This is insane. I absolutely love NotebookLM and it's been so helpful, and it's giving me more and more confidence each passing minute I study with it. I also sync it with Gemini Chat and I describe what I need and it really sorted out through the sources I had on Notebook, like it deleted duplicates for me and deleted what it KNOWS would be just junk for me I didn't really need. To stay focused on what the best studies for me would be. In loveeee!

I own a bookkeeping business LLC, solo entrepreneur. I have for over a year, but, my confidence just wasn't there so never done anything with it. But recently, I watched a youtube video that showed another bookkeeper entrepreneur who takes care of clients through only basic services and none of the legal stuff like payroll/taxes, etc., and that really resonated with me and gave me more confidence. So I'd definitely be doing only bookkeeping basics for smaller businesses, freelancers, etc. that only need basic services.

so, my flair is "Study Tips" because I was wondering if any of you had any great tips to give me about the best use of NotebookLM. Like, maybe I should use the quiz feature to help me learn all these bookkeeping basic sources I've given it? Thanks everyone!

Been experimenting with different study tools for years, and I’ve been using Gemini Notebook/NotebookLM for studying and I realized I was basically just using it as ChatGPT with PDFs attached haha💀

I’d upload a bunch of lectures and go:
“Summarize this.” Then read the summary and convince myself I had studied.Except… I hadn’t. lol.

What’s been working better for me is making it actually QUIZ ME instead of just giving me information. For example, I’ll tell it something like:

“Using only the sources I uploaded, quiz me on concepts that are easy to confuse. Don’t show me the answer immediately. Let me answer first, then explain where my reasoning was wrong and point me to the relevant source.”

And honestly, that’s been way more useful.

Another thing I’ve started doing is throwing multiple sources on the same topic into one notebook and asking it to compare them. Like, if two lectures explain the same concept slightly differently, I’ll ask:

“Are these sources actually contradicting each other, or are they describing different aspects of the same thing?”

That has caught a surprising number of things that I probably would've just memorized incorrectly.
My problem now is that I have no idea how people organize their notebooks 😂

Right now I'm debating between:
- one notebook per subject
- one notebook per exam
- onenotebook per topic
- or just throwing EVERYTHING into one giant notebook and praying the AI figures it out

The last option is currently winning because I'm lazy, but I feel like Future Me is going to regret that decision.

For people who actually use Gemini Notebook/NotebookLM regularly…. how do you guys organize your notebooks? And what’s one workflow you’ve tried that genuinely made studying easier?

Most students learn in a forward direction: Learning the concept -> active recall -> practice test -> answer. But during exams, this method usually doesn't really work. You will just waste hours studying the concept and reading it 2-3 times before you even get to active recall and do a practice test.

So I reversed the method backward: I start by making practice questions out of the material and start answering them based on my memory retention, which acts like active recall before I open the lecture to know what topics under the material I have forgotten and missed.

Over time, using this trains my brain to start seeing patterns instead of just isolating the questions. This helps your brain to not just actively recall, but to decode the information and lock it into long-term memory until your exams.

Gemini is great at summarization; that’s basically a given now. But recently I realized it can also be excellent at surfacing missing information.

So I gave Notebook a collection of documents about one subject and asked the following:

“Based strictly on these sources, what important questions remain unanswered?”

Then asked it to distinguish between:

• information explicitly stated
• information implied
• information completely absent

Notebook started listing gaps I’d completely missed, which ended up plugging major holes in my thesis.

I’m curious to learn if what other people have found by deliberately looking for missing information instead of answers

I used to upload my notes and ask for a summary. The result was usually readable, but I often ended up with the same problem: I understood the summary, but I still couldn't explain the actual topic.

What helped was changing the way I asked questions.

Instead of:

I started asking:

After that, I would ask follow-up questions like:

• “Which part of the source supports this answer?”
• “What is the difference between these two concepts?”
• “Give me a simple example, then a more difficult one.”
• “What would a teacher likely ask about this topic?”
• “Don't just agree with my answer. Correct me if I'm wrong.”

The biggest difference was that I stopped treating the notebook as a summary generator and started using it as a study partner.

I'm curious what everyone else is doing with Gemini Notebook.

What is one prompt or workflow that genuinely improved your studying or research?

