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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

Get The Most Out
Of Claude Cowork

If you’re only chatting with Claude, you’re using a fraction of what it can do. Cowork takes a whole job, works through the steps on its own and hands you a finished file. Here’s how to actually use it.

In a normal chat you go back and forth, one message at a time. In Cowork you assign a job, Claude figures out the steps, works through them, and delivers something finished, like a doc, a spreadsheet or a sorted folder. Tasks run in the cloud, so they keep going even if you close your laptop.

The Mindset Shift

Stop thinking of Claude as a chatbot you ask questions to. Start thinking of it as an employee you assign work to.

Get Ready In 5 Minutes

01

Be on a paid plan

Cowork comes with every paid plan. Pro is $20 a month, Max $100, Ultra $200. (Current plans)

02

Get the desktop app

Cowork works on the web and phone too, but you need the Claude desktop app open on your computer for Claude to work with your local files.

03

Connect your tools

Go to Customize, then Connectors (on newer accounts Customize is called Plugins), and connect Gmail, Google Calendar and Google Drive. You can also add them from the + menu in the message box.

04

Connect a folder

When Claude asks for access to a folder on your computer, say yes. It can only read and write files in folders you’ve connected. It can move and rename files there, and it asks your permission before permanently deleting anything. Start with one folder you’re not precious about.

05

Start a task

Select Cowork in the message box. Anthropic is merging Chat and Cowork into one Claude, so if you don’t see the Chat and Cowork options, you already have the merged version and can assign the job right in a normal conversation. (Cowork help)

The #1 Mistake

Asking Cowork a question. "What’s a good marketing strategy?" is chat. Give it a job with a deliverable instead. "Read the files in my Marketing folder, write a Q3 strategy doc based on what’s worked so far, and save it in the same folder."

5 Things To Try Right Now

01

Clean up your computer

Point Cowork at your Downloads folder, Desktop or any cluttered folder. It reads every file, sorts them into subfolders, renames them clearly and flags duplicates.

Folder Cleanup
Organize my [Downloads] folder. 1. Look at every file and figure out what it is from its name and contents. 2. Propose a folder structure of no more than 8 subfolders by topic (e.g. Receipts, Work Docs, Photos, Installers, Personal). Show me the plan and wait for my OK before moving anything. 3. Once I approve, move each file into its folder and rename unclear files as YYYY-MM-DD - short description. 4. Put likely duplicates and old installers (.dmg, .exe, .pkg) in a folder called "Review Before Deleting". Do not delete anything. 5. When you're done, give me a short table: folder, number of files, and anything you weren't sure about.

02

Turn your files into a document

Give it a folder of meeting notes, research or data and ask for an SOP, training guide, project brief or report built from your actual files.

Files To Document
Read every file in my [folder name] folder. They're [meeting notes / research / client docs / data exports]. Build a [SOP / training guide / project brief / report] for [who will read it] from what's actually in those files. Structure: - A one-paragraph summary at the top - One section per [step / topic / project], with clear headers - A "Open questions" section listing anything the files contradict or leave unclear Rules: Use only what's in the files. Quote the source file name in brackets after any key fact so I can check it. Don't invent steps, numbers, or names. Save it as a Word doc called "[Document name]" in the same folder and tell me where it is.

03

Get a morning briefing

Your calendar, inbox and industry news, boiled down before you open your laptop. Run it once, then schedule it (see below).

Morning Briefing
Every weekday at [6:30am], put together my morning briefing. 1. My calendar for today: each meeting with who's in it and 2 lines on what I should walk in knowing. Flag any conflicts. 2. My Gmail from the last 16 hours: the 3 emails that most need me, and a short draft reply for each routine one. Save drafts only. Never send. 3. Industry news: search the web for the 3 most important stories from the last 24 hours about [your industry or topics], with one line each on why it matters to me and a link. 4. My top 3 priorities for today based on all of the above. Format: short headers and bullets, under 400 words. If a connector isn't available, say so and keep going with what you have.

