I stopped using NotebookLM the 'right' way — and learned more

I use only a select few AI apps to boost my productivity and learning. Not all of these are my favorites, though I use each of them almost daily.

NotebookLM is one such app. I use it for learning quickly from YouTube videos. Not only that, but it also changed some of my old habits for the better.

For example, I no longer watch phone reviews on YouTube. I can count many such examples, but those are events from the distant past and are stories of how NotebookLM became an integral part of my life.

I’m used to it and feel comfortable using all its brilliant AI tools. However, I recently took what I’d call a more courageous decision and tried to kill my old habit of using NotebookLM the way most people do.

It was only an experiment, but little did I know it would facilitate a huge shift in how I use the AI tool.

I no longer use NotebookLM, which many would say is the ‘right’ way, because I actually learned more and learned faster in doing so. Here is how.

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By  Jon Gilbert

I now use NotebookLM only to dump sources

NotebookLM can answer your questions from the sources you added. Not only that, it packs several useful tools like Video and Audio Overviews, Slide Decks, and more.

Of these features, the Audio Overviews functionality is my favorite one. This way, I can listen to an audio summary of the content I added to NotebookLM in a podcast-style format.

However, the Audio Overviews feature is no longer the feature I use NotebookLM for. I use the Huxe app for this.

This is not to say that my NotebookLM usage has dropped. I still use it, but only to dump sources, and then seek help from Gemini to learn more about the content in the sources and beyond.

I paired Gemini with NotebookLM to learn more, and it worked

Gemini has long graduated from being a tool that you can use only to type prompts. You can also use it to create images, export items from various Google apps and services, create documents, and much more.

However, these features don’t really help you if you don’t know how to type the right prompt. I have decent skills at using the right prompt to get the best answers from Gemini.

My good promotional skills gave me the confidence to export my notebooks from NotebookLM and expand my knowledge about the content discussed in the sources.

I open the Gemini app on my phone, tap the Plus icon, and select the NotebookLM option. This opens a list of all the notebooks available on your NotebookLM.

This was how I exported a notebook that I created in NotebookLM to learn the basics of painting rooms.

I learned some valuable lessons quickly using the audio summary feature in NotebookLM, but exporting it to Gemini helped me learn more.

The biggest reason I prefer exporting NotebookLM notebooks to Gemini is that you can connect notes that are not in your sources.

When I first learned about the 60-30-10 design rule, I was fascinated by how color hierarchy shapes where your eyes go.

I used Gemini to learn more practical knowledge about the 60-30-10 rule. After exporting the notebook, I asked Gemini to summarize the notebook’s key points.

In my next prompt, I asked Gemini to tell me about the underlying principle behind the 60-30-10 rule across various fields. The answer was quite eye-opening.

I learned that this rule can also apply to UI/UX design, managing finance, and nutrition. Not only that, Gemini taught me about what it calls the “Rule of Odds.”

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This rule is better than the 50-50 rule because Gemini says symmetry can be boring to the human brain. Instead, you should create an odd number of tiers, like in the case of the 60-30-10 rule, to “create tension and resolution.”

I didn’t believe that this was the only rule that I needed to follow everywhere, so I asked Gemini about any other design philosophies that challenge the validity of the “Rule of Odds.”

Gemini gave a plethora of such philosophies, but the most interesting one was the “Chaos theory,” which, in simple words, suggests that a messy mix of colors can look cool, too.

I didn’t understand “Chaos theory” in its first answer because Gemini used a lot of jargon. So, I asked it to explain this like I’m 15 years old, and it worked like magic.

My notes finally stopped feeling incomplete

For things that I need in-depth knowledge of, pairing NotebookLM with Gemini works best.

Not only does it help you broaden your knowledge of topics, it also helps you quickly create a Google Docs file that contains all those key details.

My notes finally feel complete because Gemini gives me more information, and because everything connects.