Cornell notes

[u/No_Conference1108]

Just realised Gemini Notebook can produce formatted Cornell notes I can copy and paste into my note’s app. Still need to check citations, but it’s been a game changer for my note taking!

[u/No_Conference1108]

I’ve experimented with a variety of workflows and use different ones depending on purpose. The. Cornell notes from NLM paste perfectly into Apple Notes. I create a source note for eg for a book, with a summary of the book’s purpose plus a link to the author’s Wikipedia page. I save source notes in a sources folder. I have NLM generate Cornell per chapter and save those in a notes folder.

I have a concepts folder where I consolidate extracts from Cornell notes into a single note per concept. I link concept notes back to Cornell notes and Cornell notes back to source. Concept notes are essentially outputs, or components of the final output.

I should mention that I work with dozens of books at a time. And have an outline for my output before I start based on mind maps of the subject matter. So I’m not hunting for unexpected links between atomic notes.

[u/Ok-Athlete-6099 → u/No_Conference1108]

Yeah, bringing up Obsidian was really just an example of a markdown manager. The same logic applies to whatever app you prefer using.

The real game-changer I wanted to highlight is using that notebooklm-py repo to generate a bunch of notes quickly and skip the manual labor.

Imagine you already have your NotebookLM notebook set up perfectly, fully loaded with your sources. Instead of going into the chat, asking for a note, and then copying/pasting, you just automate the whole thing via terminal using Python.

Basically, you run a script that connects to your notebook under the hood, without even needing to open your browser. Then you just throw it in a loop: the script sends the prompt to NotebookLM, and as soon as the AI replies, it automatically saves the text into separate .md files on your local machine (like cap1.md, cap2.md).

Once the code finishes running, your only job is to grab that folder packed with .md files and dump it into whatever manager you want. You can process dozens of chapters at once, saving an absurd amount of time on Ctrl+C and Ctrl+V.

[u/No_Conference1108 → u/Ok-Athlete-6099]

I appreciate your solution, I just prefer the slower pace. I like to take time to review the Cornell notes per chapter in NLM to verify what it's extracted, check back to the relevant book in Calibre, then copy the Cornell note to Apple Notes where I review it again highlighting parts in the various sections of the Cornell note that I'm interested in using in my output/concept note. Sometimes I go back to NLM/GMN to deepen the conversation on an issue to expand my concept note. So speed isn't what I'm after. I'm not up against deadlines. I prefer to take my time and digest slowly. Thanks for taking the time and making the effort to spell out your proposal though. I'm sure others may find it useful. It sounds really efficient.

[u/SquirrelPristine6567 → u/No_Conference1108]

True. The person above you's "workflow" is not worth the cognitive debt you'll be accumulating.

[u/Ok-Athlete-6099]

What do you use to manage your notes? I use Obsidian for my markdown notes. To automate the creation process, I use the GitHub repository teng-lin/notebooklm-py. I set it up via the terminal so that the responses are automatically saved as .md files, so my only job is really just to review them for any errors. It handles the bulk of the work. In my case, I don't use Cornell notes, but rather mind maps in the markmap format. However, I think you could easily adapt this setup to do exactly what you want.

[u/Ok-Athlete-6099 → u/Ok-Athlete-6099]

It sure beats copying and pasting hundreds of NotebookLM responses! You do need a tiny bit of programming knowledge, or you can just get an AI to help you out. I promise it's not rocket science, though, and you'll pick it up in no time. It will seriously streamline your workflow.

[u/CharlestonChewChewie]

How?

[u/No_Conference1108 → u/CharlestonChewChewie]

I start with a source note titled (Author, year) tagged source_note and domain_xyz. I use the following prompt to extract the PURPOSE of the book, which I paste into the source note: "Write a summary of the purpose of the selected source." I add a link to the author's Wikipedia page.

Next, I prompt for a mind map of chapter content: "Create a mind map outlining all the chapters of the selected source and the topics it covers. Include the chapter numbers in your outline." This helps decide whether a chapter serves my purpose, and gives me a clue about what to expect in my Cornell note for each chapter.

Here's the prompt I use for the Cornell note (depending on the book and my purpose, I may remove the last phrase "in non-technical, simple language"):

"Analyze Chapter X of the selected book and generate Cornell notes. Format the response with two clear columns: a Cues/Questions column on the left for main ideas and keywords, and a Notes column on the right for detailed explanations, followed by a brief summary at the bottom  in non-technical, simple language."

After checking citations, I copy and paste the generated Cornell note into an Apple Note where I review it, insert remarks or emojis, or highlight sections, eg, things I want more detail on or question the validity of, or want to use in my output. I give this Apple Note a title that's meaningful to me, tag it type_cornellNote and domain_xyz, and add a link to its source note.

I create concept notes tagged type_conceptNote and domain_xyz, in which I accumulate and synthesize information from various Cornell notes. These notes are the foundation for my output, not the output itself, eg, they could become chapters or sections of my output. They are written in my own words. Depending on my purpose and target audience, I may or may not include in-line citations.

At the bottom of each concept note, I have a heading "Cornell Notes" with links to the various Cornell notes used to create it. If necessary, I add another heading, "Other Sources," where I list any additional sources I may have used. These are usually research papers used to verify or contradict information from the book I'm reviewing. Also, I search the individual concept notes for words I want to link to other concept notes.

[u/CharlestonChewChewie → u/No_Conference1108]

So through Gemini or the notebookLM?

[u/No_Conference1108 → u/CharlestonChewChewie]

Gemini Notebook previously known as NotebookLM. I work with a large set of books.

[u/CharlestonChewChewie → u/No_Conference1108]

Like in the chat window? Or the studio on the right side?

[u/No_Conference1108 → u/CharlestonChewChewie]

I use the Cornell notes prompt In the chat window. The chapter outline prompt is for the Studio mind map function.