Last year, I read an article that completely changed how I thought about building products. It was brilliant. Insightful. Exactly what I needed.
Two weeks later, someone asked me about that exact topic. I remembered reading something perfect, but I couldn’t recall a single concrete detail. Not the author. Not the website. Not even the main argument.
I’d consumed the information but retained nothing. My curiosity had led me to the knowledge, but the knowledge had slipped through my fingers like water.
This happened constantly. I’d read 30 articles a week, feel intellectually stimulated, then struggle to recall anything specific when it actually mattered. My browser history was a graveyard of forgotten insights. My bookmarks folder was a black hole where good ideas went to die.
The frustration finally hit a breaking point: what’s the point of being curious if you can’t actually use what you discover?
That question led me to build stashed.in. But more importantly, it forced me to completely rethink my relationship with online reading. I had to solve this for myself before I could solve it for anyone else.
Today, I read just as much as before, but I actually remember what matters. My curiosity hasn’t decreased. It’s just become… useful. And the system I developed is simpler than you’d think.
Why Curiosity and Retention Feel Like Opposites#
Here’s the paradox: the more curious you are, the harder it is to retain what you read.
Curious people follow tangents. We click links that spark interest. We read widely across disciplines. We explore topics we might never “use” professionally. This breadth is beautiful, but it creates a retention problem.
Research on memory formation shows that we remember things better when we process them deeply and connect them to existing knowledge. But when you’re reading out of pure curiosity, you’re often skimming, exploring, sampling. You’re not stopping to deeply process each piece.
The curious reader’s typical pattern:
- Find fascinating article
- Read it enthusiastically
- Click an interesting link mentioned in the article
- Read that article
- Notice three more interesting tabs
- Two hours later, you’ve read a dozen things
- Close laptop feeling intellectually satisfied
- Next week, remember almost none of it
This isn’t a bug in your brain. It’s the natural result of breadth-first exploration without any capture mechanism.
The tragedy is that many people respond by trying to read less. They follow advice about “being more selective” or “only reading what’s relevant to your goals.” But that kills curiosity. You’re trying to become less interested in the world just to remember a bit more. That’s a terrible trade.
The real solution isn’t reading less. It’s building better systems for what you already do.
The Three Types of Reading (And Why We Confuse Them)#
Part of why curious people lose track of their reading is that we treat all reading the same. But there are actually three distinct modes, each requiring different approaches:
Exploratory Reading#
This is wandering. You’re following links, sampling ideas, exploring territories you know nothing about. You’re not trying to master anything. You’re just seeing what’s out there.
Example: You read an article about urban planning, which mentions Japanese transit systems, which leads you to articles about infrastructure financing, which somehow ends with you reading about the psychology of queuing.
This reading is valuable. It’s how you discover new interests, make unexpected connections, and stumble onto ideas that shift your thinking. But it’s the hardest to retain because you’re covering so much ground so quickly.
Instrumental Reading#
This is research. You’re reading with a specific purpose in mind. You need to solve a problem, understand a concept, or gather examples for something you’re creating.
Example: You’re designing a new feature and you’re reading about onboarding patterns, user activation strategies, and psychological principles of habit formation.
This reading is easier to retain because you have a clear framework for why it matters. Your brain has hooks to hang the information on.
Deep Reading#
This is studying. You’re engaging deeply with a specific text, taking notes, reflecting, synthesizing. You might read the same piece multiple times. You’re not just consuming information but genuinely learning.
Example: You’re working through a complex technical paper, stopping frequently to look up concepts, sketch diagrams, and connect ideas to your existing knowledge.
This reading has the highest retention naturally because of the depth of processing.
Most curious people spend 80% of their time in exploratory mode, 15% in instrumental mode, and 5% in deep mode. Then we wonder why we don’t remember anything. We’re optimizing for breadth, then judging ourselves by depth standards.
The solution isn’t to force all reading into deep mode. It’s to build systems that help you capture value from each mode.
What Actually Helps You Remember What You Read#
Before I share the specific system, let’s understand what actually works for retention. Most advice is either too complicated to maintain or too simplistic to be useful.
Context Over Content#
You don’t need to remember every detail of what you read. You need to remember:
- Why it caught your attention
- How it connects to what you already know
- When you might need it again
A single sentence of context often matters more than elaborate notes. “This article explains why async communication fails in crisis situations” is more useful than a detailed summary, because it tells you exactly when to return to this resource.
Spatial Memory Works Better Than Chronological#
Your brain is much better at remembering where things are than when you encountered them. This is why you can navigate your childhood home in your mind but can’t recall what you had for lunch last Tuesday.
Yet most reading tracking systems are chronological. Your browser history is ordered by date. Your bookmarks are filed by when you saved them. This fights against how memory actually works.
