Knowledge is power: Apps for microlearning

You’re never too busy to learn something new. This year, pick up another language or skill without taking up a lot of time. Give your brain a boost with these microlearning apps that offer short lessons to fit any schedule.

Catch up on the latest bestsellers or expert-led podcasts with Blinkist's 15-minute recaps. Explore 20+ categories like relationships and family, money and economics, and communication skills and productivity. Save your recommended Blinks to your library, and when you're done reading or listening, hop into a Space to share your thoughts.

The Drops app can help you learn to read, write, and speak a new language with short, gamified daily lessons – no classroom required. From Arabic to Yoruba, choose from 50+ languages, then select your goal(s) and areas of interest like sports or fashion. Test your progress with quizzes and join a monthly challenge to turbocharge your results.

Brush up on topics like art history and microeconomics or life skills like financial literacy and internet safety with Khan Academy’s courses in multiple languages. Browse and bookmark video lessons, transcripts, or courses while tracking your progress on the go.

Whether you want to train your brain or tackle a completely new topic this year, Kinnu can help it stick in under five minutes per day. Choose a pathway like linguistics, chess, or medieval civilizations and jump right in with text and audio lessons. Test your knowledge with reviews as you progress, and handy reminders help keep you on track.

Mimo demystifies coding with five, 10, and 20-minute daily lessons that will have you building apps, websites, and more in no time. Whether you want to master Python, HTML, or JavaScript – or go all in with a full web development course – you'll get a customized curriculum that fits your chosen path and schedule. Get advice from fellow students and keep an eye on the leaderboard to stay motivated.

Uptime’s speedy book, podcast, documentary, and course summaries are the life hacks you’ve been searching for. Find content that suits your interests by topic, title, author, or keyword. Consume that content how you want – whether you prefer reading text, listening to audio, or tapping through visual stories. Really short on time? Jump right to the key insights and save your favorite tips for later.