What I read for 5 minutes every day to keep up with the news
The Skimm has been a game changer for me
Since I’ve had children, for some reason, I feel like I cannot keep up with world news.
When I open my phone to check the news, I always end up doing something else like buying groceries, or a water bottle for my kids; or booking the laundry guy to pick up clothes. Of course I check the news at work but I just look at headlines and I don’t have the time to read anything in depth.
I’m interested in current affairs and did a Master’s in International Relations with aim to understand the world better; and then, well, life happened and I just couldn’t keep up.
Then I discovered The Skimm and it’s been a game changer for me to keep up with what’s going on. It is a 5 minute summary of the top news, easy to consume and entertaining; but the best thing is that in addition to a really well-written summary, it offers a short backstory of what you are reading, to give you some context in case you want to read deeper.
It’s targeted at women and writes in a simple and conversational tone. It processes the news for you, which is really valuable. Every news portal has biases, but I think this does a good job at trying to be balanced. It’s also full of links to cool life-enhancing tools, apps, and products; I rarely miss an issue.
In hindsight, I feel like the idea to have my own newsletter was planted in my mind subconsciously after reading The Skimm a few years ago. It made me realise the power a newsletter can have. And here we are today!
What got me reading The Skimm to begin with is the story behind how it started: Founded in 2012 by two girls Danielle Weisberg and Carly Zakin, they quit their jobs at NBC and launched this from their couch. They now have 7 million subscribers (New York Times has 7.5 million for reference), an app, two podcasts (one for women navigating life and careers which I’ve bookmarked to listen to), two other newsletters (one on money and one on life), digital courses (the first one is on how to manage your finances), and a book (How to Skimm your Life). So much value there!
They now have more than 70 employees and have raised over $29 million. Their mission has evolved to giving women not just the news, but the ‘information they need to live their smartest lives’.
Living in Dubai, I get The Skimm in my inbox around 3pm every day, which is the perfect inspiration in the middle of a working day. The only thing is you won’t see any local news from Middle East unless the story is of global relevance. Good ol’ Gulf News can fill that gap.
I also use other things like Flipboard or Curio, but they are just aggregators of news based on what you choose to know about; however, the narrative The Skimm offers is unmatched in my opinion.
If you feel like you are left behind in global news updates and want a good read to catch you up in less than the time to go to pee, this is 100% for you. I haven’t explored all the other add ons they have, but all-in-all, it is a bundle of vetted resources for women in one place.
Do you have any such tools that add value to your day?