow to appreciate and follow while managing my reading workflow.

  1. Unread articles go in and read articles go out. It’s a simple in-and-out rule. It’s easy to understand why unread things stay, but why not keep those valuable content that are read? Well, in my opinion, if you really learned something from a post, you can always take notes. Useful content stays in your notes (or digital gardens), not reading list. And if you haven’t learned anything, it’s not worth keeping anyway.
  2. Categorization and archive are unnecessary. My reading list is ineed just a list. Since read articles do not stay, it’s certainly pointless categorizing unread things.
  3. Delete articles that stay for too long. If you haven’t read something that you saved a week ago, chances are, you won’t read it! Don’t fool yourself into thinking you’ll get to it when you’re less busy. If you’re truly interested, you’ll read it no matter what! Keeping articles that you want to read but never feel like reading will cause constant stress, making you miserable about the whole reading thing. It’s better just get it over with and delete them!
  4. Always read it before saving it in your reading list. You don’t need to finish the whole page, just read the beginning. You have the time! If it bores you, close the tab! If it fascinates you, finish it! If you don’t have the time, that’s when reading list comes to play.
  5. Clear RSS and newsletter updates at one single glance. If you get new updates on your feed, you have three options: a. Read it; b. Skip it; c. Save it. Never leave things unread on your watch. It’s the same as Rule 3. If you don’t read it now, you’re less likely to read it afterwards. Don’t kid yourself into thinking you’ll read it later. If it doesn’t interest you, skip it! Do not fear losing anything, because you won’t! It’s just an ordinary post.
  6. Check for updates and browse websites at fixed hours. Do not check your feeds 100 times a day. You always have better things to do. The updates won’t go anywhere and it won’t kill you reading them a little bit later. You can check your feeds during lunch break and at the end of the day, and then clear them at one glance like I mentioned in Rule 5.
  7. Try the one-in-one-out technique. When organizing household objects, some suggest keeping the items at a reasonable amount. When you have enough stuffs, throw one out before you get something new, keeping only your favorite ones. Do the same with your reading list. Read from your list before you save something new.
  8. It’s just a post. Reading essays from blogs and newsletters is helpful, but not as helpful as reading a good book. Books are confined wisdom while web posts are mostly opinions. Spend more time on reading an actual book. Don’t spend to much time and energy on the Internet.

The whole philosophy lies on simplicity, because the whole “reading from the web” thing is not as important as I used to think. And it’s certainly not worth spending money just on a reading tool.

Use your time wisely. You can learn a lot from great people’s blogs, but that’s just one small part of reading. Being a good reader is not just cosuming content. It means you should think about what it is to be a good reader, someone who choose the right thing to read at the right time, in the right way, and at the right cost.