Guides and reviewed roundups
Learning guides from the Cadence team
Clear answers to problems and curiosities, practical guides for hard moments, and honest learning app reviews. We make Cadence and recommend a different tool when it fits better.
A course built around what matters to you.
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Showing all 69 articles.
Everyday science
2 articles
Understand familiar phenomena with explanations you can test.
Practical guide
Why do we have seasons? Start with a tilted Earth
Understand why Earth has seasons with a simple light-and-paper demonstration, an explanation of opposite hemispheres, and questions to check your understanding.
Practical guide
Why does the Moon seem to change shape?
Learn what causes the Moon's phases, how they differ from an eclipse, and how to start a simple observation notebook without a telescope or special equipment.
History and culture
2 articles
Explore the past through images, places and the evidence behind a story.
Practical guide
How to read a historical photograph without guessing
Read an old photograph carefully: separate visible details from interpretation, check the catalogue record, and build a historical question you can investigate.
Practical guide
How to read an old map and ask better questions
Learn to read an old map by checking its date, purpose, legend and omissions, then compare it with another map without mistaking every difference for change.
Thinking clearly
2 articles
Make sense of claims, numbers and the reasons behind a conclusion.
Practical guide
Correlation and causation: what would prove the claim?
Tell correlation from causation using a worked learning-club example, three alternative explanations, and a practical checklist for reading everyday claims.
Practical guide
Percent versus percentage points: do the comparison
Understand percent versus percentage points with simple examples, the right denominator, and practice questions that make headlines and reports easier to read.
Creativity
2 articles
Look more closely, develop ideas and make something of your own.
Practical guide
How to look at a painting without knowing art history
Try a simple way to look closely at a painting, separate details from interpretation, and use the museum label to deepen your reading rather than replace it.
Practical guide
How to keep an idea notebook you actually return to
Build an idea notebook that goes beyond saved quotes: capture a specific observation, add a question, and turn one entry into a small creative experiment.
Digital literacy
3 articles
Check AI answers and navigate everyday technology with better judgement.
Practical guide
How to learn with AI and check what you understood
Use AI as a study partner with a worked 20-minute session, a reusable prompt, source checks and a final question you answer without the assistant.
Practical guide
How to check an AI answer before you rely on it
Check an AI answer by separating claims, opening original sources, checking dates and recalculating numbers, with a worked example and a reusable review method.
Practical guide
How to check a suspicious message before you click
Learn how to check a suspicious email or text using a separate trusted route, recognise pressure tactics, and practise with a fictional delivery-message example.
Career skills
23 articles
Practical guides to the conversations and decisions at work.
Practical guide
How to delegate a task without taking it back
Delegate a task with a clear outcome, decision boundaries, resources and a useful check-in. Includes a worked handover and a way to handle problems without micromanaging.
New manager guide
Your first one-on-one as a new manager
Run your first one-on-one as a new manager with a 30-minute agenda, opening script, questions, and a free template you can use without signing up.
Practical guide
How to influence without authority at work
Influencing without authority: find the real decision owner, understand their interests, bring useful evidence, and ask for a small next step.
Practical guide
How to prioritize work when everything feels urgent
A practical way to prioritize competing work: compare consequences, account for dependencies, make uncertainty visible, and negotiate what will move or stop.
Practical guide
How to prepare for a work presentation that leads to a decision
Prepare a work presentation that leads somewhere: define the audience decision, write one clear point, choose evidence, rehearse aloud, and plan the Q&A.
Practical guide
How to practise for a job interview
How to practise for a job interview: build ten answers from the job description, rehearse each one aloud from memory, and score it against a written standard.
Communication skills
The 10 most important communication skills for work
The 10 most important communication skills for work, with concrete examples, a sensible order for learning them, and a way to choose what to practise first.
Communication tips
10 communication tips you can use at work today
Ten practical communication tips for clearer emails, meetings, feedback, and difficult conversations, with examples you can use in real work today.
Communication frameworks
5 communication frameworks that make work clearer
Five useful communication frameworks for emails, feedback, updates, and proposals, with workplace examples, limits, and a quick way to choose the right one.
Clear speaking
How to organize your thoughts before speaking at work
A practical method to organize your thoughts before speaking, stop rambling in meetings, answer unexpected questions, and make your point clearly at work.
