Using Google Gemini and NotebookLM as a Second Brain

Introduction

We tend to forget everything we learn...

• That is the norm. We consume a lot of information per day through our five senses. Not just educational materials such as YouTube, Coursera and other learning platforms. But also our usual tasks. What should I have for dinner. The item list for groceries that I have to get. The daily tasks I have to do. Not to mention, with Social Media platforms that is dominant today, we tend to consume information more than we can digest.
• This is exactly why we need something called the Second Brain. To store knowledge so that we can recall and use it whenever we can.

What is a Second Brain

• Think of Second Brain as a platform where we store crucial information. The purpose of second brain is to

1. Recall information whenever we needed
2. Use the information whenever we have to
3. Connect the dots between the information we store

• This solves the problem of forgetfulness and memorization, allowing us to use our brains for something else. It is like taking notes in a lecture room. Nowadays, it is in a digital platform
• When we summarize information through Second Brain, we use the CODE method

CODE Method

• The CODE method is a way of summarize the materials we consumed. Where

1. C = Capture: capture the key points
2. O = Organize: Organize it into categories
3. D = Distill: summarize it further, leaving only the true essences
4. E = Express: Shared it with others to enhance our knowledge

• Usually, the method of organizing can be described as the PARA Method

PARA Method

1. P = Project: Information that is currently crucial and must be used within a deadline
2. A = Area: Information that is always crucial
3. R = Resources: Information that is important but used once in a while
4. A = Archive: Information that may or may not be important

Using NotebookLM and Google Gemini as a Second Brain

The Process

• Creating a Second Brain using Google Gemini and NotebookLM is straightforward. First you want to create a library of resources. This is like a notebook in NotebookLM. Upon creating a notebook, you upload resources. This becomes a library consisting of relevant information you input.
• Next, through Google Gemini, you can talk to it normally while telling it to use relevant notebook as reference. It will answer your questions based on the resources it has. The benefit of this is that it reduces AI hallucinations as the answer is based the resources available instead of web searching.
• Furthermore, when you want to combine notebooks together, we use Gems absorb informations from relevant notebooks. There is a limitation as to how much information it can absorb so do be aware of that.

Your Own Responsibility

• With this in mind, it is the user responsibility to find resources on the relevant topics. The resources have to be reliable, accurate and unbiased.

References

• Satangmongkol K. (2026), Mini Gemini Bootcamp, The School of Duck, https://www.duckstep.co/mini-gemini-bootcamp
• Satangmongkol K. (2025), Data Science Bootcamp Batch 12, DataRockie, https://data-science-bootcamp1.teachable.com/p/data-science-bootcamp-12