For everybody who has been following my latest deep dive into the Google vs. Microsoft ecosystem, I’ve been hitting a significant roadblock: OneNote.

Regardless of Google’s spectacular productiveness suite, I’ve argued that I merely can’t make the change as a result of nothing in Google Workspace replicates the free-form, infinite-canvas flexibility of Microsoft’s digital pocket book.

Whereas I admire the passion for Google’s newest AI powerhouse, after placing it by means of its paces, I’ve realized there’s a elementary misunderstanding of what this instrument truly is.

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NotebookLM is a strong layer on prime of your notes

In my workflow, the precise library is a instrument like OneNote or Evernote. These are the locations the place I retailer messy assembly minutes, handwritten scribbles, and unpolished ideas.

They supply the structural DNA, just like the folders, tags, and infinite canvases that permit a ‘Second Mind’ to exist for years.

NotebookLM, however, is the knowledgeable librarian. It doesn’t wish to show you how to write notes; it needs that can assist you perceive the notes you’ve already written.

After I feed it my undertaking notes, it turns into a superb layer of synthesis. It surfaces connections I missed and solutions questions I didn’t know I had. However the second I attempt to deal with it as a note-taker, every little thing falls aside.

Total, NotebookLM isn’t designed to prepare your life; it’s designed that can assist you make sense of what you’ve already organized.

After I have to discover a particular theme throughout twenty PDFs or generate a abstract of a month’s value of analysis, NotebookLM is unbeatable.

NotebookLM lacks conventional note-taking options

When you attempt to deal with NotebookLM as a direct successor to OneNote or Evernote, you’ll hit a productiveness wall in a short time. The reason being easy: it’s lacking nearly each important function that defines a real note-taking app.

For starters, there isn’t a actual hierarchy. In OneNote, I depend on the Pocket book > Part > Web page construction to maintain my life categorized. As compared, there aren’t any sub-folders, nested pages, or tagging programs in NotebookLM.

When you’ve got tons of of notes, you may’t simply slap a to-do or pressing tag on one thing and discover it later. You might be basically compelled to depend on the AI to search out issues for you, which is a significant gamble when you’ll want to pull up a selected piece of knowledge immediately.

Then there’s the precise act of taking a observe. The net editor is bare-bones. If you’re used to wealthy formatting, highlighting, or utilizing drawing instruments with a stylus in your iPad or Samsung Galaxy S24 Extremely, you’re out of luck.

NotebookLM’s written notes are principally plain-text sticky notes. You possibly can’t sketch a fast diagram and even create a posh desk simply.

The most important dealbreaker for me is the cellular expertise.

An enormous a part of my workflow is fast seize, like snapping a photograph of a receipt, recording a fast voice memo whereas strolling, or utilizing a house display screen widget to jot down an thought earlier than it disappears.

You must navigate an online interface, which is much too gradual for capturing ideas in actual time.

By forcing your self into this ecosystem, you aren’t simply altering apps; you’re including friction to each single step of your day. You’ll spend extra time managing the instrument’s limitations than truly doing all of your work.

In case your productiveness is determined by velocity and group, treating NotebookLM as a main note-taker is a assured option to decelerate.

These are the situations the place the normal note-taking strategy by OneNote, Evernote, and even Google Preserve wins by a large margin.

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The best hybrid workflow

The actual magic occurs whenever you cease making an attempt to make one instrument do every little thing and begin taking part in to its particular person strengths. For me, the best workflow isn’t about selecting between OneNote and NotebookLM.

Whether or not I’m on my Mac, S24 Extremely, or Home windows desktop, my inbox is all the time OneNote. That is the place I dump uncooked information: internet clippings, assembly transcripts, screenshots of diamond designs, or fast voice memos.

After a undertaking reaches a sure level, I export that particular part as a PDF or a batch of textual content recordsdata. That is the one handbook a part of the method, however it’s an important one.

It forces me to determine what info is definitely value educating to the AI.

I add these paperwork and PDFs to NotebookLM, ask it focused questions, and obtain related solutions very quickly.

I can generate thoughts maps, audio overviews, and even video overviews primarily based on added information.

The NotebookLM entice

NotebookLM is a good analysis engine, however it’s not and was by no means meant to be a substitute for a standard note-taking powerhouse.

NotebookLM isn’t a substitute for OneNote and Evernote as a result of it isn’t making an attempt to be your digital submitting cupboard — it’s your digital guide.

