Latest news with #booksummary
Fast Company
6 days ago
- Business
- Fast Company
How to make progress on your career goals when you've hit the midyear slump
Each January, we set lofty resolutions for ourselves: increasing our output, landing that promotion, and negotiating a raise. Then progress stalls, motivation dips, and those big goals become distant dreams. Research from Headway—a book summary app designed to help people achieve their self-development goals—shows that 60% of people are embarrassed by how little progress they've made this year, with 44% close to writing off their 2025 resolutions. As a productivity coach, I know how beneficial resolutions can be—but also how quickly they can sap morale and motivation when combined with the wrong mindset. But it doesn't have to be all or nothing. There's no deadline, and you haven't failed if you don't complete your resolutions by December 31st. So if you've hit a midyear slump, don't panic. These strategies can help you to reset, refocus, and rebuild momentum: Subscribe to the Daily newsletter. Fast Company's trending stories delivered to you every day Privacy Policy | Fast Company Newsletters 1. Reframe your setbacks Setback carries negative connotations, but it's just another word for experience, and experience is essential for growth. Instead of brushing these moments aside—or beating yourself up over them—note down each time you've tried and failed, then reflect on what these experiences taught you, shifting your mindset from self-criticism to self-awareness. Where did it go wrong, and what would you do differently next time? Setbacks aren't roadblocks; they're stepping stones—with each one providing valuable insight that will aid your next attempt, making you more resilient and better prepared. In fact, research shows that a failure rate of around 15% is optimal for self-growth. 2. Utilize the Zeigarnik effect Many people recommend breaking your resolutions down into smaller, more achievable tasks. Yet, that constant sense of achievement can kill your productivity. You tick a small step off your to-do list and reward yourself with a break, hitting reset on your momentum. Instead, you need to use the Zeigarnik effect to your advantage. This is a phenomenon where our brains are hardwired to focus on unfinished tasks and quickly forget about the ones we've completed. Instead of wrapping up your day with your to-do list at 100% completed, end at 80%. The next day, you'll be ready to pick up where you left off. But once you finish a task, move immediately on to the next to keep the momentum going. This approach will keep your goal front of mind, maintain a sense of urgency, and prevent that post-completion slump that too often derails our progress. 3. Cut yourself some slack You're not the person you were six months ago. Life shifts and priorities change, so your January goals might be unrealistic today. That's okay. Some 27% of people say simply surviving 2025 is commendable—and they're right. Close to half fear a global conflict is on the horizon, one in five find themselves worrying that a loved one could face deportation, and there has been a sharp rise in the number of people struggling to make ends meet. Tensions are high, and we're all struggling with something, so go easy on yourself. If you need to scale back your resolutions or hit pause until 2026? There's no shame in it. advertisement 4. Stop striving for perfection You don't have to navigate your goals alone—or stick rigidly to the resolutions you set in January. You simply need to stay connected to your intentions, especially when motivation starts to dip. That might mean scheduling regular check-ins with yourself where you can remind yourself why you set certain goals in the first place, take time to note what's working and what isn't, and adjust accordingly to match the current pace of life. Progress isn't about perfection. It's about staying in tune with what matters most to you and seeking to better yourself. By being too tough on yourself—denying yourself the space, flexibility, and self-trust to get there in the end—you're not pushing yourself to achieve; you're pushing yourself to quit. 5. Focus on recovery With 61% of people having suffered a meltdown in 2025, it's clear we're demanding too much of ourselves, and another midyear resolution won't help. The problem is, we set ambitious goals on top of our already overloaded schedules, then sacrifice our sleep and downtime to pursue them. It's no surprise we burn out when our bodies and minds are running on empty. So instead of pushing yourself to do more, push yourself to rest more. Your midyear resolutions should be to sleep eight hours each night, stop checking your emails after hours, and use up all your vacation days. There's a reason athletes take rest days and CEOs swear by meditation. What's good for the body and mind is great for productivity, so if you set resolutions that help you rest, relax, and recover, your career will undoubtedly profit.
Globe and Mail
08-06-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
Microlearning apps promise to make you smarter in just 15 minutes. Do they?
