I ditched YouTube's Watch Later for a NotebookLM queue — and it changed how I consume content

Most people use Google's AI-powered research assistant, NotebookLM (now rebranded as Gemini Notebook), to speed up research and get a better grasp of a topic. That makes sense, since that's exactly what it was designed for. For a long time, I did the same: I leaned on Gemini Notebook mostly for research and to prep for college midterms and finals. What I didn't realize, though, is that the tool could fit into my life beyond academics. I started using it for work, pairing it with tools like Slack and Excel, and even began using it to watch Netflix shows and read books. Weird, I know.

One of the first Gemini Notebook experiments I tried was using the tool to watch lengthy YouTube videos, and since then, I've mostly stopped watching YouTube the traditional way. Instead, I use Gemini Notebook to consume videos. To make this workflow a lot easier, I decided to replace my "Watch Later" list with a Gemini Notebook queue. And honestly, it just completely changed the way I consume content.

My old process wasn't exactly organized. Every time I wanted to "watch" a YouTube video using Gemini Notebook, I'd create a new notebook, upload the video's URL as a source, and then the actual watching process would begin. That worked, but it was clunky and easy to abandon. Now, I keep a single queue in Gemini Notebook where I drop every video I come across and want to process later. The transcripts become the core of the experience: I read them, ask the AI to summarize key points, and pull out quotes or data without ever hitting play.

The payoff is real. I no longer have a growing pile of unwatched videos sitting in my Watch Later list for weeks. Instead, I get through them in a fraction of the time, and I retain more because I'm actively reading and asking questions rather than passively watching. This approach works especially well for educational and technical content, where the substance matters more than the visuals. The main takeaway: AI tools can be adapted to personal workflows far beyond their intended purpose — sometimes with surprising results.