The 20% Problem

The Reader’s Edge | Charlie Samways | May 3, 2026 |

Every new device arrives with a promise that it will change how you read, write or think. The first few days deliver on this. Then life takes over, and most of what the device can do goes quietly unused.

This hit me after testing the Kobo Libra Colour and the new Amazon Scribe Pen. Several of the features I found most impressive weren’t new at all. They were features already available on what I owned. I just hadn’t built the habit of using them. 

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Microsoft has carried out research that shows the average Microsoft Office user only uses roughly 20% of the available features. In the past, Microsoft updates have attempted to increase awareness of these features to encourage greater use. Despite this, the average user will use Word to type, Excel to make basic tables and PowerPoint to make slides.

We do the same with books. Buy them for the reader we plan to be, then let them sit unread. The Japanese term for this is tsundoku, which is the literary version of the same problem.

This idea is supported by habit expert James Clear's claim that you don’t rise to the level of your goals, but instead fall to the level of your systems. The features exist. The intention exists. What's missing is the system that connects them.

The Intention-Action Gap

When it comes to creating powerful internal systems, a strong correlation between our intention and action is essential.

Psychologists Peter Gollwitzer and Paschal Sheeran conducted a landmark meta-analysis, which concluded that on a scale of 0 to 1, the correlation between intention and action is surprisingly weak – 0.28.

This won’t come as a surprise to anyone who has ever set a clear intention, only to find that their actions don’t support their goal.

One solution to closing the gap is “implementation intentions”, which set out specific plans in the form of “when X happens, I will do Y”. A good example when it comes to e-readers would be “when I come across an unfamiliar word, I will use the Vocabulary Builder”.

If this sounds simple, I can tell you that it works. A vague goal to learn more words went nowhere. A specific implementation intention of using the Vocabulary Builder every time I encountered an unfamiliar word became a habit within a week. The feature didn't change. The system around it did.

This Week’s Question

What’s a feature on your e-reader, reading app, or note-taking system that you know exists but wish you could use more? What’s the real reason you haven’t?

Reply to me at hello@charliesamways.com. I read every one.

From The Channel This Week

This week’s videos covered my experience with the Kobo Libra Colour, after years on Kindle, and I also tested the new Kindle Scribe Pen. If this newsletter resonated, this is worth your time.

I Tested Kobo After Years on Kindle - Here's What Shocked Me

Amazon Quietly Upgraded the Kindle Scribe Pen

Plus, don’t miss out on my Free Kindle Guide, available to download here.

Wishing you all the best this week, and getting more out of your existing devices.

Catch up next week,

Charlie Samways