31 - Information Workflow - is a framework you can use for thinking about how to deal with incoming information in knowledge work.
One way to deal with new information is to break it down into atomized chunks that allow it to be incorporated into a spaced repetition software for memorization. This is the information that you believe to be important because it is required for a school test or you anticipate high usage. This is important because we store memories for later use.
The second way to deal with new information is to record it in a reference system instead of memorization. Reference systems can take the form of personal wikis, note collections, and reference books. This has been the purpose of note taking throughout much of human history as a way to deal with information overload. In medieval times, reference systems take the form of reference books containing quotes and associations (x plant is good for curing y disease). Some reference books contained collections of summaries which would give readers an idea if a book is worth checking out.
The third way to deal with new information is to integrate it into a zettelkasten, which goes beyond information management (the second way, e.g. a wiki) and works towards knowledge development.
The fourth way to deal with new information is to immediately use. You are constantly doing this throughout life. When you see a car in your rear-view mirror, you immediately incorporate it into your existing model of that roadway.
The final way to deal with new information is to just ignore it. This is what we do with the vast majority of information and stimuli. You don’t memorize all the words in a book, instead you selectively take notes or create an internal abstraction of the books argument.