Reviewed roundup
The best communication skills apps for work
Compare six communication skills apps for work, including tools for difficult conversations, writing, workplace English, speaking feedback, and daily learning.
Reviewed roundup
The best public speaking apps, sorted by how you need to practise
Compare the best public speaking apps for delivery feedback, private rehearsal, realistic presentation rooms, instructor-led courses, and daily learning.
Reviewed roundup
The best apps for new managers
The best apps for new managers, compared by the problem you have this week: your first one-to-ones, feedback you keep postponing, or a team you inherited.
Reviewed roundup
Apps to practise difficult conversations at work
Apps for practising difficult conversations at work, compared by whether they let you rehearse or only explain, and where a colleague beats any of them.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Yoodli worth paying for?
Is Yoodli worth it? Our review covers AI roleplays, speaking feedback, free and paid limits, data choices, and when a course or human coach fits better.
Practical guide
How to give feedback that actually changes something
A practical method for giving feedback at work: what to say, the sentence patterns that fail, and how to tell whether the message actually landed.
Practical guide
How to have a difficult conversation at work
How to prepare for and hold a hard conversation at work: the opening sentence, what to do when it goes badly, and the mistakes that make things worse.
Practical guide
Your first 90 days as a new manager
What to do in your first 90 days managing people: what to change early, what to leave alone, and common mistakes to avoid.
Practical guide
How to manage up without being political
How to manage up at work: getting decisions out of a busy manager, disagreeing safely, and handling the common types of difficult boss.
Practical guide
How to run a meeting that ends in a decision
How to run effective meetings: the agenda that works, how to handle the person who derails it, and which meetings to cancel outright.
Practical guide
How to negotiate a job offer without losing it
How to negotiate a job offer: what to say when asked for a number, how to counter, and what is negotiable besides salary.
Practical guide
How to get promoted from individual contributor to senior
What actually gets you promoted from individual contributor to senior: the scope shift, the evidence to collect, and why doing your job well is not enough.
Practical guide
How to get good at AI at work when nobody trained you
A self-directed way to get genuinely good at using AI for your own job, in the time you actually have, with no budget, no course and no manager support.
Choosing an app
25 articles
Roundups and reviews for deciding what to actually use.
Practical guide
How to test a learning app before paying for it
Evaluate a learning app with one real goal, a complete lesson, an answer check and a return visit. Includes a simple comparison record and subscription checks.
Reviewed roundup
The 10 best language learning apps in 2026, matched to how you learn
Compare 10 of the best language learning apps for structured courses, speaking, audio lessons, native content, language exchange, and free access.
Reviewed roundup
The best daily learning apps for 2026, compared by what you want to learn
Compare the best daily learning apps for 2026, including Headway, Brilliant, Duolingo, Kinnu, and Cadence, by subject, free access, and pricing.
Reviewed roundup
The best microlearning apps, sorted by what they teach
Compare the best microlearning apps for adults by what they teach: custom daily courses, general knowledge, STEM, book summaries, visual lessons, and audio.
Reviewed roundup
19 best apps for learning skills as an adult, compared by subject
Compare 19 of the best apps for learning skills as an adult: languages, maths, coding, exams, instruments and work skills, plus when each is the wrong pick.
Reviewed roundup
9 free learning apps for adults, no subscription required
Compare 9 free learning apps for adults you can use without a subscription or payment trial, including Cadence, Khan Academy, Duolingo, edX, and Anki.
Reviewed roundup
The best apps for learning skills you actually use at work
The best apps for learning workplace skills, from software and certificates to the harder ones like giving feedback, running meetings, and managing up.
Reviewed roundup
Apps like Duolingo for other subjects
Compare apps like Duolingo for other subjects, including maths, science, memory, work skills, university courses, book ideas, and chess.
Reviewed roundup
Learning app costs in 2026
Compare current US consumer prices and free tiers for Coursera Plus, Udemy, Cadence, Khan Academy, Brilliant, and other learning apps, checked 20 August 2026.
Reviewed roundup
The most affordable learning apps in 2026
Compare ten affordable learning options by free access, optional subscriptions, one-time purchases, and the subject you want to learn.
Reviewed roundup
Apps to replace doomscrolling, honestly compared
Apps to stop doomscrolling by replacing the habit rather than blocking it, with an honest note on which ones feel like scrolling and which do not.
Reviewed roundup
Blinkist alternatives, sorted by why you are leaving
The best Blinkist alternatives, sorted by why you are leaving: price, format, depth, or wanting to build a skill instead of collecting book summaries.
