The Habit Architect

THA S2 EP#4 - Micro-Learning: Small Habits, Big Results with Ana Mashchuk

• Season 2 • Episode 4

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Can 10 minutes of focused learning change how you lead and grow? In this episode, Michael Cupps talks with Ana Mashchuk of Headway Inc to explore how micro-learning helps busy professionals build better habits, sharpen leadership skills, and boost team performance.

What you’ll learn:
 ✔️ What micro-learning looks like in real life
 ✔️ How top teams use it to build stronger culture
 ✔️ Tips to start a 10-minute learning habit

Listen in and make learning part of your daily rhythm.

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Michael Cupps:

Hi, good morning. This is Michael Cupps with the Habit Architect. I'm excited to be here this morning. I've enjoyed getting to know our guest today. But before I do that, I just wanna mention be sure to check out Time Bandit. And we've got a new bundle out there if you buy the bundle, you get digital training, app book, and our AI assistant coach, and it's in one easy click and one easy button. Just go to timebandit.io and learn about it, and it'll take you to the learning site. So join us there. So my guest today is Anna. And Anna, I've interviewed her before on a different podcast. She's a great individual. She's coming to us from Kiev and she works with a company called Headway. And we're gonna spend the day talking a little bit about habits around micro learning, her company, her experiences, and I'm really looking forward to it. So let's welcome Anna.

Ana Mashchuk:

Hi all.

Michael Cupps:

So good to see you again.

Ana Mashchuk:

Hi

Michael Cupps:

So good to see you again. Welcome. Why don't we start with just a quick introduction of yourself.

Ana Mashchuk:

Yeah, of course. It's a pleasure to be here. Thank you, Michael, for inviting me. So my name is Anna and I work at Headway Inc in the B2B department. And we are providing micro learning for teams and I'm helping companies integrate micro learning and build a strong leader. And learning culture for almost four years at hybrid business, I've helped more than 500 companies to improve their corporate learning. Our clients are Vodafone, Google, Cisco Fors, Amazon, Disney, and many others.

Michael Cupps:

That's fantastic. And full disclosure, I'm a headway customer. I use the app and personally, I've used it for almost three years now. Probably the first time I met you a few years ago and I just love it for what it does. And we're gonna talk a little bit about that. But I do enjoy using the app and I think I've got several people using it now and because I talk about it so much, so it's so good to see you again and thank you for that introduction and to headway. I just wanna address one thing real quick. I know you're in. It's been, there's been unrest there for way too long. How are things going for you?

Ana Mashchuk:

Thanks for asking. That's a tough to answer actually, because we get used to these new conditions here. Of course, sometimes at night it might be hard because Russia attacks us. They like to attacks at night. But in the morning we wake up and start building our product headway ink I love my cliques because you come here and we are making, just we, there's really good emotions to share and we have so many great things to discuss, to laugh, and so I forget about all this stuff. Yeah. Work. So I'm just, we're balancing that. Maybe that's how I will call it right now.

Michael Cupps:

Sure, sure. That's, that's fair. Well, I'm glad to see you're safe and I hope. Hopefully that'll be resolved soon, but I would tell everybody to check out the new headway offices, go to Anna's, LinkedIn profile. There's some great pictures of her and the teams in that new office space. So that's exciting. So, let's start with microlearning. Can you explain what micro learning is and why somebody would be interested in it?

Ana Mashchuk:

Of course. So micro learning is an educational approach that deliver knowledge in bite-sized and easily digestible channels. For some people I understand it might be something new because microlearning immersed not so many years ago. Actually people wanna learn, but they don't have enough time. I think it's the most popular thing, and our attention and focus span is getting shorter. Most adults have busy schedules and it became harder to find time for proper learning. So with micro learning. We can access educational content anytime, anywhere, and on any device. It seamlessly integrates into busy routines. And now in just 15 minutes, you can listen to a book summary, learning new language, read an insightful article, or watch, TEDx video, for example. The model, and nature. Oh, sorry. Just a little bit lecture if it's possible. To share more information about microlearning. So the model, learning nature of microlearning enables people to progress their own face. It's like the key thing of it. So we can take a small, manageable steps towards our self-development goals without feeling burdened. And the pleasant benefit of micro learning. It employs spaced repetition so we can review information and can, we can improve our knowledge. Tention, that's fantastic. That's why I like micro learning. People like to listen to summaries and something insightful in the morning and while commuting. It's 90% of our audience. Most of them educate in the morning and they come inspired to their workplace and they can quickly implement those insights and that's fantastic because they can influence their decision making. They can make better results at work, they can better communicate with colleagues and achieve results in much faster way. So I think micro learning is a really powerful tool.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah, that's great. And I apologize if there's distractions with people walking behind me, but I am at the Dallas Portwood Airport,. Let's talk about how you use talk about how your customers, your B2B customers are using. How, do you have a routine that , you've talked about some people read it in the morning or listen to it in the morning. How, what's your routine with headway?