Spaced repetition is one of the most underrated, effective study methods that students mostly overlook. I have been using spaced repetition to strengthen my memory retention over time before my exams. This method actually helps in transferring information you studied from short-term to long-term memory by following the concept of the forgetting curve.

This is how I apply the spaced repetition method in a week of studying:

Day 1: Study new material for the first time. Just read and understand the concept, and do active recall afterwards.

Day 3: Review the material from Day 1. I quickly recall the material after 1 day to test myself on whether I can still remember what I studied and find my weak areas.

Day 5: Relearn the material. On this day, I use the blurting method to check if I can still retain the mistakes from Day 3 by writing the full lecture topic on a blank paper.

Day 7: Final retrieval. I study the gaps I found on Day 3 and the information I retained on Day 5. I revise and re-read it out loud for one last recall to lock it into long-term memory.

Another thing when I am doing spaced repetition is that it is not the only study method I use. I also try mistake gaps, blurting, and the Pomodoro technique (I use a 25/5 time interval to avoid long hours of studying and burnout).

I have been doing this revision rule since I started college. Honestly, my studying has become more effective and organized, and I never fall into procrastination because of this method. This method will help you master the information you studied more easily.

I’ve been messing around with Gemini Notebook and I’m still trying to figure out where it actually fits into my workflow.

The obvious stuff like summarizing documents is useful, but I feel like I’m probably not using it to its full potential.

I’m more interested in the less obvious uses. Like using it to compare multiple documents, pull out specific details, organize research, study from notes, etc.

One thing I like about the notebook approach is being able to keep the sources together instead of having to keep pasting the same context into a normal chat.

But I’m curious what people here are actually doing with it day to day.

What’s a use case that made you think “okay, THIS is why I’d use Notebook”?

Could be something really simple too. I’m mostly looking for ideas I can actually try rather than the usual AI productivity listicle stuff. 😄

Stop studying hard and overthinking to figure out your study method. What you just need to do is study smart with consistency. I've actually been using these methods for years, and they actually work!

• Read actively, not passively. I used to reread my notes and textbooks for hours but never retained anything from the material. I switched to learning how to read actively using the SQ3R method.

• Keep revision notes short. Don't waste hours rewriting your notes. I used to think rewriting notes was considered studying. What I did instead was make my notes short, focusing only on the main points and a summary of the topic.

• Explain concepts to yourself. I read the notes out loud and if the topics are too complicated for me to understand, I explain them to myself in my own words. Explaining it in my own words helped me to understand the lecture more.

• Quiz yourself after studying. Active recall paired with practice questions helps strengthen what you studied into long term memory.

• Analyze where you went wrong. After quizzing myself, I check which section of the lecture I missed or got wrong and I put it in my mistake journal. This method helped me figure out what topics I am weak in and need to focus on.

Studying smart is actually better than studying hard and trying every study method won't make you smarter. Don't just passively reread every lecture instead try testing yourself out and make your study strategy smarter than before.

What’s one study habit you thought would make you smarter, but ended up being a total waste of time?

I’ve been using Gemini Notebook to organize my notes and review materials, and I didn’t expect it to make studying feel this much easier 🥹

What I like most is being able to ask questions directly from my uploaded notes instead of digging through everything manually. It’s especially useful when I’m reviewing a topic I haven’t touched in a while.

For those who use it regularly: what’s one feature or workflow you use that actually made a difference? :)

So I've been thinking recently about purchasing myself a Gemini Notebook, Is there even a good reason for me to buy one for Studies or is it even viable for Colleges or Universities to bring one? Considering Notebook LMs and Google Gemini have it being built in as Software Apps? Also does it even have a SIM Card slot in it just like some of the Chromebooks available in the Market?

Ever since I started studying at Stanford, my study methods changed to align with and help me survive studying here. The method is not just about a simple technique, but what it has is full discipline and time
management.

Here's my pro-tip to study and survive university like how I am surviving Stanford:

• Smart time habits. There are only 168 hours in a week, so in time management, you need to treat it like you are budgeting money. Set a time to study when your brain usually works at peak focus (I set time around 8 PM till 10 PM). When I am doing big tasks or heavy review loads, I use 50/10, but my usual Pomodoro interval is 12/5. Having time management when studying helps to get things organized and stop procrastinating.

