GTD’s standard flow is Capture → Process → Organize → Do. But this assumes everything captured can be immediately classified as actionable, reference, or trash. Some ideas don’t fit. They’re not procrastinated (they’re conceptually unfinished). They’re not blocked (they’re still unformed). They don’t belong in next actions or someday/maybe because they’re still searching for shape.

The missing stage is Refinement: active development of ideas that aren’t ready to become actions yet.

Capture → Process → Refine → Organize → Do

Why Someday/Maybe isn’t enough

Someday/Maybe is often treated as a parking lot for things you’re not doing. But refinement is active, not passive. It requires systems designed for repeated contact: random surfacing, spaced repetition, linking to related ideas. The goal isn’t storage, it’s development.

Refinement systems

Effective refinement needs a container that doesn’t feel like clutter but also doesn’t let good ideas slip away. Examples:

• 2025-12-18_00-53_my-incremental-reading-system My Incremental Reading System uses OmniFocus as a prioritized queue with spaced repetition, separating Distill and Synthesize phases
• 2.6.6.1.1 A Zettelkasten használata a Someday/Maybe lista fejlesztésére describes using Zettelkasten to gradually develop Someday/Maybe items
• 2.6.5.3.2 Splitting information extraction into distillation and synthesis formalizes the cognitive mode separation

The common thread: these aren’t storage systems, they’re development systems. They ensure repeated contact with incomplete ideas until they’re ready to exit refinement.

Two possible outcomes

2026-01-10_23-45_each-pkm-tool-should-have-one-role Each PKM tool should have one role clarifies the three destinations from processing. Ideas that complete refinement become either:

1. A Zettelkasten note - the idea crystallizes into permanent knowledge
2. A project plan - the idea develops into something actionable (via OmniFocus → Craft)

Some ideas never exit. They compost, get deleted, or merge into other ideas. That’s not failure - that’s the filtering function working.

Concepts

• Refinement stage → Active development before action
• Development vs storage → Repeated contact, not parking
• Idea metabolization → Some thoughts need time