Ana Mashchuk:

Yeah, so mine is, I use it at work of course, in the morning while commuting. I'm reading my fiction books, just full sized because we don't provide. Fiction, only nonfiction, but during work, usually I, read book summaries between meetings where when I'm waiting for my client, I understand everything that they can be late for five, seven minutes. And it's my learning time. And I also love to educate after lunch, you know, when it, when you. Can't do anything after lunch, you would like to lay down and that's it. So I try to focus and try to switch on my brain and say, okay, you don't want to do a hard task. That's okay. So we'll read this summary. And then it'll be much easier to switch.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah, absolutely. And if you think about that work setting, you may be staring at a screen all morning. And then after lunch, you just wanna take a break and rest your eyes and things like that. So that's a great way of just not only learning, but also kind of changing the way the dopamine in your brain works a little bit to give it to relax a little bit. That's awesome., Let's talk about your B2B program. So companies, you mentioned a bunch of very big companies that are using it. What's, let's start with what's the structure of the program?

Ana Mashchuk:

hardware for business, is a micro-learning solution where you can educate people and what is more important your employees can upskill and close soft-skill gaps with our solution, so we can connect to your learning needs and your strategy. Yeah. And if your team needs to improve, for example, communication, leadership skills, yeah, we can work together to make it happen. And your colleagues can have individual plans for improving the skills and our. Main value of the application. We do it in a fun and easy way. So we'll provide gamification scores. So it not be just something where you sit like in the lesson and you need to be prepared and do this homework. It's part of the game and that's why companies love our product and continue using it and continue our subscription.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah, that's fantastic. If I understood you correctly, as a team. Or as a company, they create recommendation of books for their teams. Is that how it works? Where they could go say, here's the books that we'd like you to read, and then they could still go elsewhere and read others. Is that right?

Ana Mashchuk:

Right. So we provide many customized, features and a company can advertise book summaries to departments, to people. And for example, in August, they can make months of communication. Even send notifications to your employees and say, okay, your CEO is currently reading, for example, a topic, habits or coaching for performance by John Whitmore. An employee can open this book summary and read together with the CEO and can educate, other custom features we offer. Yeah, it helps people , to receive real time skills and educate together,

Michael Cupps:

have you seen anybody, just a random, it just popped in my head. Did they have. Sort of book club meetings , where after they've all read it, they sit and talk about it?

Ana Mashchuk:

Yes. And they have actually, one of our client, they are having a special platform for learning and it's like social network, but only for their team.

Michael Cupps:

Ah.

Ana Mashchuk:

And they can publish, some possible their tips about what they have read in the Headway app, what insight they received, what they have learned, practiced, whatever. And based on this, they received some scores, badges. It's also part of the gamification and the top reader. I don't remember what reward actually, but it's something physical. And it's, I think, the most powerful thing because you can engage your team into this learning and make it part of the game. And I love book clubs actually. I also have one about fiction and nonfiction in the Hadaway.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah.

Ana Mashchuk:

So yeah, it works. And other people can see those insights that you didn't even mark for yourself.

Michael Cupps:

And that's fantastic. Powerful. That is very fun. And it's fun, right?

Ana Mashchuk:

I think the leadership team inside companies are the, best motivation for employees. And we have, several techniques how we can engage people into the app, into the learning, into reading. We're experts in this and nothing happens without, an influencer inside the team. Yeah. It's also one of the really good thing to have just your personal influencer who says, oh, I have read this book summary in the Headway app, so I recommend this and try it and treat it.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah. And I guess, I don't know, other parts of the world, but in the US more people are being. Pushed back into the office, meaning that remote work is now only two days a week, or three days a week. But, and so I think that builds a community also, when they're in the office, they could take, time to talk about those books and share experiences and so on, and challenge each other for the next book.

