My Podcast

In a hurry? Don’t feel like reading?

Listen to my podcast by clicking here.

Table of Contents

1. Preface

2. Main Article

3. Readers’ Favorite

4. Stuff

Preface

Recently, I started practicing meditation again.

I do a simple routine on the train on my way to work at 5:45 am: I focus on my breath and clear away distracting thoughts.

That’s it.

After just five days of dedicating 5-10 minutes daily, the results were phenomenal.

My focus began to sharpen significantly—in just 5 days!

But beyond that, an unexpected thing happened: my hands became even steadier. That was simply mind-blowing.

As a surgeon, I have very steady hands to begin with. But when performing procedures under a microscope to connect tiny blood vessels, you notice a very fine tremor every person (and surgeon) has.

It does not affect surgery, it's just something we see.

But after a few days of meditation, that microscopic tremor disappeared. Gone!

That's wild, right?

I guess meditation is considered an extremely powerful tool for a reason.

Today, I want to talk about something that doctors and scientists do all the time: reading.

We don't read like everyone else.

We need to skim data quickly but also understand it deeply. Moreover, we consume literature in PDF format, which, while great for sharing, is a terrible format for reading.

And then there's our exploding email inbox and our desire to read books without carrying them.

So, today, I have a solution for you: Readwise Reader.

Let’s get to it.

Number 76!

Main Article

Navigating the ocean of literature, email newsletters, manuscripts, and books is difficult for any doctor or scientist.

We waste so much time searching for information, attempting to read it, and then trying to comprehend everything in 30 seconds. Sounds familiar?

My initial journey using Readwise Reader was purely experimental—a test to see if it could simplify my digital reading.

I signed up as a beta tester for their application, providing feedback, reporting bugs, and suggesting improvements.

15 months later, this app has evolved into THE reading app I use daily.

It has improved my reading habits so much and saves me at least an hour every day.

In the past few weeks, the app has undergone transformations that have elevated its utility to such an extent — that I had to share it with you.

This is how this app helps me every day:

🔵 No More PDFs

This is a game-changer.

For doctors and scientists, reading PDFs is a routine task.

But after years of struggling with PDFs, we forgot how enjoyable reading can be. No more zooming in and out or squinting at tiny letters on your screen.

With a single click, Readwise Reader transforms PDFs into readable text, allowing you to focus on what truly matters.

🤔How? Click the “Aa” icon and enable "Enhanced text mode".

I love it.

🔵 Built-in AI Capabilities

Readwise Reader has built-in AI tools.

It automatically summarizes any imported document. But that's not all.

You can ask the document a question, generate questions, and even create Q&A pairs based on your highlights.

The best part? The AI responses are based on the document itself, not on imaginary facts like ChatGPT likes to provide.

🤔 How? Click the "Ghostreader” button.

This tool is fantastic for lab meetings, journal clubs, and brainstorming sessions.

🔵 Natural Text-to-Speech

I’ve used text-to-speech software for years.

But none comes close to the natural-sounding voice built into the Readwise Reader app.

This tool allows multitasking, such as listening to your documents while cooking at home or pipetting in the lab. It also enables increased focus by listening and reading simultaneously, which is perfect for tired doctors.

🤔 How? Click the three dots menu and choose "Listen using text-to-speech.”

🔵 Read-it-later Capability

The ability to save webpages, manuscripts, and emails for later reading is crucial for productivity.

It is one of the main features of this app, ensuring that no interesting study, email, or article gets lost during a busy day.

And when you read it, you won't have pop-up messages or ads disrupting your focus. Everything will always appear exactly as you want it to.

🤔 How? Export any document to the Reader app through your phone's menu.

🔵 Enhanced Book Reading

Finally, the e-book reading experience has been truly delightful.

As a beta tester, I have witnessed the app's evolution over the past year.

And now, the Reader app is the ONLY app I use for reading books.

Just last week, I gave my Kindle away to my dear wife. And that means a lot.

🤔 How? Play around with font types, sizes, and line spacing. Then, enable the "Paged scroll" feature.

Pro tip: It's always better to download a book in its EPUB format rather than PDF. Then, open the EPUB file using the Reader app and enjoy.

Readers’ Favorite

How do I manage my references as a scientist?

Watch my video guides on handling references and making PubMed work for you while you sleep.

Stuff

🚀 Enjoy a 60-day free trial of Readwise Reader

Since becoming a paying subscriber to Readwise in September 2022, I have considered it an investment in my personal and professional development.

But I knew my readers would like to test it out for a while before deciding to pay for it.

So, I contacted the Readwise team with a request: to extend their standard 30-day trial period to 60 days for the readers of Friday's Digest. They agreed!

Use this link to try Readwise Reader for two whole months.

Epilogue

If you received this newsletter from a friend and would like to join Friday's Digest, visit https://newsletter.shaysharon.com

That’s it for this issue.

Hope for better times.

Shay