A lot of useful information is only as useful as its organization. The same goes for my own brain, of course. Getting this information in various formats can help teach them, and Google’s notebooklm has been fun to experiment with for this purpose, especially the custom podcasts with AI hosts.
The latest addition is the new feature card. A thought card is an old technique for organizing your thinking using visual webs of information connecting ideas together. Imagine a branch tree where each limb is a concept and each twig is a supportive idea. They are good for people who think visually.
The Notebooklm version is essentially that, but it is composed of an AI model. I decided to test this thing with two real situations: planning a garden and trying to become a rush at DIY repairs of the home.
Mind Garden
The garden was first. I uploaded a pile of articles I had hoarded – things about companion planting, swollen beds, native perennials, composting and one blog post where someone swear by pouring beer on their tomatoes. Notebooklm chewed through it all and spit a thought card upon request.
There were branches for planning, locations and even the benefits of gardening, among others. Each branch had a long list of ‘twigs’ that covered all kinds of sub -topics that you can see above. Each was clickable, causing the conversation part of the notebooklm to elaborate on this topic. It was extremely useful to keep all these elements organized.
DIY
The same goes for the DIY project. My house has this charming quality where things just break for no reason. I had already tried to fix a leaky toilet once, which ended up flooding the bathroom and watching a YouTube tutorial through a veil of defeat.
This time I came prepared. I uploaded manuals, how-to-articles and a few trusted repair blogs. Mindic card whipped categories such as planning, building codes and the most important DIY project list within seconds. I chose floor installation from the set of twigs and you can see hardwood floors, humidity barriers and an expansion gap.
There was something strange soothing about seeing the steps that were so clearly laid. I clicked on “Door Hanging” and got an overview of the different types of doors and how to set them from AI. I felt that I had had a conversation with someone who actually knows what they are doing.
Other thinking
Notebooklm already did a good job of summarized things, but the mind briefly added a layer of clarity that made it feel almost tactile. I could see how ideas were connected and how it would help me learn faster.
That’s not to say it’s perfect. Sometimes the mind cards get a little too enthusiastic and begin to branch out to keys who don’t really help. A brief tried to connect “composting” with “composing” music for gardening for some reason. And with a lot of niche items, AI can still miss the brand by offering generic advice when what you need is something specific, like how to fix a loose tile without separating half your kitchen.
I would also love more manual control. Right now you can navigate and explore the cards, but you can’t really fine them up very much. Sometimes I will pull a knot, rename it or cut a whole branch that is not useful. Still, this is nitpicks. However, the core experience is solid.
The truth is that I did not expect to love thought cards. I thought they would be a nice visual gimmick, something I would play with once and then forget. But I think I will use them more, especially for all ambitious plans I have to improve my home and garden. In a world full of tabs is a short nice to have.
