Think out loud while you read
Muesli is Granola for reading. Start a session, speak your thoughts as they come, and get clean notes, insights and actions when you put the book down.
“Okay so… don’t pitch up front. Ask about the last time it actually happened. Note to self, rewrite the Distill interview questions.”
Don’t pitch up front — ask about the last time it happened
Fitzpatrick argues that mentioning your idea early biases people towards polite compliments, which tell you nothing. Ask about concrete past behaviour instead.
The Mom Test, p. 18Reading is a private meeting between you and the text.
Granola sits in your meetings and writes the notes. Muesli sits in your reading and does the same. Say what you think as you go, type rough notes if you prefer, and keep reading.
When the session ends, Muesli combines your words with the book, article or paper and hands back clean notes, the insights worth keeping and the things you said you would do. Your own words stay yours, and stay visibly yours.
Phone locked, on the bedside table.
Start a session from the lock screen and put the phone down. Muesli keeps listening and transcribes on the device, so it works offline and in bed. Speak when a thought strikes, say “page 42” when you turn one, and pause with a tap.
Your words, then Muesli’s. Never mixed up.
When the session ends, Muesli combines what you said with the text itself and writes it up: highlights, reusable insights, answers to the questions you asked out loud, and the transcript if you want it. What you said stays in ink; what Muesli adds stays in grey.
Compliments are useless. Ask what they did last week.
Insight · Good interview questions ask about specific past behaviour, not opinions about the future. Praise is a polite way of ending the conversation.
Does this apply to the Distill onboarding calls?
Answer · Yes. Fitzpatrick’s three rules (talk about their life, ask about specifics in the past, talk less) apply to any customer conversation, including onboarding.
Actions that remember where they came from.
Every “I should…” becomes an action linked back to the insight, the note and the page. Work through them in Muesli, send them to your to-do list, and ask across everything you have read when you need the source again.
- Rewrite the Distill interview questions: no pitch up frontThe Mom Test · Ch. 3 · p. 18Send to…
- Ask three customers about the last time onboarding went wrongThe Mom Test · Ch. 4Send to…
- Add a “what happened last week” question to the surveyContinuous Discovery Habits · articleDone
One plan. Everything in it.
Long enough to finish a book before you decide. No usage limits, no tiers, no team seats to work out.
Or $15 month to month. Prices in USD; GBP and EUR at checkout.
- Unlimited sessions, notes and sources
- iPhone, Mac and web, synced
- Enhanced notes, insights, actions and Ask
- Morning recap email and MCP access
Card up front on the web; nothing is charged until day 15. On iPhone the trial runs through the App Store.
Before you start.
- Does it work with physical books?
- Yes, that is the point. Add the book, start a session, lock your phone. Say the page or chapter when you turn one and Muesli anchors each note to the right place; fixing a guess is one drag.
- What happens to my recordings?
- Audio is transcribed on your device first, then kept in your account so you can replay any moment. Delete a recording whenever you like; deleting your account deletes everything, audio included.
- Which sources can I read?
- Physical books, web articles and arXiv papers at launch. Articles and papers open in the built-in reader with highlights; books use the table of contents.
- Can I cancel?
- Any time, from your account on the web or the App Store subscription sheet. Cancel during the trial and you pay nothing.
Read something tonight
Free for 14 days on iPhone, Mac and the web.