I have the "new replies to your posts" bookmarked so it comes up first.
Then click on "new posts since last visit", and scan it for interesting stuff.
I will skip over new posts in certain forums, like the "Drinkin' and Chasin' Women" forum, or skip posts that don't look interesting.
Some topics I have replied to get repetitive or drift, and I will "unnotify"them in my profile, except that feature ain't working right now.