04

Find subscriptions you’re wasting money on

Cowork searches your Gmail for receipts and renewal notices, builds a list of everything you pay for and shows you what to cut.

Subscription Audit
Find every subscription I'm paying for. 1. Search my Gmail from the last [6] months for receipts, payment confirmations, invoices, renewal notices, and free-trial-ending emails. 2. Build a spreadsheet with these columns: Service, Amount, How often (monthly / yearly), Last charge date, Next renewal if shown, Email it came from. 3. Total my monthly and yearly spend. 4. Flag anything that looks like a duplicate, a price increase, or a free trial that turned paid. 5. List the ones I should look at cancelling first and how much I'd save, but don't cancel or reply to anything. Use only what's in my emails. If an amount is unclear, mark it [CHECK] instead of guessing. Save the spreadsheet as "Subscriptions [Month Year]".

05

Give it a job before bed

Long jobs aren’t cut off by chat timeouts, and cloud tasks keep running with your laptop closed. Hand it a big research report or competitive analysis at night and check the finished file in the morning.

Overnight Research Report
This is a long job. Take your time and work through it fully while I'm away. Topic: [e.g. the 5 biggest competitors to my business / whether I should expand into X / the best CRM for a 10-person team] Why I need it: [the decision this will help me make] 1. Research it on the web using at least 10 credible sources. Prefer official sites, recent data, and original reports over blogs. 2. Build a full report with: a one-page executive summary, a comparison table, the key findings with sources linked, and your recommendation with the 3 biggest risks. 3. End with "What I couldn't confirm": anything you found conflicting or couldn't verify. Rules: Cite every number. Don't fill gaps with guesses. Save the finished report as a doc called "[Report name]" and tell me where it is when you're done.
Write A Brief, Not A Question

In chat you ask and refine. In Cowork you give the instructions up front and walk away, so your prompt is the brief. Every good one has 4 parts.

  1. What to read. "The files in my Q3 Reports folder" or "my Gmail from the last 7 days."
  2. What to do. Use a verb. "Create an executive summary," not "I need a summary."
  3. What the output looks like. "One doc with a section per project" or "a spreadsheet with name, cost and status columns."
  4. Where to put it. "Save it in the same folder." Otherwise you’ll find it in the task.

01

Example

Before: "Can you help me figure out where my projects stand?"

After: "Read all files in my Client Projects folder. Create a status report with each project’s current state, blockers and next steps, one section per project. Save it as Project Status in the same folder."

Schedule It So It Runs Without You

This is where Cowork goes from useful to life-changing. Type /schedule in any Cowork task and tell it how often to run. Your scheduled tasks live under Scheduled in the left sidebar. They run in the cloud, so your computer doesn’t need to be on, but anything that touches local files needs the desktop app open.

My starter schedule:

  1. Weekdays at 6:30am. Morning briefing.
  2. Sundays at 7pm. Week preview, with conflicts flagged and prep needed.
  3. Fridays at 4pm. Weekly review of what got done and what carries over.
  4. The 1st of every month. Subscription audit.
  5. Thursdays at 6pm. Weekend planner with the weather, local events and restaurants.
How Power Users Use It

01

Set global instructions once

Go to Settings, then Cowork, and click Edit next to Global instructions. Add your role, your voice and how you like files named. Every task starts with it.

02

Use projects for related work

Cowork projects keep their own files, instructions and memory, so a client or a launch always has its full context.

03

Chain the steps

"Read this folder, write a summary doc, draft an email to my team with the key findings, and save both." It works through each step in order.

04

Refine, don’t restart

When it finishes, stay in the task and say "make the summary shorter" or "organize this by date instead."

Start With One

Pick one job, like the file cleanup or the morning briefing. Once you see a finished deliverable you didn’t have to build yourself, you won’t go back to chat-only.