How to Use NotebookLM to Think Faster, Learn Smarter, and Do More

New platform, new team, same mission. Be 1% Better every Monday continues on Beehiiv.

May 19, 2025

Hello everyone,

Big announcement today: Be 1% Better Every Monday is changing hands. After an incredible journey, Zohvib has decided to move on to new adventures. We sincerely thank him for his dedication and wish him all the best.

A few words from Zohvib: “Hey everyone,

I can’t thank you enough for the love, support, and trust you’ve given me over the years. Creating this newsletter has been one of the most meaningful parts of my life.

Lately though, I’ve been facing a few mental hurdles and emotional challenges, and I’ve made the difficult decision to step back. But this isn’t goodbye—it’s a transition. I’m passing on this beautiful community we built together to my friend. I trust him deeply, and I genuinely believe his vision, strategies, and energy will bring new value to your lives.

If you ever want to stay in touch, say hello, or follow what I’m up to, feel free to message me on Instagram @zohvib. I’ll always be cheering for you.

With love,

— Zohaib”

From today, a new team of entrepreneurs is taking over with the aim of taking this newsletter to the next level. We’ve also transitioned everything to a more powerful platform, Beehiiv. No need to worry. All past issues have been carefully migrated and remain fully accessible. You’ll enjoy a smoother reading experience, a cleaner interface, and new features to explore.

Be 1% Better Every Monday will be your weekly source of productivity tips, entrepreneurial insights, explorations of innovative tech startups, updates on AI and blockchain, and actionable strategies for growth.

Let's dive right in!

Table of Contents

NotebookLM, Google’s Underrated AI for Skyrocketing Your Productivity

Ever wished you could streamline your research, note-taking, and content creation? Meet NotebookLM, an advanced AI-powered tool from Google Labs, designed to transform how you manage information, save hours, and boost your productivity significantly.

What Exactly is NotebookLM?

NotebookLM, launched by Google Labs in July 2023, leverages Google's powerful Gemini 1.5 Pro model to act as your personalized AI assistant. Unlike typical AI chatbots, NotebookLM grounds itself entirely in your own documents, notes, and sources, dramatically reducing misinformation and “hallucinations”.

Why NotebookLM is a Game-Changer for Productivity:

Smart Resource Integration & Discovery Mode

NotebookLM excels with its versatile resource integration, easily upload PDFs, Google Drive files, audio (auto-transcribed), YouTube videos, websites, and plain text, centralizing all your important documents.

Need quick insights? Use the Discovery Mode just type a prompt, and NotebookLM instantly curates relevant websites and videos, giving you rapid, clear overviews, similar to Perplexity combined with GPT.

Feeling spontaneous? Try the "I'm Feeling Curious" button for random yet insightful topics to expand your knowledge effortlessly.

Podcast Summaries & Intelligent Note Templates

NotebookLM introduces an innovative feature to convert your resources into engaging, conversational-style podcasts. Forget robotic voices, NotebookLM uses natural-sounding hosts who discuss your topics clearly and compellingly, delivering podcasts of up to 20 minutes. It's perfect if reading long documents isn't your thing or if you're constantly on-the-go.

You can also try the Interactive Mode to ask questions live, like chatting with a voice assistant that knows your material inside out.

To help you structure ideas quickly, NotebookLM provides built-in templates. With one click, you can generate FAQs, study guides, briefing docs, or timelines, all automatically tailored to your uploaded sources.

Interactive AI-Powered Mind Maps

NotebookLM lets you turn any collection of documents into a smart, interactive mind map. It builds a visual overview of your content, making it easier to understand complex topics at a glance.

Each branch is clickable. You can dive into specific sections, ask targeted questions, and explore connections as they emerge. It’s a more intuitive way to process information, especially when you’re working with large volumes of text.

The image below shows a mind map generated by NotebookLM itself, based entirely on its own documentation. A clear example of how it can help you structure knowledge visually, without getting lost in the details.

Collaborative Features

NotebookLM lets you share notebooks with teammates for real-time collaboration, perfect for co-editing, brainstorming, or reviewing key materials together. Whether you're working on a project timeline, research summary, or content draft, everyone stays aligned and in sync, all within the same intelligent workspace.

Powerful Use-Cases to Explore:

  • Documentation and User Manuals:  Easily explore complex technical material. Just ask a question, and NotebookLM pulls the exact answer from your documentation, no need to scroll through dozens of pages.

  • Course Assistant: Ideal for students, NotebookLM helps synthesize course materials, turning dense lecture notes, research papers, and textbooks into digestible study guides and quick revision tools.

  • Deep Dive / Easy Dive: Whether you’re new to a topic or an expert diving deeper, the interactive Audio Overview allows you to pause, ask questions, and immediately clarify complex points, creating an engaging learning experience.

NotebookLM will also be available on mobile starting May 20, 2025. Both Android and iOS apps are coming, so you can take your assistant anywhere.

(Tip: The mobile app’s "Add to NotebookLM" feature lets you instantly capture insights from your phone.)

Resources and Going Further

Feel free to share Be 1% Better Every Monday with friends or colleagues who’d enjoy it too.

Wishing you a good week ahead.

Be 1% better, every Monday.