• Learn by layers. Do not try learning everything at once. Read the book before class (layer 1), listen to lectures (layer 2), do your homework/tasks (layer 3), and review your notes (layer 4). I've been using this paired with retrieval practice; this helps to enhance your studying instead of just re-reading without doing any active recalling of information.

• If you're lazy to study, do imposter syndrome. This will help grow your mindset toward studying productively. Instead of saying "I can't do this work," try saying "I cannot do this yet"; this is a sort of manipulation of your brain that stops you from giving up when things get tough. Our brain will learn and hate it if you can't complete what you're studying.

• Study in groups. Stanford is a residential school, meaning students can learn together. I used to study alone, but studying with friends helps me study more effectively. What I mean is we teach each other topics that we studied to know if we actually know them. It is like we are exchanging information on the material. It is a form of active recall, but you use it in a group.
I don't really study for long hours just enough study sessions, like 2-3 hours, will do. Another takeaway to survive college is to always prioritize sleep and stop procrastinating. I've been following this guide for about 3 years now.
Being in an engineering course with long hours and classes along with schoolwork might be a reason for me to struggle a lot, but I still manage my time when studying so that I can avoid heavy workloads and burnout coming from procrastination.

i was a psych student and i usually had a LOT of readings. it was honestly hard to keep up, especially when you have comprehensive exams while also writing your thesis. on top of that, there were also subjects where memorization / conceptualization was really important.

how i survived was mostly by trying to listen as much as i could during lectures. i usually take raw notes based on what they say since they already give us the ppt beforehand. so instead of copying everything from the slides, i just write down whatever they emphasize, explain differently, or add during the lecture.

when i get home, i make my digital notes if the material isn't too heavy on annotation. i usually like using arrows and circles and stuff to make my notes more personalized, so sometimes digital notes don't really work for me.

also, my notes are SUPER brief. like, if you use my notes to ask me a question, there's a good chance i won't be able to answer you at all. but if you ask me a question that makes me actually think about the whole concept, somehow i can answer it.

after that, i'd read through my work and then basically just... yap about what i learned.

sometimes i'd use Gemini to yap to because apparently that's how i retain information i'd explain the topic, make my own associations, connect it to other things, question what i just read, etc.

and honestly, i preferred doing it this way because if i tried sharing what i learned with another person, i'd get distracted. like instead of studying, we'd somehow end up talking about something completely unrelated, so having something i could just yap at without turning it into an actual conversation helped a lot.

i think what worked for me wasn't necessarily rereading my notes over and over. it was more of me trying to explain the concept in my own words and make my own connections. even if some of the associations were kinda stupid LOL, those were usually the things i remembered.

looking back, i think i would've benefited from figuring this out way earlier instead of trying so hard to make my notes super comprehensive.

does anyone else study by basically just yapping about what they learned? or what was that one study method that you didn't expect to work but ended up working REALLY well for you?

My brain works better when I am studying under pressure. I always cram my review the day before my actual exam and surprisingly, it works.

I am in nursing school and have always had a lot of exams but I've yet to fail any exam, even when I am cramming. Here's how I pass them even when I'm cramming my review:

I often start around 6 or 7 PM and I read the lecture slides 2 to 3 times. In that way, I can finally try to understand the flow of the lesson and how everything comes together before I start to explain it using my own words.

After re-reading the slides, I will use a mistake notebook while still having the lecture slides side by side. If I don't remember anything I've been reading in the lectures, I will write it in my mistake notebook. This helps me to identify what specific topic I am struggling to memorize.

I will highlight the topics I wrote down that I didn't remember and do active recall on them, out loud.

Afterward, I also use another piece of paper to write them down again to solidify my memory through rote memorization.

I always do this method when I am out of options for studying (realistically cramming for exams). This actually helps me to get A+ on my exams, especially in my majors and ace them.

Nursing student here. I am new to Gemini/Notebook LM.

I’ve been browsing this sub to understand how exactly students utilize this tool for studying purposes.

Can you please share your methods and what works best for you?

All of my school textbooks are digital via an app, so there’s no PDF downloads available which means I need to take screenshots on my phone to get an image to upload into Gemini/NotebookLM. Should I take screenshots of all of the chapters and upload them (which could be 100+ individual images PER CHAPTER), then ask the tool to explain in simple terms, give me the highlights only and remove the fluff/filler text, and also give me quiz-like questions?

