---
title: "7 ways I use NotebookLM to make my life easier"
source: "https://www.howtogeek.com/ways-notebooklm-make-my-life-easier/"
author:
  - "[[Jorge A. Aguilar]]"
published: 2025-11-23
created: 2025-12-19
description: "There's more to NotebookLM than just gathering information."
tags:
  - "clippings"
---
NotebookLM doesn’t get enough credit for how much it helps you with daily life. While it can help you learn, it could also be the assistant you’ve been waiting for since AI first started getting popular.

Here's how I use this tool to cut through all that informational noise, streamline how I learn, accelerate my projects, and ultimately make my life significantly easier. I get all this done without the stress of having to sift through it myself, thanks to NotebookLM.

![Deep Research in NotebookLM ready to be pressed](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/deep-research-in-notebooklm-ready-to-be-pressed.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)

Credit: Google

You know how it goes. We all start out wanting to learn something new, maybe by saving a link to a "read later" folder like Google Keep. That inevitably turns into a massive, stressful digital backlog. It is truly a giant pile of intellectual shame that just keeps growing faster than anyone can actually handle.

The core magic behind this whole approach is called source-grounding. NotebookLM's entire knowledge base is strictly limited to the documents you specifically upload. This means the output it gives you is accurate and self-verified.

I usually just feed all those items I have not read, things like huge PDFs, complicated web articles, or links to YouTube videos, into a dedicated notebook. After they are uploaded, the AI automatically takes care of the consuming part, which is the heavy lifting. Then I use the interactive chat function to fire off a series of specific and direct questions about what is in the content or ask it to give me the main idea, some points, or just what I’d need to learn from it.

It cuts right through all that informational mess and makes sure I feel like I have processed the content, even though I technically never read the original source.

## 2 NotebookLM is my audionote maker

![The many new audio options to choose from in Notebook LM, being deep dive brief critique and debate](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/the-many-new-audio-options-to-choose-from-in-notebook-lm-being-deep-dive-brief-critique-and-debate.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)

Credit: Google

NotebookLM prides itself on its Audio Overviews, and I like to use it like a short audiobook, especially with [its ongoing improvements](https://www.howtogeek.com/googles-notebooklm-just-got-more-features/). When I’m doing necessary but unexciting stuff, like driving, cleaning, or getting a workout in, I just play one of the podcasts that I’ve got planned or make a new one. It takes all the source materials and converts them into audio content that you can easily take anywhere.

This summary usually has two AI voices leading a really lively, conversational, and deep-dive chat about whatever you put in. They tend to repeat words to sound human, but if you can ignore that, it is more like a lecture you’d listen to in college. This audio format is perfect for passive learning because you can consume complex information during times that would otherwise be downtime.

I like to set these up in advance because the system lets you customize things using prompts to influence the conversation’s style, tone, or what it focuses on. For example, you can tell it you want a critique, a debate, or just a really brief overview. You can even give the AI hosts specific custom instructions, like having them pretend they are a student on the topic you gave.

## 3 Become an instant expert in multiple topics

![NotebookLM showing off the different ways to use it](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-showing-off-the-different-ways-to-use-it.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)

Credit: Google

I am not ashamed to say I am a geek, and I love comics and well-crafted worlds. I don’t really like fiction, but I like learning the history of those worlds. I ended up putting a bunch of *Batman* and *Star Wars* sources into NotebookLM, and I know so much about these universes now.

Trying to consume this stuff the old way, like reading those long Wikipedia entries, just feels slow or even boring at times. I don’t like the idea of spending money trying to catch up with legitimate experts who have spent their lives reading this stuff. Instead, I have two hosts debating whether Mace Windu’s distrust of Anakin blinded him to his potential using real information from the comics and books.

If you’ve ever had an itch to learn more about subjects but don’t know where to start, just open up a Notebook and ask it to find documentation on whatever subject you need to know about. This could be Jupiter, the Marine Corps, methodology, anything. These are real subjects I put in there and got so much information to the point where I knew if I wanted to continue learning or not. It’s so much better than a *For Dummies* book, and I say that as someone who loves the series.

## 4 Get a little better at programming

![A terminal displaying 'Hello World' with a holographic globe and some binary code in the background.](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/a-terminal-displaying-hello-world-with-a-holographic-globe-and-some-binary-code-in-the-background.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)

Credit: Lucas Gouveia/How-To Geek | vectorfusionart/ Shutterstock

My degree is in computer animation, and I have worked with plenty of game engines. The thing I don’t like about moving to new engines or languages is the time it takes to learn them. I don’t like watching an hour-long tutorial or searching Google for dumb questions. The information online gets old really fast, and just dealing with the massive technical manuals and documentation is incredibly hard.

When I moved to Godot, I just put the documentation in a Notebook and asked questions as I went along. I had a podcast overview of where I was asking things as I looked around them, and it was so much faster to learn and understand than it would have been before. It’s like having a senior designer with you.

What’s better is that you can ask for a citation, and it gives you the spot in the documentation, so you can read through more if you need to. I have one just for Python that I keep checking back with because I sometimes like to know if there is a better way to write something that maybe I forgot.

