oh man, i feel u on the study overload... it's literally impossible to keep up sometimes. honestly, i've tried a bunch of these and it's kinda hit or miss.

I was reallyyy hoping Notion with the Notion AI add-on would be the dream, but idking, the automated backlinking felt a bit messy to me. i mean, it's okay for basic stuff but it didnt really "think" for me, you know?

Here's what I've actually messed around with:

- Logseq vs Obsidian: both are great for that "smart" layer with graph views, but they have a steep learning curve. obsidian is cool cuz of the plugins, but setting it up is a headache.
- Glean Notes: i tried this for recorded lectures. it's decent at syncing audio to text, but the price is highky annoying if you're on a budget.
- NotebookLM: honestly, this one is probably the best choice right now. it's free (for now?) and you can dump like 50 PDFs in there and just ask it questions.

but yeah, be careful with the AI summaries... i've had issues with them hallucinating facts before. definitely double check the "smart" notes before an exam!! gl!

Respectfully, I'd consider another option because after years of trying every shiny new tool, I've learned that dumping all your data into a cloud-based AI can be super risky for your privacy and long-term data ownership. I honestly think you should prioritize a local-first approach to keep your notes safe!!

I've been using Obsidian for years and it's literally a game-changer for organization because of the graph view and backlinking. To get that 'smart' layer without breaking the bank, you can add the Obsidian Smart Connections plugin which is totally free and uses AI to find related notes across your vault.

* Obsidian (Free for students/personal use)
* Otter.ai Basic Plan (Free for 300 mins/month of lecture transcripts)
* Anki (Free, open-source flashcards with AI import plugins)

It's way more budget-friendly cuz you aren't stuck with a $20/month sub, plus you actually OWN your notes forever. Good luck!

Yep, this is the way

For your situation, I would suggest looking into NotebookLM by Google! I'm still basically a beginner with all these high-tech study tools, but honestly, this one blew me away recently!! It's AMAZING because you can just dump in your PDFs, transcripts, and notes, and it basically creates a personalized AI brain for that specific material. Iirc, it can even generate a podcast-style summary of your notes which is sooo cool for listening while commuting.

I'm not 100% sure if it does the automated backlinking as well as something like Obsidian—which I've heard is the GOAT for that—but Obsidian has a bit of a learning curve, tbh. If you want something simpler that just works, I think NotebookLM is the way to go since it's free. It really helps with that 'smart' layer you mentioned! Definitely check it out, it might change your whole workflow. gl!

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Exactly what I was thinking

Seconded!