Reviewed roundup
Headway alternatives, compared by what you want next
The best Headway alternatives, compared by what you actually want: a bigger catalogue, a lower price, more depth, or something that teaches a skill.
Reviewed roundup
Imprint alternatives, and which of them are free
Kinnu and Anki are the genuinely free Imprint alternatives. What each one gives away, what the paid options add, and which fits the goal you actually have.
Reviewed roundup
AI apps that build a course on any topic
AI course generator apps compared: what each one builds from a topic you type, what the free tiers really allow, and which suits a goal instead of a one-off.
Side-by-side guide
Brilliant vs Khan Academy: choose by how you need to learn
Compare Brilliant and Khan Academy by teaching style, subjects, free access, test preparation, adult learning, and when using both makes sense.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Blinkist worth it?
Is Blinkist worth it? Our review covers what the subscription actually includes, who gets value from book summaries, and when a different app is the better buy.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Headway worth it?
Is the Headway app worth it? Our review covers what the subscription includes, who it suits, and where a different app or the book itself is the better choice.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Imprint worth it?
Is the Imprint app worth it? What the subscription includes, who the visual lessons suit, and when a different app teaches the same idea better.
Reviewed evaluation
Is the Nibble app worth it?
Is the Nibble app worth it? What the ten-minute lessons include, who the curiosity-first format suits, and where an ordered course fits better.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Brilliant worth it?
Is Brilliant worth it? What the interactive courses include, who the problem-first method suits, and when a free alternative teaches the same thing.
Reviewed evaluation
Is BeFreed worth it?
Is BeFreed worth it? Our 2026 review covers its adaptive audio plans, source uploads, live practice claims, price, best fit, and limits.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Deepstash worth it?
Is Deepstash worth it? What the free feed and Pro include, the monthly and yearly prices Apple lists, and when an ordered course suits you better.
Reviewed evaluation
Is Deepstash free, and is the free tier enough?
Is Deepstash free? The free tier carries the full idea library. What Pro adds, the prices Apple lists, and how to tell if free is enough for you.
Reviewed evaluation
Is LinkedIn Learning worth it?
Is LinkedIn Learning worth it? Premium, employer and library access, course quality, certificates, and when another learning format fits better.
Learning better
10 articles
How to build the habit, and what the research actually supports.
Practical guide
How to turn notes into practice questions you can trust
Make flashcards and quizzes from notes or a PDF with a reusable prompt, a worked example, an answer-key check and a method for fixing weak questions.
Practical guide
How to build a self-study plan you can adjust
Build a realistic self-study plan with a four-week example, a weekly template, practice tasks and a rule for adjusting the plan after missed sessions.
Practical guide
How to use retrieval practice after reading an article
Use retrieval practice after reading: close the page, explain the idea from memory, check your answer, and try a new example with this short worked exercise.
From the Cadence team
Use an AI chatbot for an answer. Use Cadence for a path.
Compare a quick AI answer, one focused preparation session, and a short multi-day Cadence path. See when chat wins and when continuity matters.
From the Cadence team
We are building a learn-anything app. We are starting with career skills.
Why Cadence is building a course for any curiosity while starting with career skills such as communication, leadership, judgement, and self-management.
From the Cadence team
What people actually want to learn, from our own data
What learners typed when a course could be about anything: speaking dominates, almost every goal is one of a kind, and courses built from a learner's own words get used far more.
Practical guide
How to actually learn something new every day
Try a ten-minute daily learning routine and a seven-day worked example, with recall questions, answer checks, and a simple way to see your progress.
Practical guide
What to do instead of scrolling
What to do instead of scrolling, matched to the moment you reach for your phone, with finite options for queues, commutes, task breaks, and bedtime.
Sourced research
Microlearning statistics, with the studies behind them
Microlearning statistics with real citations: what studies on spacing, retrieval, and forgetting actually found, and which popular numbers have no source.
Sourced research
How long should a lesson actually be?
How long a learning session should be, according to actual studies: why length matters less than spacing and recall, and where the 10-minute claim comes from.
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From Cadence editorial
Useful first. Honest about fit.
Each article answers one clear question, links the references behind its claims, and names the tradeoffs that matter to the decision.
Read our editorial standards
Your next question
Turn a problem or curiosity into a course made for you.
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