Ana Mashchuk:

One really good thing that such tools as Head of for Business can unite not only those people who are in the office who just gone offline, but teams who work remotely. It's something that you can also implement online. I love to discuss books with my colleagues.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah. Well, here's a question for you. What kind of feedback are you getting from your B2B customers? What are they telling you about the program? Has there been any major revelations or anything?

Ana Mashchuk:

Yeah, so they can see more engagement in the team inside. One of the problem, the challenges of big companies right now, that they have many learning solutions that they provide to their employees. If we have no time for them, no time for long courses. Company is paying too much. For tools that employees do not use regularly. With the How do a business, it's a Mobile first application. You can educate anytime, anywhere, and on any device, and you need just from five to 15 minutes. So it's much easier for you to gain those insight.. And the second thing is, we have a really great case about leadership. So most of our clients focus on developing their leadership team and they read book summaries on communication skills, on how to provide feedback, how to manage. Tough conversations, how to deal with those people who have ADHD because their mind works differently. So if you understand more about how to work with those people, I think it'll be much better results in terms of the effectiveness of your team. So I think this is the most important metric that we have when we influence on the management team. And they can improve, many skills, I would say, like this, with their team. And if you lead by example, of course, and you just change, you try to look more better. And so your employees will also copy this and the productivity of an organization can rise.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah, and what's interesting about that is the benefits world, the employee benefit world is kind of older and it's not really accessible. It's not hitting a lot of the same wellness benefits that you're just talking about. And this allows you to offer a program that gives the employee flexibility, but it also helps them evolve into whatever their interest may be, 'cause sometimes I find myself on the headway up in the morning, listening to a business book in the afternoon, I may be listening to something about meditation or Buddhism or whatever it may be. And so you can. It's not always about, that one task that you're doing, you're getting more well-rounded employees.

Ana Mashchuk:

Yeah, that's correct. And one thing that I also gain from the headway, book summary, that sometimes people have different type of thinking and you need just to accept.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah.

Ana Mashchuk:

Sometimes I'm just, it's not about. The wrong process or the wrong thought. It's because it's another person and their brain works differently. And yeah, just when you have those sorts of information, that's, that

Michael Cupps:

Okay, so let's zoom out and let's talk about what is a good learning program for an A team? Let's just take a, that team, let's. Whatever team structure you have, what would be headway's advice to, is it, one book a week? What , do you advise on any kind of how, what's the pace?

Ana Mashchuk:

Mm-hmm. So we recommend to read two, three book summaries on a weekly basis. Each person can choose, their own pace and their own challenge. Once they download the Headway app, they can choose this, in the settings and the Headway app will based on this, recommend. Based on this information, we'll recommend book summaries and set notifications. Two, three can be a really good start. And of course, a person can have, the best reader that we have right now, and they read seven book summaries, per week. So one summary per day.

Michael Cupps:

That's fantastic. Yeah, that's great. So it sounds like there's a couple things there that

Ana Mashchuk:

and it's like consistently, , his streak is about 2 49 days, if I'm not mistaken. So it's like a consistent work, one book summary per day. And yeah, so I think it's an amazing results.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah. That's amazing. So, just to kind of summarize the B2B side leadership teams is particularly useful for, to get them on the same page, so to speak, and collaborating on things that will help drive their business with teams. It's about setting directional goals to, whether it's about communications or certain, particular aspects of it. And then it's more about, it's also about just well-rounded. Offering a benefit to your employees that they're gonna enjoy, I think it seems like. So, let's talk about you then. I'm curious what your streak is and what, what habits around micro learning do you practice?

Ana Mashchuk:

I have like my own time for self-learning in the morning, after lunch and before I go to bed. As I previously mentioned in the morning, I read my fiction books. Right now I'm reading Sanatorium by Sarah Pierce. It's a detective book. And then after lunch I, have my reading of nonfiction book summaries and before going, to that, I reflect about the day and try to understand what was good. Where I have room for improvement. As for the app, I also love to journal my day, my thoughts and my weeks.

Michael Cupps:

Journaling is,

Ana Mashchuk:

Just to reflect.

