Gemini Sketchnotes

Sat, 11 Apr 2026 16:11:22 +0800

I use this prompt to generate sketchnotes on Gemini:

Draw this as a visually rich, intricately detailed, colorful, and funny, sketchnote.

Below that, I paste (or attach) whatever content I want it to draw.

I also turn on “Create Images” and switch the model to “Pro” (for better thinking.)

Here are some examples of how to use it.

Summarize articles. Pick email, report, news, or website.

Here’s a sketchnote for this article: How to use AI for research. I used the prompt above and pasted the article text.

Summarize presentations. Pick any proposal, status update, project report, or meeting agenda.

Here’s a sketchnote we emailed SNHU as pre-read before the meeting. I used the same prompt and attached the presentation. They loved the sketchnote!

Summarize books. Pick any textbook, non-fiction, fiction, or anthology.

This sketchnote summarizes Morgan House’s book Same as Ever

Summarize talks. Pick from YouTube, TED, podcast, or even meeting transcripts.

This sketchnote summarizes a talk by Rob Schrauwen of Elsevier. He really liked the sketchnote too!

Explain a workflow. Pick from any slide, architecture diagram, process document, or paper sketches.

This sketchnote documents a proposal submission workflow

NOTE: For complex documents or long transcripts, I add this line so that Gemini thinks first and creates a more structured sketchnote:

Think about the most important points, structure it logically so that the sketchnote is easy to follow, then draw it.

With sketchnotes, you unlock am interesting capability.

It catches attention - it’s colorful and engaging.
It signals simplicity - so people are more likely to read it.
It sets you apart - it’s rare when people try something different.
It’s personal - you can create a distinct version tailored to each audience - in minutes.

It takes just one prompt in front of any content. Try it out:

Draw this as a visually rich, intricately detailed, colorful, and funny, sketchnote.

Micro-notes

Sun, 29 Nov 2020 03:46:33 +0000

I maintain my (extensive) notes in text files. I’ve explored Evernote, Onenote, Google Keep, Apple Notes, and many other platforms. But text files work. I store them as Markdown and sync them on DropBox.

They used to be relatively large files (50-100KB) each, on broad topics. For example:

todo.txt was a consolidated list of things I had to do
people.txt was a list of everything I knew about people (addresses, birthdays, etc)
towrite.txt was a list of everything I wanted to write about
notes.txt was where I tracked notes about any topics
… and more

This led to a couple of problems.

Searching across files was hard. I wouldn’t remember if I wrote ideas for my next talk in todo.txt or towrite.txt, or if my meeting minutes where in notes.txt todo.txt. I had to open each file and search.
Files were getting too big. Editing them on mobile was harder. Scanning them was harder.

So I changed this system a few years ago into micro-notes. These files became a folder. For example, my notes/ folder looks like this:

time-management.txt has my time management notes
book-never-split-the-difference.txt has book notes on Never Split the Difference
eat-food-sleep-exercise-live-healthy.txt has notes on fitness

The folder has nearly 300 files. Here’s a glimpse of the latest files.

Similarly, my people/ folder has details of my discussions with various people I interact with – friends, colleagues & clients.

What made this change possible is Everything, a fast file search tool on Windows that lets me find files as I type. For example, if I’m looking for my notes on SlideSense, I just type “notes s” and it appears on the list.

I usually sort the files by run count (how often I opened them). That makes it easy to re-open the most used files.

It also makes it easier to edit these notes on mobile. I sync the folder on Dropbox, and use IAWriter to edit them while on walks. Dictation is pretty good, so I’ve been using that to take notes too.

Comments

Saurabh Mittal 3 Dec 2020 1:20 pm: Hey Anand, great to see you back! After a loonngggg hiatus!
S Anand 4 Dec 2020 10:37 am: Thanks, Saurabh!
Ananth 26 Dec 2020 2:32 am: Welcome back Anand. I have been following your “blog” (hope the term is still relevant!) for more than a decade. Your matter-of-fact writing is something that I enjoy and your experiences using various tools/approaches have always been interesting. Hope we can see more of your writing.
Ramamurthy 27 Dec 2020 7:03 pm: Hi Anand, I stumbled into your page accidentally while looking for something about Ilayaraja.I am your chittappa,Lalitha chitti’s husband.We attended your wedding too. Much water has flown under the bridge and I have lost contact with our relatives.Ramnath and Shekar are in touch.How is your Sriram uncle and your dad.I hope you remember me!

note-taking on S Anand

Gemini Sketchnotes

Micro-notes

Comments