Riding the self-help wave, a new class of microlearning apps promises to make you smarter in just 15 minutes — one bite-sized book summary at a time. Apps such as Wiser, Headway, Blinkist, and Shortform distill thousands of nonfiction titles into quick, digestible audio or text summaries on topics ranging from productivity to psychology. Viral hits such as Atomic Habits and The 5 AM Club are trimmed down to their core takeaways, letting users squeeze in a dose of personal growth while folding laundry or commuting to work. The model is clearly resonating: Blinkist now counts more than 26 million users globally, while Headway boasts over 50 million downloads – evidence that microlearning is no longer a fringe habit, and these users are willing to pay $80 to $200 a year for it. Is AI dulling critical-thinking skills? As tech companies court students, educators weigh the risks For one avid user, Virginia-based podcast host and entrepreneur Mickey Mellen, microlearning apps offer a useful preview of a book before committing to the full read. His podcast, Stacking Knowledge, explores business and biographical books in depth, and he finds these platforms especially helpful for revisiting, recapping, and reinforcing ideas after finishing the original version. Mellen uses the apps for about 30 minutes each week, often to refresh key takeaways ahead of interviewing guest speakers. Still, as the summaries begin to feel increasingly AI-generated, Mellen admits, 'the satisfaction is fading.' Some microlearning apps, such as Blinkist and Headway, are indeed turning to generative AI for various features — Blinkist has recently rolled out an AI feature that turns user-uploaded content into summaries, while Headway has integrated AI-powered features into its advertising products. But for Mellen, that shift blurs the line between what these apps offer and what tools like ChatGPT can already do — and do more interactively. 'I enjoy just talking to the assistant and having a conversation about a book,' Mellen, who occasionally uses the generative AI tool as a substitute for microlearning apps, says. Three money topics to tackle with your teenager as university acceptance letters arrive Mellen's skepticism reflects a larger tension at the core of commercialized microlearning: while the concept is rooted in sound educational theory, some experts argue that its app-based incarnation prioritizes convenience over comprehension. Dr. Adam Dube, associate professor of learning sciences and director of the Technology, Learning, & Cognition (TLC) Lab at McGill University, explains that these apps may be more effective at scratching the itch for productivity than fostering real understanding. When we read, she says, new information enters our working memory and connects with what's already stored in long-term memory. We're not just absorbing words — we're actively drawing on past knowledge to make sense of them. These connections don't always happen instantly; they often emerge a few pages later or during moments of rest, when a memory resurfaces or a detail finally clicks. Microlearning, by contrast, delivers isolated bits of information and disrupts this slow, integrative process, making it harder to engage with ideas in a way that truly stays with readers in the long term. Beyond efficiency, part of these apps' appeal lies in their gamified design — users are nudged to maintain reading streaks, complete curated challenges, and rack up trophies for hitting weekly goals — all tracked and compared against others. But these surface-level incentives, too, are contested by experts. Dube's research shows little evidence that they actually improve learning — gamification only works when it's tied to genuine cognitive effort or a learner's grasp of the material, he explains: 'You're engaging in the learning activity to get the reward, as opposed to understanding the concept.' Parents are staging elaborate 'core memories' they hope their kids will remember. Does it really work that way? Even though microlearning apps position themselves as antidotes to 'doomscrolling' on social media, many adopt features similar to those used by social media platforms, which can also deepen the very habits they promise to disrupt. Dr. Shimi Kang, a psychiatrist and neuroscientist, warns that microlearning apps may not replace doomscrolling so much as add to it — becoming yet another source of distraction in an already fractured digital environment. 'If someone is trying to study and learn a topic and gets distracted by their microlearning app beeping or notifications — studies show it takes at least 23 minutes to refocus on a task after an interruption,' says Kang, who is also an author of several nonfiction self-help titles, including The Tech Solution: Creating Healthy Habits for Kids Growing Up in a Digital World. Constant toggling between tasks doesn't just erode focus, she adds — it triggers a stress response. 'When we have trouble focusing, our nervous system will ask: Why can't you focus? Is there a hurricane? Is there a predator? And it will fire cortisol, the stress hormone, just from switching attention rapidly.' Over time, that cognitive wear-and-tear, she says, can carry real consequences for both mental clarity and overall wellbeing. That said, Kang acknowledges that microlearning isn't without merit. 'When you're only having to focus for, let's say, three to five minutes, it can be more achievable,' she notes. If the content is well-crafted and focused, it can reduce cognitive overload and offer a quick sense of accomplishment — especially for busy users or those who struggle with sustained attention. 'It fits with our understanding of neurodiversity,' she adds, pointing out that people absorb information in different ways — visually, auditorily, or logically. 'As long as the message isn't altered, I welcome any platform that gets good information out there.' Some university professors say AI is here to stay, so students should learn how to use it Like Kang, Todd Cunningham, a professor in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, acknowledges the benefits of microlearning apps in certain use-case scenarios — particularly when they supplement, rather than substitute, long-form reading. One proven strategy for boosting comprehension and retention, he explains, is to briefly survey a text to 'get your brain thinking about what you're going to read.' In that sense, microlearning apps can function as a kind of cognitive warm-up. But he cautions that relying solely on summaries can create 'a false sense of learning.' I decided to try one of these apps myself — listening to a summary of Homo Deus by Yuval Noah Harari on Wiser. There was undeniable satisfaction in being served up mini-nuggets of insight: a quick hit of intellectual nourishment. But that satisfaction came with a sense of loss. The experience felt flat — more mechanical than meaningful. Unlike a full audiobook on Audible, it wasn't thoughtfully narrated; instead, a baritone, automated voice delivered dense, jargony ideas with no room for imagination or interpretation. On the page, I often find myself imagining the narrator's tone, personality, even their wardrobe choices. There's the book, and there's my relationship with the book. Here, the latter was compromised. The rich fodder of the page was replaced by a kind of convenient fast-food takeout: efficient, digestible, but ultimately, forgettable.