## 5 Make working on projects easier

- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun and people building a community](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun-and-people-building-a-community.JPG?q=49&fit=contain&w=702&h=395&dpr=2)
	Credit: Jorge Aguilar / How To Geek | Google

- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun and people building a community](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun-and-people-building-a-community.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=120&h=80&dpr=2)
- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a Bishop's Ledger](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-bishop-s-ledger.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=120&h=80&dpr=2)
- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=120&h=80&dpr=2)

- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun and people building a community](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun-and-people-building-a-community.JPG?q=49&fit=contain&w=1405&h=940&dpr=2)
	Credit: Jorge Aguilar / How To Geek | Google
- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a Bishop's Ledger](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-bishop-s-ledger.JPG?q=49&fit=contain&w=1684&h=962&dpr=2)
	Credit: Jorge Aguilar / How To Geek | Google
- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun.JPG?q=49&fit=contain&w=1677&h=955&dpr=2)
	Credit: Jorge Aguilar / How To Geek | Google

- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun and people building a community](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun-and-people-building-a-community.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=145&h=85&dpr=2)
- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a Bishop's Ledger](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-bishop-s-ledger.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=145&h=85&dpr=2)
- ![NotebookLM's video maker with a priest next to a nun](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/notebooklm-s-video-maker-with-a-priest-next-to-a-nun.JPG?q=49&fit=crop&w=145&h=85&dpr=2)

I actually treat this AI tool as my own personalized project management brain hub. You just consolidate all the scattered research and ideas into one dedicated notebook. NotebookLM is designed to handle all that information overload by centralizing diverse sources.

Grab all your meeting notes, strategy documents, transcripts, and web links, and anything that works as your knowledge base. NotebookLM will take it and save you from the mental friction and fog you feel when you think about it all.

The system immediately processes everything you've given it, on the site [or the app](https://www.howtogeek.com/google-notebooklm-app-confirmed/), and generates structured outputs. It basically creates a simple, straightforward roadmap for how to finish the project. I had many projects that I wanted to start, but couldn’t organize, or just didn’t think were worth setting goals.

NotebookLM took all my ideas and perceived goals and gave me a real roadmap out of it. I made about six apps that are being leased by companies this year, which NotebookLM organized into goals for me. This is great if you need that kick in the pants or something to make sense of all the minor notes you’ve taken.

## 6 Cross-reference different versions of apps and updates

![The process of how NotebookLM works, showing that a question is asked, sources are being checked, alternate ways of thinking are considered, and then an answer is given based on those](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/the-process-of-how-notebooklm-works-showing-that-a-question-is-asked-sources-are-being-checked-alternate-ways-of-thinking-are-considered-and-then-an-answer-is-given-based-on-those.jpg?q=49&fit=crop&w=500&dpr=2)

Credit: Google

Keeping track of software updates and all those release notes can be incredibly frustrating. It's especially annoying when developers are vague about the new stuff, or they just aggressively relist a bunch of old features next to maybe one tiny addition, which completely obscures the real progress being made.

NotebookLM is fantastic at slicing right through all that informational fog. It directly compares and contrasts different versions of app updates, news posts, or even really long documents. All you have to do is create one notebook and dump in all the materials you have or [have it look for them](https://www.howtogeek.com/google-notebooklm-discover-sources/).

For example, you can simply ask, "What were the new updates in this version?" NotebookLM lists the distinct changes for you. This saves you hours of manual comparison work, and you even get citations to check just in case.

## 7 A real data sorting assistant

![Google NotebookLM showing how to select different notebooks](https://static0.howtogeekimages.com/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/google-notebooklm-showing-how-to-select-different-notebooks.jpg?q=70&fit=crop&w=360&dpr=1)

Credit: Google

One of the things I used NotebookLM for that became the [selling point for premium](https://www.howtogeek.com/googles-notebooklm-premium-version/) was to check out legal documents, specifically my lease. I recommend this to any adult, because leases, legal documents, policy standards, and even personal agreements tend to be dozens of pages long, and a regular AI is untrustworthy because it is more likely to make things up.

NotebookLM will only take what is given and give you citations that show you where things are said. For example, I’ll ask, “Is this a rule stated in this document?” and it will respond with “yes, because here it says…” or “No, because here it says…” or something similar. While you should always read your documents, this is a great way to double-check things.

Every answer is accompanied by a precise citation. I can click this citation to instantly view and confirm the exact wording right there in the source itself. I no longer hate getting long documents or looking through terms and conditions or legal patents because I can find what I need from a few questions with NotebookLM.

---

NotebookLM’s best quality is that it prioritizes accuracy by strictly limiting its knowledge base to only your trusted documents. So you’re getting an expert that you made to do anything you need it to do.

I’m not sure why Google doesn’t advertise it this way, but if you can get in now, you’re likely not going to use Gemini or ChatGPT for the same reasons you used to. I won’t stop using this service unless it gets unreasonably expensive, but right now, it is a Godsend in helping with your regular life.