Managing academic reading lists

The pressure to “keep up with the literature” in academia can feel overwhelming. Every day brings new papers, reports, and articles that seem essential to read. Many academics spend a lot of time managing ever-growing academic reading lists that often become sources of guilt and anxiety rather than inspiration and insight.

Oliver Burkeman offers a different perspective:

To return to information overload: this means treating your “to read” pile like a river (a stream that flows past you, and from which you pluck a few choice items, here and there) instead of a bucket (which demands that you empty it). After all, you presumably don’t feel overwhelmed by all the unread books in the British Library – and not because there aren’t an overwhelming number of them, but because it never occurred to you that it might be your job to get through them all.

Oliver Burkeman. Treat your to-read pile like a river, not a bucket.

This simple shift in mindset – treating your reading list like a river rather than a bucket – can transform your relationship with academic literature.

A river-based approach means:

  • Accepting that you can’t (and shouldn’t) read everything
  • Selectively sampling what’s most relevant and valuable
  • Letting less important items flow past without guilt
  • Focusing on depth of understanding rather than breadth of coverage

The goal isn’t to read more – it’s to read better. By being selective about what you engage with, you create space for deeper understanding and meaningful integration of ideas, rather than shallow skimming of everything that crosses your path. Your information management strategy therefore exists to improve the quality of information in your feed; it’s not about saving everything you might want to read.

Create a sustainable approach to managing academic reading lists by building systems that help you identify and engage with truly valuable content, while letting the rest flow by. This aligns with the core principle of calm productivity: making intentional choices about where to focus your limited attention and energy.


Transform your relationship with the literature in the Head Space Information Management course, and discover practical strategies for managing information overload without the guilt.


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