Taking notes is one thing many people do all through the day. I do know I am unable to get by mine with out setting reminders or jotting down a couple of issues to jog my reminiscence. It is like I am nonetheless in class and note-taking is my saving grace earlier than the following check — besides as an alternative of finding out, I am simply making an attempt to not overlook one thing I have to do.
Whether or not I am in a gathering or researching a brand new subject for a narrative, I take notes as I am going. I strive to determine what is going on on with a brand new program or make sense of a subject that is getting traction these days, and I jot issues down alongside the best way. My favourite app to make use of is Obsidian. It is nice for preserving tabs on every kind of matters, and a free, easy-to-use note-taking app that is grow to be standard with thousands and thousands of customers.
I am additionally a giant proponent of NotebookLM and figured why not attempt to use Google’s word taking app to assist me decipher a few of my notes in Obsidian. What I discovered was really fairly stunning. Not solely is my handwriting atrocious, however my notes will be actually laborious to decipher. Fortunately, AI was capable of assist me spot some patterns.
Obsidian is straightforward to make use of and easy to combine
I used to be happy with the best way to carry it over
If you happen to’re utilizing Obsidian, you’ll be able to open completely different sorts of notes and use them for absolutely anything. On the finish of the day, you are the one typing in them, so it is fully as much as you ways you utilize them. I like to make use of Obsidian to maintain monitor of my week. I often have a word with reminders for every day, together with one for freelance matters I wish to analysis for story concepts. I will even make a every day word for random ideas or issues I have to look into.
That may current a little bit of a problem, because you would possibly lose the connections between your notes — and the AI might not perceive how every little thing suits collectively. So, utilizing Markdown hyperlinks is necessary.
Fortunately, there are a couple of methods to combine the notes I preserve in my Obsidian vault. I can export them as PDFs and add them to NotebookLM. It is easy sufficient, however you do have to save lots of every word individually. That may current a little bit of a problem, because you would possibly lose the connections between your notes — and the AI might not perceive how every little thing suits collectively. So, utilizing Markdown hyperlinks is necessary.
Markdown is the key ingredient for straightforward integration
You may copy, paste, and get the hyperlinks
As a result of NotebookLM works with Markdown, I take advantage of Markdown hyperlinks in my Obsidian notes. I depend on these hyperlinks to attach my notes and assist me perceive which matters are a part of the identical analysis thread. I do preserve them in folders in my vault, however slightly than opening one word after which one other simply to toggle between them, a Markdown hyperlink lets me bounce from one to the opposite.
Meaning I can copy and paste textual content from Obsidian into NotebookLM, and it understands how the notes are related… all because of the Markdown hyperlinks. That is confirmed after I use one of many many options that NotebookLM provides to assist individuals examine and do analysis. After all, I additionally fill out my pocket book with different analysis hyperlinks exterior of Obsidian to color a fuller image of no matter subject I am diving into, particularly if I am beginning with notes I uploaded from Obsidian.
Thoughts Map helps me join my analysis additional
I uploaded an inventory of the notes I had opened right now and threw them into NotebookLM’s Thoughts Map. It mapped out all of my notes, displaying how they’re related and the best way to greatest navigate by them. It even discovered components of my analysis and notes that I hadn’t related through Markdown hyperlinks and grouped them collectively. That may appear to be a small factor, however I accomplish that a lot analysis on completely different matters that it may be robust to maintain monitor of every little thing.
Granted, I do not at all times put every little thing into Obsidian. However I do steadily hyperlink again to older notes from new ones. Utilizing Thoughts Map helps me make deeper connections to notes I could have missed linking. I additionally actually loved the newer NotebookLM device, Studies. I will add in a few of my scribblings (which can learn like they’re from a madman) and Studies can flip that right into a briefing doc to assist me higher perceive each my very own writing and the analysis hyperlinks I’ve added from across the net. Since NotebookLM makes use of no matter I present as its supply materials, it could possibly pull the solutions I would like straight from my analysis.
Generally, I simply use it to summarize and assist me arrange
I can ask inquiries to remind me in regards to the subject
I do lots in Obsidian to maintain monitor of every little thing happening in each my skilled and private life. Since I am at my pc for a lot of the day, I converted from the iPhone’s Notes app to Obsidian as a result of it is a lot simpler to arrange and customise with completely different options. Now that NotebookLM has a cell app as properly, it opens up much more flexibility in how I combine it with Obsidian.
The extra I take advantage of these two and combine them, the higher they’re going to be, which is one thing I am genuinely so enthusiastic about.
I can return into Obsidian to revise or increase what I’ve written and benefit from its big selection of options. Conserving Obsidian tidy additionally improves how properly NotebookLM can course of and use the content material — particularly as I make updates. As soon as I sync the 2, I can use NotebookLM like a chatbot, asking questions to go looking deeper into the analysis. The extra I take advantage of these two and combine them, the higher they’re going to be, which is one thing I am genuinely so enthusiastic about.
