🧠 Second Brain, First Move

🧠Your client sent a Google Doc, a voice note, three emails, and a “quick update” via Slack. You? You just want to find the one thing that matters, without turning into your own project manager.

This week, we’re focused on smarter systems that make you look organized (even if you’re working in sweatpants). Tools and tricks to help you find files faster, pitch better, invoice without flinching, and yes—transform your notes into a podcast while walking the dog. (3-minute read)

Week’s Highlights:

• Tool Spotlight: Notebook LM turns your doc pile into a searchable brain with an audio overview option.

• Sherpa’s Shortcuts: Auto-fill your monthly invoice with one click + never dig for client files again.

• The Ridgeline News: ChatGPT follows up, and your face might be your next desktop.

• 😝Tools Gone Wild: Tidy inputs, epic AI outputs=teen’s secret success sauce.

AI tool spotlight:

Tool Sherpa explores the flood of new AI apps and carefully selects only proven tools.

🔍 NotebookLM: Your Client Brain, On Demand

Why It Matters

Freelancers juggle a lot—briefs, decks, feedback, transcripts, and 28 tabs open at once. NotebookLM (Google’s clever and totally free AI assistant) neatly gathers all your files into tidy, queryable Notebooks.

You upload PDFs, emails, slides, transcripts and even YouTube videos. Notebook LM reads only your stuff, never guesses, and answers your questions instantly.

Make a Notebook per client, per project, or just one giant “All My Stuff” folder. The more you feed it, the smarter it gets. Bonus: turn any Notebook into a quick podcast you can listen to while walking the dog (mobile app available). You can also query the podcast host for answers.

Who Should Use This

• Freelancers who want better organization

• Writers juggling multiple client voices

• Anyone who knows “it’s here somewhere” isn't a workflow

Best Use Case

📓Make a Notebook per client. Add their docs, briefs, and notes. Ask quick, practical questions. NotebookLM can comb through scores of pages instantly:

Pros:

NotebookLM turns messy files into smart, searchable Notebooks. Its mobile app creates podcasts from your uploaded content, ideal for absorbing info hands-free while out and about.

Cons:

It won’t write drafts, and rather just sorts, remembers, and helps you think.

Pricing:

Totally free. Just log in with Google.
👉 Try Notebook LM here

6 Ways Freelancers Actually Use Notebook LM:

• Quickly nail new client proposals or job posts: Match your past work examples to new client needs instantly. Land more gigs faster.

• Instant contract decoder: Spot red flags in NDAs without needing a lawyer (or becoming one). “Summarize this legalese in bullets a 12 year old could understand.”

• Turn doc dumps into drafts: Drop in briefs and docs, ask what matters, and get a quick outline before coffee cools.

• Pitch before they ask: Identify content gaps from your client’s files to pitch new collateral or projects they need.

• New client onboarding: Turn new-client docs into podcasts. Glean insights while walking the dog.

_{Disclaimer: Some links may earn us a small commission, but they never affect what we recommend.}

Sherpa’s shortcuts 🪓

Sherpa-approved hacks to streamline your workflow.

⚡ Hack #1: Auto-Draft Invoices With a Calendar Trigger

Problem:
You forget to create invoices, or scramble to recreate the same one every month.

Solution:
Set up a recurring Google Calendar event that links to a pre-filled invoice template (Google Docs or FreshBooks, Wave, etc.). When the reminder hits, click → update → send.

How to set it up:

1. Create a clean, fill-in-the-blanks invoice template in Google Docs or your invoicing tool.

2. Copy the direct link to that template.

3. In Google Calendar, create a monthly event titled “Invoice [Client Name]”

4. Paste the link into the calendar description. (Fill in details & send).

💡 Sherpa Tip:
If you use an accounting tool like Wave, you can also duplicate last month’s invoice instead—link to that in the calendar, skip the copy-paste dance.

⚡ Hack #2: Auto-Find Client Attachments (Without Digging)

Problem:
A client says, “It’s in the file I sent you,” and your inbox turns into a panic room.

Solution:
Use Gmail’s built-in filters to instantly surface every email from that client with an attachment. Zero scrolling. One click.

How to set it up:

1. In Gmail, type: from:[email protected] has:attachment

2. Save as a “Bookmark” named “📎 [Client Name] Files” from your browser pulldown menu

3. Repeat for your top 3–5 clients.

4. Tap “Bookmarks” tab pulldown to locate easily.

💡 Sherpa Tip:
Yes, you could query your client’s folder in Notebook LM—but for those quick grabs, this trick is faster than a search bar and smarter than a memory lapse.

The Ridgeline 🏔️

News on how AI is rewriting the rules for solopreneurs and small teams.

ChatGPT’s getting nosy, Google wants to ghost your tabs, and your next device might perch on your nose. Let’s trek:

🧠 Pick Your ChatGPT Brain: Still defaulting to GPT-3.5 and hoping for magic? This quick cheat sheet helps you pick the right model like a pro
🔗 Find your perfect model

👓 Glasses You Might Write On: Google’s new XR glasses might actually be wearable. If you write, pitch, or edit from cafés and co-ops, this one’s worth a squint.
🔗 Peek at the specs

🎙️ Talk to Your Browser: Gemini Live lands in Chrome. Now you can whisper “summarize this web page,” like you’ve got a personal assistant in your tabs.
🔗 Test it out

💬 Prompts That Snap You Out of It: Six ChatGPT prompt styles every stuck solopreneur should keep in their back pocket—right next to the snack drawer.
🔗 Save these now

🗂️ Your Mac’s Best-Kept Secret: Smart Folders = criminally underrated. Mac freelancers are using them to build zero-cost CRMs, client dashboards, and makeshift second brains.
🔗 Organize like a pro

🤖 No Staff? No Problem. One founder thinks AI agents can build a billion-dollar business—no employees, no overhead, no awkward team Zooms.
🔗 Read the bold claim

🎥 Final Sip:
Prompts are smarter, glasses are cooler, and your AI might finally stop interrupting.

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Tools gone wild! 😜 (Success edition)

Let’s end with a laugh — when AI tools take a detour off the happy path.

Teen AI Who Knows Data Is King

Meet Charlotte Rosario, the high-school founder behind SearchMentalHealth, a slick AI chat that zeroes in on the right mental-health resource in under 30 seconds. She grabbed public directories, scrubbed and labeled every entry, then fine-tuned her model on real user FAQ. No gimmicks, just solid prep. The payoff? Thousands of users in its first weeks and a hefty grant from Girls Who Code. Today, Charlotte’s creation serves over 25,000 Californians each month, and keeps growing.

📌 Lesson Learned:
You can query your own files for amazing insights—or spend your days digging through inbox archives. Tidy your client docs in Notebook LM (or any folder system) and let your “second brain” shine.

🧭 What’s Next?

You’ve seen a teen build AI magic, tamed your own file chaos, and set up systems that work while you walk the dog. Now it’s your turn: fire up Notebook LM, corrall those client docs, and uncover insights.

📬 Like this edition? Forward it to a fellow freelancer, share your favorite tool or wild AI moment, or hit reply—your Sherpa reads every note. Until next time, stay curious and keep climbing.

— Your Sherpa Team