Michael Cupps:

I think journaling is one of the best habits people can have because it has this way of just getting things that you need to get. Out, and then you can reflect on 'em and change behavior, or don't change behavior, or just enjoy writing 'em down sometimes. I think it's a wonderful habit. That's, great. So are you gonna write your own book? It sounds like you really like fiction. Are you gonna write a fiction book someday? No?

Ana Mashchuk:

I actually did.

Michael Cupps:

Oh, you did?

Ana Mashchuk:

Many years ago. It just , for me and my family, it was a very limited edition. It was a short story about a boy and, his adventures.

Michael Cupps:

Nice.

Ana Mashchuk:

But I'm journaling for myself. Maybe In some years. I'll think about writing a book. For something else, but right now I try to write LinkedIn post.

Michael Cupps:

Yes,

Ana Mashchuk:

You can understand how sometimes it's hard and, when you try to write a new post about microlearning or whatever, sometimes it gets less likes than a post about your own life.

Michael Cupps:

Yes,

Ana Mashchuk:

So it's still for me a skill , to write post about learning and about my, what I am, what I'm expert in, professional, just for people to read it like a fiction book. I dunno. I hope that someday I will write it like. In, in my own way in a detective way, I don't know!

Michael Cupps:

That's great. No, that's fantastic. And you're doing great things. I mean, number one, you're learning always, which is good. And then the journaling is a great habit. So, if somebody wanted to reach out to. Headway, let's say as an individual, they'd just go to the app store and get the app, is that right? And then how would they find to talk to the business group?

Ana Mashchuk:

Yeah, so, most our hardware users, B2C ones, see the advertisement about the businesses. Subscription and they contact us through social media it works. And we have also some events where we advertise and outreach where we just, emailing people and propose our services.

Michael Cupps:

If somebody downloads the app after listening to this. And where would, how would you recommend they immerse themselves in the Headway app? Is it , do they, should they look for certain. Categories. What's the best way to start?

Ana Mashchuk:

With headway. Start with a book summary on the topic. If you're right now, having struggles with negotiation, for example, if you're a salesperson or if you are having a team. I think negotiation is the number one skill and you can start with, never split the difference. I really love this book and book summary, after you just, the application will provide you a recommendation system, a personalized one, and you can continue reading what is based on your own interest. Or maybe Atomic Habits. It's the number one book summary in our application, and it's the number one book across. Amazon reads. If I'm not mistaken, it's still in the top, but it's really,

Michael Cupps:

I mentioned it in my book. I think it's. It's the masterpiece of habit building , and the science that he uses. And so it's, a great book and like I said, I referenced it a couple times I think in my book, so it's awesome. Well, Anna, thank you so much for joining us. Anything else you wanna share , with our audience?

Ana Mashchuk:

I think that if you are just struggling with, building a new habit. That's okay. You can start with small steps and read Michael's advice on LinkedIn and the book, and start with those baby steps. I think it's the hardest one, but when you start, you'll feel more relaxed and you'll understand how to reach your goals more clearly.

Michael Cupps:

Yeah,

Ana Mashchuk:

baby steps are.

Michael Cupps:

Tiny, tiny, high bets will lead to bigger things. Absolutely. And it's just good for us to take our mind off of the thing. Maybe you're, if you work hard on computers and you're accountant and you're always talking about numbers, go listen to a book that takes your mind off of numbers and gets your head space somewhere else that allows you to become back , to those numbers in a better form. So that's awesome. It's always so good to see you, Anna, and you're a fantastic follow on LinkedIn. I encourage everyone to. Check her out on LinkedIn because, you always have good information and you share useful things and always great pictures of your travels and so forth. So good to see you again. Thank you so much.

Ana Mashchuk:

Thank you. So it's a pleasure. Of course.

Michael Cupps:

I'd love to have you back sometime as well, . Thank you so much everyone for tuning in this week. Please, do check us out on our podcast channel for whatever your favorite podcast channel is and follow us, subscribe, whatever the mechanism is. We're on Apple, we're on Spotify, we're on all of them, so do check in with us and we'll have an episode all the time. Thank you very much. Have a great day. Thank you.

People on this episode

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Michael Cupps

Host
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Reem Metawei

Co-host
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Ana Mashchuk

Guest