3 Apps In My Lifelong Learning Strategy

I am a dedicated lifelong learner. Learning is a part of my day-to-day routine, and I consume topic-oriented content via audio, video, and reading throughout my day.

How I Pick My Subjects

Generally, I pick a few core concepts and then mind map their adjacent topics to give me a broader subject base and scope of view. Then, I intentionally add content around those topics into my daily routines, so that I sort of “drip” learning about them at a slow, steady ongoing pace. Every quarter, I clean out the topics I don’t care about any longer, and repeat the exercise, adding new topics to the stuff I liked and kept. I do this for my sub-Reddits, RSS feeds, email lists, newsletters, and podcasts. But, I also do it for the following three apps, which I use nearly every day as a part of my ongoing learning routine.

Apps like these are like having a digital mentor!

Once I pick my topics, I spend a few minutes on each app, tuning their content and making selections. I do this every week as a part of my weekly review. Then, I use one or more of the following apps every day while I am walking, cycling, or sitting for some downtime.

12Min

I bought a lifetime subscription for 12Min from deals.slashdot.org for $39. I had used another book summary service for a few years, but it was $79 per year and had very similar content. So, I made the switch.

12Min has book summaries for many popular non-fiction titles. They have a wide variety and a rapidly growing catalog of both written and audiobook summaries. I often listen to the summary of a book to capture its essence and primary lessons.

For the majority of books, the summary is enough for me for “drip” learning. If I really like the summary or I want to dig deeper then I purchase the full book and really spend more time reading it in depth. I think of summaries as an incarnation of the Pareto Principle, and I greatly enjoy adding width to my knowledge or reinforcing common lessons around a topic.

Uptime

I got in on the initial subscriber base to Uptime. As such, it costs around $20 a year (a discount for early subscribers). Uptime is similar to 12Min, and sometimes their content overlaps, but Uptime also has summaries of documentaries, courses, and…