Better approach: organize by theme and association. When you’re thinking about a topic, you should be able to browse related resources you’ve collected, not search through a timeline.
Regular Revisiting Beats Perfect Note-Taking#
Spaced repetition research consistently shows that reviewing information over time works better than spending more time on initial study.
But most people do the opposite with their reading. They spend zero time initially capturing context, never revisit what they’ve read, and hope their memory magically holds onto everything.
Brief capture plus regular browsing beats detailed note-taking that you never look at again.
Sharing Reinforces Memory#
When you share something with others—even just explaining why you found it interesting—you process it more deeply. The generation effect shows that generating your own explanation creates stronger memory than passive reading.
This is why teachers often say they learned more from teaching than from studying. The act of sharing forces synthesis.
The System That Changed Everything for Me#
After months of experimentation, here’s the system I use to stay curious without losing track of what I read. It has four simple components:
Component 1: Immediate Capture with One-Line Context#
When I read something valuable, I save it immediately with a single sentence about why it mattered.
Not a summary. Not detailed notes. Just my reaction in the moment:
- “Best explanation of database indexing I’ve found”
- “This changed how I think about user onboarding”
- “Example of perfect landing page copy”
- “Counterargument to common productivity advice”
This takes 15 seconds maximum. The sentence captures not just what the article is about, but why past-me cared. That context is gold for future-me.
I do this as I read, not later. “Later” never comes. If something resonates enough that I might want it again, I capture it immediately.
Component 2: Thematic Collections, Not Folders#
I organize everything I save into visual collections based on themes I’m genuinely interested in or actively working on.
My current collections include:
- Product Strategy & Design
- Writing That Moves Me
- System Thinking & Architecture
- Building in Public
- Learning Psychology
- Unexpected Delights
These aren’t rigid categories. They’re spaces that reflect how I think. An article can live in multiple collections. The structure evolves as my interests shift.
The visual aspect matters. Each collection has a header image that reflects its vibe. When I’m browsing, I recognize collections by their aesthetic, not just their names. This taps into spatial and visual memory, making everything more memorable.
This is exactly why I built stashed.in this way. I needed something like Pinterest for links—visual, flexible collections that I actually enjoy browsing. Not folders in a hierarchy, but spaces with personality.
Component 3: Weekly Wandering#
Every Sunday morning with coffee, I spend 20 minutes wandering through what I saved that week.
Not “organizing.” Not “reviewing.” Just browsing with curiosity.
I click through things I saved. Reread a few that still interest me. Notice patterns in what I’ve been collecting. Sometimes I add connections between resources. Sometimes I just enjoy rediscovering something I’d already forgotten about.
This weekly wandering does two things:
- It reinforces memory through spaced repetition
- It surfaces patterns I’d miss if I only saved and never browsed
The browsing is key. Because my collections are visual and pleasant to explore, this doesn’t feel like a chore. It feels like walking through my own personal museum of interesting ideas.
Component 4: Share When It Feels Right#
Some of my collections are private. They’re just for me, full of half-formed thoughts and resources that might only make sense to me.
But some collections are public. When I’ve curated 20+ resources on a topic and added good context, I’ll share that collection. Sometimes with everyone. Sometimes password-protected with just my team or a study group.
Sharing serves two purposes:
- It forces me to add better context (because others will see it)
- It creates a feedback loop where people share their own related finds
The act of preparing a collection to share makes me engage more deeply with what I’ve curated. And seeing how others respond helps me understand what’s genuinely valuable versus what just seemed interesting in passing.
How This Plays Out in Real Life#
Let me show you how this system works in practice:
Monday morning: I’m reading about authentication patterns for a feature I’m building. I find three excellent articles. As I read each one, I save it to my “System Thinking & Architecture” collection with context:
- “Best explanation of JWT vs session tokens I’ve seen”
- “Security considerations I hadn’t thought about”
- “Example implementation that’s exactly what I need”
Total time: 45 seconds across three saves.
Wednesday: Someone on Twitter asks about authentication approaches. I open my stashed.in collection, find those three links instantly, and share them with my brief context. They thank me for the curated recommendations. Sharing reinforces my memory of the content.
Sunday: During my weekly wander, I browse my “System Thinking” collection. I notice I’ve saved eight authentication-related resources over the past month. They naturally cluster together. I realize I’ve accidentally built a mini-guide on the topic. I add a few connecting notes between resources, tying the concepts together.
Two months later: I’m writing a technical blog post about API security. I open my collection and find all my authentication research waiting for me, organized and contextualized. What would have taken hours to re-research takes minutes to pull together. The post writes itself because I’ve been collecting the raw materials for months.
This is the compounding effect. Each small act of saving with context pays dividends over time.
