The Secret Power of ‘Read It Later’ Apps - Forte Labs

The Secret Power of ‘Read It Later’ Apps - Forte Labs

Reading is a powerful tool that allows us to expand our thinking and understand different perspectives. It requires time and effort, but the ability to read is becoming a valuable skill in today's world. In a time where attention spans are decreasing, being able to sit quietly and focus for sustained periods is a competitive advantage.

Google conducted a study and found that increasing the number of search results per page caused a significant drop-off in users. This shows that our ability to focus and process information is limited. Uncompleted tasks also take up mental space and limit clarity and focus, according to Dr. Roy Baumeister. The fear of not being able to finish a long article or book often prevents us from even starting it.

Read It Later apps, such as Pocket, offer a solution to this problem. By saving articles and resources for later consumption, we can create a pool of options to choose from. This allows us to make decisions from a higher perspective and align them with what truly matters to us. These apps also provide features like highlighting and sharing, making it easier to organize and revisit valuable information.

In addition to increasing consumption of long-form content, Read It Later apps can also help with better filtering. With the overwhelming amount of content available on the internet, it's essential to have curators who can sift through the garbage and collect the gems. Curators spend countless hours finding the best resources and formatting them in a readable manner. They ensure that the content they curate is of high quality, not just quantity.

Curation as a service is gaining importance in today's digital age. Curators act as life preservers for the web, saving us from drowning in content overload. They are domain experts or individuals with a deep obsession for a particular topic. Their expertise allows them to find the best resources and present them in a curated manner.

Ideas are high leverage agents, and they become even more powerful when arranged in highly cross-referenced networks. The human brain is the only tool capable of creating and accessing these networks on demand. By assimilating and building on the ideas of others, we can learn faster and avoid making the same mistakes ourselves.

To make the most of Read It Later apps and curation as a service, here are three actionable pieces of advice:

1. Take advantage of the highlighting and sharing features in Read It Later apps. Export key passages and highlights to a note-taking app like Evernote for easier organization and retrieval.

2. Embrace the power of curation. Find curators who specialize in topics of interest to you and follow their recommendations. By relying on their expertise, you can save time and access high-quality content.

3. Build your own network of ideas. Connect the dots between different concepts and create a web of knowledge in your mind. This will allow you to make connections and see patterns that others might miss.

In conclusion, Read It Later apps and curation as a service offer valuable tools for navigating the vast amount of content available to us. By using these tools effectively, we can increase our consumption of long-form content, filter out the noise, and harness the power of ideas. Take advantage of the features provided by Read It Later apps, seek out trusted curators, and build your own network of ideas to enhance your learning and understanding.