If you’re nonetheless making an attempt emigrate your whole note-taking right into a instrument that lacks fundamental hierarchical group and sturdy formatting, you aren’t upgrading your workflow — you’re breaking it.

I’ve all the time loved utilizing Microsoft OneNote. It’s a unbelievable method to manage my ideas for articles and movies, and I like that I can simply sync pages between a number of gadgets.

I additionally admit that I by no means get essentially the most out of it. I’ll kind out some notes on my cellphone and move data forwards and backwards from my desktop PC, however I do know there’s a greater approach.

Fortunately, I convey an E Ink pill with me wherever I am going. The Boox Notice Air4 C makes for a wonderful productiveness companion, and I’ve discovered it to be considerably extra versatile than a pill with a conventional OLED or LCD display.

The Boox tablets additionally ship with a full model of Android, permitting me to make use of my favourite productiveness apps. Once I put in OneNote, I grew to become a believer.

It’s simpler to write down issues down

I like utilizing the stylus for notes

I can kind a 100-page doc and never bear in mind a single phrase of it. For no matter motive, typing simply doesn’t have the identical endurance in my mind because the written phrase.

That’s the limitation I encounter when utilizing OneNote on my cellphone and PC. Sure, I get pleasure from typing out outlines and lists, with fancy bullet factors and indentation. But when I don’t get something from it, what’s the purpose?

Utilizing my E Ink pill for OneNote permits me to attract with the stylus. It’s the higher, extra intuitive approach for me to take notes, and I bear in mind a lot extra of what I write down.

I may add drawings, graphs, and different illustrations. I’m not certain by what I can kind in on a keyboard. It removes a limitation, and I discover myself utilizing OneNote much more consequently.

Pulling out my cellphone and sorting by means of the notes on it may really feel cumbersome. Shifting my OneNote utilization to my E Ink pill is a extra rewarding expertise.

A centralized location for my musings

I like that the whole lot pops up in a number of places

Onyx did an exquisite job with its first-party apps. I believe the calendar program is excellent, and it’s the perfect substitute in your paper planner.

The corporate additionally included a straightforward method to sync your notes to your PC and different Onyx gadgets, however there could be a few further steps.

Loading up OneNote as an alternative makes the method streamlined. I merely log in from my PC, smartphone, and E Ink pill, and the whole lot syncs throughout all my gadgets.

I’m additionally extra prone to really use the notes I’ve written down. It’s arduous to explain what number of issues I’ve written down with pen and paper, however I didn’t have them round after I wanted them.

It’s not possible to hold my bodily notes round with me all over the place, however with an E Ink pill, it’s so simple as throwing it into my messenger bag.

E Ink tablets are unbelievable to hold round

Low-power consumption and straightforward on the eyes

Know-how is barely helpful when it’s out there, and the character of E Ink tablets makes them higher for carrying round each day. They’re low-power gadgets with negligible battery drain.

I can go away my Notice Air4 C in my messenger bag over the weekend and nonetheless have loads of cost by Monday morning.

Not having to cost a tool nightly means I’m extra prone to take it with me.

Pulling a pill out and in of my bag continuously will get annoying, and it’s only one thing more that must be plugged in at night time, together with my smartphone and smartwatch.

I’m all about ease-of-use, and if I’m extra prone to carry one thing with me, it’s going to have a larger influence on my productiveness.

E Ink gadgets produce other advantages. I’m surrounded by brilliant screens and displays for my complete day. It’s not wholesome for my eyes in the long run, however there’s not a lot method to keep away from it — particularly as a tech journalist.

I’ll not be capable to keep away from screens utterly, however utilizing my E Ink pill at occasions helps scale back eye pressure.

E Ink shows are simply viewable, particularly in pure lighting. It’s an fulfilling expertise, and it makes taking notes a lot better.

Don’t be afraid to attempt one thing new

I knew I cherished utilizing Microsoft OneNote to prepare my ideas, however I simply didn’t know one of the simplest ways to take full benefit of it.

Discovering E Ink tablets, just like the Boox Notice Air 4C, permits me to make use of full Android to obtain my favourite productiveness apps.

The pure benefits of E Ink tablets make them simpler to hold round, and I extremely suggest one in your subsequent buy — particularly when you use OneNote.