What Changes When You Track Your Curiosity#
After a year of using this system consistently, several things shifted:
My reading became more intentional. Not less curious, but more mindful. I still follow tangents, but I’m conscious of whether something is genuinely interesting or just internet junk food.
My memory improved noticeably. Not because my brain changed, but because I built external structure that supports retention. When someone mentions a topic, I can often recall specific resources I’ve saved about it.
My work quality increased. Everything I create—articles, product decisions, conversations—is informed by months of curated reading. I’m building on accumulated knowledge, not starting from scratch each time.
I discover more, not less. Paradoxically, having a good capture system made me more curious, not less. I’m more willing to explore random topics because I’m not worried about losing valuable finds.
I spend less time searching. Before, I’d spend 15 minutes trying to re-find an article I’d read weeks ago. Now I spend 30 seconds searching my collections.
I actually use what I read. This is the biggest change. My reading isn’t just consumption anymore. It’s material I actively work with, reference, build on, and share.
Common Mistakes People Make (And How to Avoid Them)#
Having watched people try to build similar systems, here are the common failure points:
Mistake 1: Saving too much without context
You save 50 articles a week with no notes. Six months later, you have 1,200 mystery links. This is just bookmark hoarding with extra steps.
Fix: Save less, but always add context. If you can’t articulate why something matters in one sentence, don’t save it.
Mistake 2: Building elaborate systems before building habits
You create 20 detailed categories, design a complex tagging scheme, plan review schedules. Then you never actually use it because it’s too complicated.
Fix: Start with three collections. Save things for a month. Let structure emerge from actual use.
Mistake 3: Never revisiting what you save
You capture everything perfectly but never browse your collections. Your system becomes a write-only database.
Fix: Schedule browsing time. Make it pleasant, not obligatory. If you dread reviewing your saves, your system is wrong.
Mistake 4: Treating all reading the same
You try to deeply process every article you read. You burn out and quit.
Fix: Accept that most reading is exploratory. Quick capture is enough. Save deep processing for what truly matters.
Mistake 5: Keeping everything private
You never share your collections because they’re “not good enough yet.” You miss the memory benefits of teaching others.
Fix: Share imperfect collections. The feedback and reinforcement are worth the vulnerability.
Building Your Own System#
You don’t need to copy my system exactly. You need to build one that works for how your brain works. But here’s a framework:
Week 1: Just capture Pick a tool (I built stashed.in for this, but use what works for you). This week, just practice saving things with one-sentence context. Don’t worry about organization yet.
Week 2: Create three collections Based on what you actually saved last week, create three thematic collections. Move your saves into them. Notice how much easier it is to remember what you saved when it’s grouped by theme.
Week 3: Add browsing Set aside 20 minutes this week to just wander through what you’ve collected. No agenda. Just rediscovering what past-you found interesting.
Week 4: Share one collection Pick one collection that has 10+ items with good context. Make it public or share it with specific people. Notice how sharing changes your relationship with the content.
Month 2 onward: Let it evolve Keep capturing. Keep browsing. Let your collections grow and split naturally. Add sharing when it feels right. Trust the process.
The system should feel effortless within a month. If it doesn’t, simplify further.
Why I Built Stashed.in This Way#
When I started building stashed.in, I could have made it like every other bookmark manager—lists, folders, tags, done.
But I’d tried those tools. They all eventually became digital junkyards. They optimized for capture but not for the joy of rediscovery. They made saving easy but browsing tedious.
I wanted something I’d actually want to open. Something that made my reading visible and beautiful. Something that bridged the gap between Pinterest’s visual browsing and bookmark managers’ functionality.
That’s why stashed.in works with visual collections, not hidden folders. Why you can make collections public, private, or password-protected depending on context. Why the interface invites wandering, not just searching.
I built it for people who are endlessly curious but tired of losing track of what they discover. For people who want to remember what they read without turning reading into work.
It’s the tool I needed but couldn’t find. And from the messages I get, it turns out a lot of other people needed it too.
Your Curiosity Deserves Better#
You’re going to keep being curious. That’s who you are. The question is whether that curiosity accumulates into genuine knowledge or just evaporates into the digital ether.
Most people accept evaporation as inevitable. They read, forget, and read again in an endless cycle. Their curiosity generates joy in the moment but no lasting value.
But it doesn’t have to be that way.
With simple systems—immediate capture, thematic organization, regular browsing, thoughtful sharing—your curiosity can compound. Every article you read can build on the last one. Every insight can connect to existing knowledge. Your reading can become the foundation for better thinking, better work, better conversations.
You don’t need to remember everything. You just need to remember what matters. And you need a system that makes that effortless.
Start today. Save the next interesting thing you read with one sentence about why. That’s it. That’s the beginning.
Your future self will thank you for it.
