I tried to make NotebookLM my second brain, but it's actually something much weirder

NotebookLM is my study partner on multiple subjects, including learning Python. Lately, I've realized it's capable of more than just helping me grow.

My kitchen was the last place I expected to use the tool. But it's proven to be an effective recipe compiler.

My creative projects weren't far behind, where it helped me tighten my fictional worlds.

I still use it in other ingenious ways I'm eager to show off. Here are some of them.

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I paired NotebookLM with YouTube and learned faster than I ever did with note-taking apps

This unlikely duo upgraded my learning routine

Posts 1
By  Anu Joy

It's a recipe extractor

Feed it a video and you'll have a meal in seconds

Cooking is a routine I enjoy alone with music playing in the background.

I love that I can take my time with different meals and escape the pressure of making something perfect for the family and guests.

It's also a necessity, since I've taken a break from delivery apps and their health risks.

The challenging part was deciding what to eat every day. That's a task I once gladly passed to my sister before I moved out to my own place.

I solved the issue by building a weekly timetable using Gemini. It was suited to my weight goals and budget.

Most times, it helps to explore YouTube channels and discover fresh ways to prepare the same dish. I would pause videos and rewind them to absorb the details.

On remembering that the AI notebook is a great video summarizer, I figured it works for extracting recipes and saving time.

The app can pull transcripts when you link to clips and prompt for them. Either YouTube's caption system or the creator generates them.

NotebookLM sticks strictly to the sources inside your notebook. Unlike many AI chatbots drawing from broad training data, it won't embellish answers.

If your materials lack enough, it will go outside of it while encouraging you to cross-check them. So the likelihood of it misleading you is fairly low.

I copied links to my favorite recipes individually from my playlist, and pasted them into the smart platform.

Then I prompted it via Chat to turn each one into a structured recipe page, with a clear list of ingredients and step-by-step cooking instructions.

Example prompt: Turn this video into a cookbook-style recipe. List the ingredients first with measurements, and mention substitutes beside them in case I don't have the main ingredients. Then write step-by-step cooking instructions.

Each recipe generated went into a Google Docs file where I gradually grew my collection. Eventually, I downloaded them as a PDF file.

I prefer to open them in the Media365 Reader and flip the virtual pages or send them to my Kindle E-Reader.

It's a creative companion

I use it to connect dots and untangle knots

I'm currently working on a futuristic virtual reality video game project. I'm also trying to get my poetry e-books published in paperback.

Keeping everything organized, especially as the lead writer for multiple projects, has been stressful.

On one hand, character arcs were growing in isolation and I risked getting lost in the general scope creep. The vision was to make a game like Tekken or Mortal Kombat where every character has their own background, and yet their paths always meet at similar central events.

On the other hand, I wanted to make sure my poems were understandable. You either strike a balance with these things, and the reader feels the idea unfold naturally. Otherwise, your work becomes dense as a puzzle.

I used NotebookLM as a personal knowledge base for my projects. Normally, I would go to Obsidian to thread copied content from Google Docs. But it requires some manual tagging and structuring.

Google's app makes it faster to pile everything in one place within seconds and recall any information.

Hopefully, the share feature arrives soon in my region. I see this feature helping a lot in team collaboration and onboarding.

Example prompt #1: Create a relationship map showing how each character could influence the others' storylines. Highlight possible conflicts and alliances that could bring them together.
Example prompt #2: Based on the poems in this notebook, identify lines or metaphors that may be too abstract for readers to easily understand. Suggest where the imagery could be clearer without weakening the current tone.

As you upload sources, NotebookLM suggests related materials in a pop-up tab on mobile or the left side panel on the web app.

They are optional, but many of them can be surprisingly useful depending on what you're working on. Select them to add them.

One recommendation led me to a research study on dark humor, which inspired me in developing some of my anti-hero characters.

Another time, it recommended research papers on exoskeleton technology and human power augmentation.

The Studio menu creates a necessary distance from my work. I can view it the same way an outsider might and address gaps.

I write a lot of philosophical and historically grounded poems. So, it was amusing to see the Slides tool divide them into serious physical laws and diagnostic models for the human condition.

In one of my poems, The Seismic Cost of Contact, it showed me a diagram explaining how touch can affect someone.

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I got more ideas on the book's internal design, most of which I've since shared with my illustrator and publisher.

It's a reflection guide

It's one of the many mirrors I use to see myself clearly

I'm at that point in life where my mental health calls for journaling.

I've become so consistent that my physical entries have split into different sections, including work, relationships, mind-blowing discoveries, and general life observations.

I prefer to revisit specific parts over one long stream of consciousness. Some of them are too personal to share with any tool.

But I capture the least sensitive ones with my phone camera. Then I ask NotebookLM to compare these against previous entries.

Over time, these compounded reflections highlight recurring challenges and areas where my competence seems improved.

I've found that it's useful when applying for jobs and preparing for interview.

Example prompt: Review this entry and identify [specific thing you want to highlight]. Summarize the situation and what the outcome was. Present them in a format suitable for answering behavioral interview questions.

Think beyond your margins

NotebookLM's best uses aren't always obvious at first. But the possibilities will reveal themselves as you consider it being more than a summarizer.

YouTube links are a good place to start, since the tool grabs context from the transcripts. Use it to break down complex tutorials, lectures, explainers, and walkthroughs into step-by-step guides.

As long as you're deliberate with prompts and the material you share with it, you can organize many types of scattered information.