Have you been meaning to try out Google’s NotebookLM but haven’t yet?
Here are 3 reasons to consider it over other tools:
- You need to synthesize a lot of information.
- You want to create a personal research assistant.
- You want to investigate existing sources and get answers with fewer hallucinations, drawn from information you trust, BEFORE taking it elsewhere into your own personal notes or projects.
If that sounds like you, NotebookLM could be a great tool.
​Learn 80% of NotebookLM in 13 minutes »​
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Try this free, public notebookLM right now!
I put together a public "notebook" in NotebookLM for you to experiment with right away. Since you are a part of my newsletter (thank you, I'm honored), here is a direct link to this interactive notebook:
​A research notebook on the Linking Your Thinking methodology »​
NOTE: You'll need a Google account (free) to access 🙏
If you try it out and have the time...please email how your experience was (and what you may have learned).
Obsidian Bases are now searchable
If you are a catalyst member, you now have access to version 1.12.
There are two big things.
- Obsidian CLI (important if you use AI)
- Bases are now searchable.
One quick thing that’s cool about searchable bases. I went to my Recents base where I saw that I recently modified a note I have for Joel Anderson, who is an expert presenter for the 2026 LYT Workshop. So I tested search and typed: “Joel”
Two notes came back. Obviously the Joel Anderson note, but also a note I have for Sonke Ahrens. “That’s interesting,” I thought, “What caused that?” Then I saw that in the “related” property of the Sonke note, I linked to the Joel note.
Takeaway 1: When you search in a base, it will also give you matching results when the term appears in any other column.
Pretty cool. It adds an element of serendipity to search results.
But…searching in a base won’t show you results where the search term is only in the body of the note. For example, In my note on “Cognitive Affordances,” I mention Joel Anderson since he’s an leading authority on the topic, but that note does not appear when I search within a base for “Joel”.
Takeaway 2: When you search in a base, it won’t give you matching results if the term only appears in the body of a note.
If you want to learn more about bases, I have multiple videos to walk you through this important feature.
​Introducing Bases | Complete Guide to Bases
Idea Updates
Ideaverse AI – 1-Day Bootcamp
Your shared thinking space with AI.
Make it once, use it forever.
The more I think about it, the more I want to make this a one-day bootcamp set up your perfect AI Assistant in a second Obsidian vault.That way, in 6-8 hours, you can leave with a fully operational AI assistant that:
- Shares an Obsidian vault with you.
- Does work independently of you.
- Knows exactly where to put every note.
- Does not have access to any private notes.
- Does not have access to personal accounts.
I will continue to shout from the rooftops on this: If you’re going to use agentic AI, you need a second vault. In the future, many of us will want to use agentic AI, I am certain of that. But those who benefit most safely and sustainably will be those who figure out their security today, not before agentic AI is foisted on us in the coming months and year in ways where we feel we have less choice and end up giving away far more.
We now have a few hundred people who’ve filled out the survey.
If we do this, I’m aiming for around April 22nd.
If you are interested, click below, and I’ll ask you a few questions.
​I am interested in attending the one-day Ideaverse AI bootcamp »​
(And yes, if you are on Knowledge Accelerator, you would get this for included.)
LYT Workshop 2026
We are having an excellent Week 2. Amazing energy and interactions.
I led Super Session 2 on Tuesday, which is my favorite. I lead multiple guided exercises, demos, and walkthroughs around notemaking and mapmaking. Each has a fundamental process that we've codified into a simple method. Notemaking has the Spark Method. Mapmaking (the most game-changing skill in my opinion) has the Mapping Method. I created brand new slides for one of the segments on the Mapping Method. Here's one of the slides.
This is a completely new thinking tool and method we've only had since 2020, but very few people have realized how powerful it is. (The first two steps are easy and fun, and they make the third step happen without us even trying.)
Feel free to join the waitlist for next year. Just email us.​
Idea Exchange
Calling all introverts. My friend and former LYT colleague Bianca Pereira is running a short survey and trying to reach a very specific kind of thinker. She is one of the most thoughtful people I know and the survey she put together asks excellent questions. They are great to get you reflecting on some really deep stuff. Go to the Clarity Survey.​
3 Factors to Consider When Using AI
I recorded a 20-minute video where I am just thinking out loud about how to approach interacting with AI, especially when it comes to your own personal notes in a way that is secure for you. if you're interested in a slower-paced type of video, you might enjoy it. I's not quite right for public YouTube, so I'm going to share it in the YouTube Members place soon. (And in the LYT Community of course.) Here's the link to my member's only video.
Obsidian just won
I'm not on Twitter/X too often but I shared the Obsidian Just Won video over there and the comments are always interesting.
Stay connected,
Nick
P.S... I'm curious, what are your favorite newsletters (aside from this one, of course)?
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