Decision

2480 x 1860 b/w, 1240 x 930 shade

Storage

64GB with microSD card slot

Model

Onyx

Display screen Dimension

10.3-inch

The Onyx Boox Notice Air4 C contains a beautiful 10.3-inch Kaleido 3 shade show with a premium construct. It runs full Android 13, that means you’ll be able to obtain your favourite productiveness apps. As you’d anticipate, battery life is excellent on account of its E Ink show and comparatively low-powered chipset.

We’ve relied on acquainted names like Google Hold, OneNote, and Evernote for years to seize our ideas, arrange our concepts, and handle info. Nevertheless, as my wants grew, I wished an answer that wasn’t solely about capturing, but additionally about understanding, connecting, and leveraging my information in methods these instruments cannot.

After I got here throughout Google’s NotebookLM instrument, I did not bounce initially as a result of lack of cell apps. Now that NotebookLM cell apps can be found on Android and iPhone, I made a decision to present it an sincere shot and got here away impressed. This is why I believe NotebookLM is poised to redefine how we work together with our info.

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After I first heard about NotebookLM, my thought was, “Nice, one other note-taking app from Google that can disappear in a yr or two.” Nevertheless, there’s a basic distinction between NotebookLM and different customary instruments. It is extra of a private analysis assistant powered by my content material.

Not like OneNote, I do not simply retailer my assembly notes, analysis papers, and interview transcripts. I feed them to NotebookLM, and it understands them. I can ask it questions on a doc I barely skimmed, and it supplies solutions very quickly. This has been extremely useful in studying new ideas.

I wished to be taught concerning the fundamentals of self-hosting. I took a number of YouTube movies, Docker documentations, and internet articles round self-hosting and uploaded all the things to my NotebookLM account.

I can now ask it questions, equivalent to “What are the favored Docker containers?” “Which gadgets can I take advantage of for self-hosting?” and extra, and get solutions from the added sources. Additionally it is sensible sufficient to recommend extra questions on the backside to be taught extra concerning the matter.

4

Helps a variety of file sorts

My analysis comes from in all places, and NotebookLM helps that chaos superbly. I can feed it my neatly organized Markdown notes, which is a big win for my present workflow.

For collaborations, I herald Google Docs and Slides. After I’m researching a subject, I can drop in web site URLs, and NotebookLM intelligently pulls the content material. That is the place it turns into game-changing for me: I can pop in YouTube URLs, and it processes the transcripts.

NotebookLM offers me ample choices to gather analysis supplies from just about any supply. As NotebookLM generates summaries, I can take notes with a wealthy editor.

3

Surprisingly efficient find helpful info

One efficient side of NotebookLM is its capability to pinpoint exactly the data I would like. The opposite day, I used to be deep into researching a brand new automobile mannequin, and as a substitute of sifting by infinite tabs and paperwork, I made a decision to place NotebookLM to the take a look at.

I uploaded all the things I may discover: the official brochure (a dense PDF), a few detailed internet evaluations from completely different auto publications, and the URLs of some in-depth YouTube video evaluations. Then, I requested the next questions.

• What is the real-world mileage within the metropolis?
• How’s the house within the again for 3 adults?
• Does it help wi-fi Android Auto?
• What is the turning radius?

NotebookLM extracted all the things. It pulled particular figures and gave me correct solutions. It is the last word clever mind that works with my analysis.

2

Audio overview is a game-changer

Audio overview is one other neat add-on from NotebookLM. I wished to discover the latest Python integration in Excel. I uploaded the official announcement web page from Microsoft, Python libraries, and a few YouTube movies. With a single click on, I generated an in depth audio overview of the topic.

It is like having a devoted analysis assistant whispering all the information base into my ears. I take advantage of this function to make amends for undertaking particulars throughout my commute.

1

NotebookLM has enormous potential

Like every software program, NotebookLM is not excellent. Whereas the desktop setup is great, the lately launched cell apps are beneath common. They lack widgets, the flexibility to take notes, and extra from the desktop.

Even on the desktop, I might like to see an official internet clipper, help for picture file sorts, and a greater textual content editor for taking notes. These are nitpicks, although. I imagine that NotebookLM has enormous potential. The core intelligence and the way in which it prompts my information are forward of conventional note-taking apps.

Give your note-taking an improve

Whereas Google Hold, OneNote, and Evernote have served as our digital scratchpads for years, the Private Data Administration (PKM) panorama is evolving. NotebookLM has change into an important instrument in my productiveness toolkit, and I stay up for seeing how Google takes it additional with new options sooner or later.

If NotebookLM would not be just right for you, try these prime AI note-taking instruments to your workflow.