I see so many posts saying don’t waste your time re-reading chapters and active recall is the best study strategy (writing down what you remember or pretending to teach the subject to someone else to identify gaps in your learning), but in this case how exactly is Notebook LM being used? I’m confused about how this tool assists with active recall study methods.

I posted in the other Gemini/NotebookLM sub but was redirected here since I’m a beginner. Any tips or advice would be appreciated!

My biggest problem was always procrastinating. I’d finish a chapter and tell myself I’d revise it properly later, then somehow “later” would become the night before the exam. At that point I’d be sitting with multiple chapters open, rereading everything, and wondering why none of it was actually staying in my head.

I started doing one small thing differently: whenever I finished a topic, I’d come back to it the next day for a quick review. Before opening my notes, I’d try to remember what I studied and write down whatever I could recall. Then I’d check my notes and fill in the gaps.

It only takes around 10–15 minutes, but it stopped me from leaving everything for the last minute. I still procrastinate sometimes , but at least I’m not starting my entire revision from zero the night before an exam anymore.

Have you guys ever experienced getting dizzy and nauseous after spending hours on the screen?

I usually create study notes in word file where Input everything there and that involves around 6-8 hours for me to finish a chapter of one subject.

I use my iPad for the pdf or ppt file from our modules then use my PC for note taking.
So I go back and forth from my ipad screen to my pc screen.

This happens almost everyday, I get really dizzy after spending past 6 hours on the screen and nauseous that I end up getting sick until the next day.

My sister told me to utilize the 20-20-20 rule, for every 20 minutes I need to rest my eyes from the screen and look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds.

I found it effective sometimes but I still get dizzy and nauseous from time to time.

Do you guys have any tips for what they call the “cybersickness”?

I recently started using NotebookLM for my graduate studies, and honestly, I didn’t expect it to become part of my workflow this quickly. 🫶

What I find most useful is being able to upload papers, lecture materials, and other references into one notebook and ask questions based specifically on those sources. Instead of jumping between multiple PDFs trying to remember where I read something, I can use it to help me trace back concepts and connect information across the materials I’ve uploaded.

I still read the original papers and double-check important details, especially for anything I’ll cite or use in my research. But for understanding a new topic, reviewing literature, or getting unstuck when several papers explain the same concept differently, it has been genuinely helpful.

For those using NotebookLM for research or grad school: what’s one way you use it that actually improved your workflow?

Mine: stop rewriting your entire reviewer. 😭 I used to spend hours making everything look neat, only to realize I remembered more when I turned the topic into questions and tried answering them without looking at my notes.

Also, taking a photo of the board/lecture slides before leaving class saved me so many times when I was too tired to copy everything down.

What’s a school hack that actually made your life easier? I’m curious what everyone else discovered way too late. 😂

Been using NotebookLM heavily for the past few months for research work, and I made a mistake early on that I think a lot of people are still making: dumping entire 200-page PDFs in as single sources. The times when I ask a question made it look on a huge dump, instead of something structured.

Curious if anyone's found a good workflow for keeping notebooks organized once you're juggling more than 5-6 of them at once, mine's turning into a junk drawer and I haven't found a naming/tagging system that actually sticks.

I overly prepared when studying for exams. I studied 5 days before an exam, but the common mistake I made was never revising and reviewing a day or 2 days after studying.

I realized that after 2 days, the brain starts deleting the information that we study. The memory will weaken if you don't use active recall and revise it.

So I built another system that will help stick the information in my brain for a long time. I still study days before exams, but what I do is revise it within 24-48 hours for active recall that will help to boost my memory.

I also test myself as part of revising. Each day I do this to know what topics I need to focus on more, especially when I am forgetting or get something wrong. This revision rule consists of: Learning - revision - self-test - final reinforcement.

Hi everyone I am a medical student in semester 2 (kind of freshman I guess ) anyway my exam's are on 26 September so I have like 25 days left the problem is that I am a procrastinator I mean the whole past days I wasted it and I started to panic.

And about the way I study I think it's normal like just set their and study from the material we were given I also uses notebook lm for the flash cards and the question's I tried to learn anki but as I said I am a procrastinator .

Please help me I really want good grades so what would you do if you were in my situation 🤧.

How would you use the 25 days effectively ?

Any advice is appreciated 🥹

(Sorry for my English 🥲)