Sometimes it may be appropriate to add a article which shouldn't actually be shown until a certain date. The 'effective time' switch at Admin Panel -> Settings -> Switches enables this option. When the switch is on, a submitter can select the future date on which the article should start appearing. From the time they submit (and it's approved, if validation is required) until it shows up, it'll appear only in a special future articles area on the member home main page.

If you need to find articles on your site which aren't yet effective, they won't show up in the normal search so you'll need to go to Admin Panel -> Common Tasks -> Search Items -> "Find articles which will take effect in the future".