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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

The 5-Step
ChatGPT Setup

Most people use a fraction of ChatGPT. Here’s the setup that takes you from basic chatbot to a real AI system, in a single afternoon.

If you only type questions into ChatGPT and read the answers back, you’re missing most of it. The difference between a chatbot and a real AI system is setup. A system remembers your context, reaches into your files and inbox, does repeat tasks the same way every time, and keeps working on a schedule. Here are the five things to set up, in order.

The 5 Steps

01

Work in the desktop app

The desktop app is where ChatGPT can do the most. It’s where you switch between Chat, Work and Codex, and where Work can use local files, apps and your browser when you allow it.

  1. Download the ChatGPT desktop app (Mac, Windows or Linux) and sign in.
  2. For a quick question, use Quick chat (the icon next to New chat). On a Mac, check the app’s settings for a keyboard shortcut so it’s one keystroke away.
  3. The first time you ask it to work with another app, grant the permission it asks for. On a Mac that’s Screen Recording and Accessibility.

Then you can say "Look at the spreadsheet I have open and flag anything that looks off" instead of copying and pasting.

02

Create a Project

A Project keeps related chats, files and standing instructions together, so you stop re-explaining who you are every time.

  1. In the left sidebar, click New project and name it, like "Job Search 2026."
  2. Add the files it should always know to the Project’s sources, like your resume and portfolio.
  3. Open the Project’s instructions and paste the template below, filled in.
  4. Start every related chat inside that Project so the context carries over.
Job Search Project Instructions
You are my job-search partner. Keep this context in mind for every chat in this Project. ## About me - Current role and experience: [ROLE, X YEARS] - Target roles: [e.g. senior product manager in fintech or health] - Location and setup: [CITY, remote / hybrid / onsite] - Salary floor: [$X] - Deal-breakers: [e.g. no travel over 25%, no early-stage startups] ## My materials - My resume is in this Project's files. Treat it as the only source of truth for my real experience. - When I paste a job description, remember the company and role so we can track it. ## How to help 1. When I paste a job description, score it 1 to 10 against my target roles, salary floor and deal-breakers, and name the two biggest gaps. 2. Tailor my resume bullets to that job using only real experience from my resume. Never invent employers, titles, dates or numbers. If a bullet would need a number I haven't given you, write [ADD NUMBER]. 3. Draft a short cover note (under 150 words) in my voice: direct, warm, no corporate filler. 4. Keep a running table of every role I've discussed here: Company | Role | Score | Status. ## Rules - Ask me before assuming anything about my experience. - Be honest when a role is a stretch.

03

Connect your apps

Plugins (older guides call them connectors or apps) link ChatGPT to Gmail, Google Drive, Google Calendar, Slack, Notion and more. You stop being the copy-paste middleman.

  1. Open Plugins in the ChatGPT sidebar.
  2. Search for an app, click + to install it, and sign in to approve access.
  3. Ask in plain English, or type @ plus the plugin name: "Find the contract from [client] in my Drive and pull out the payment terms."

You can disconnect any app at any time. What you can install depends on your plan and workspace, so on Free you may still be pasting things in by hand.

04

Create one Skill

A Skill teaches ChatGPT to do one task the same way every time. You write the steps and rules once, then call it by name.

  1. Start a chat in Work and type @skill-creator, or paste the prompt below.
  2. Answer its questions, then test the draft on a real example and tighten it.
  3. Use it any time by typing @ and the skill’s name. In the desktop app, all your skills live under Skills in the sidebar (OpenAI’s skill docs).

Good first Skills include booking flights by your travel rules, inventory forecasting from last month’s numbers, and a Google Ads audit that checks the same things every week.

Build My First Skill
@skill-creator Help me build a skill for a task I do the same way every time. The task: [e.g. writing my weekly client update, auditing my Google Ads account, planning a trip by my travel rules] What I start with: [e.g. a spreadsheet export, my notes, a link] What the finished result looks like: [e.g. a one-page doc with 3 sections, a table, an email draft] My steps, in order: 1. [STEP] 2. [STEP] 3. [STEP] Always: [RULES, e.g. use my brand voice, flag anything over budget, cite the source row] Never: [e.g. send anything, invent numbers, use jargon] Ask me any questions you need first. Then draft the skill, test it on this example: [PASTE OR ATTACH A REAL EXAMPLE], and show me where the output could drift so we can tighten it.

Skip Custom GPTs

OpenAI is retiring Custom GPTs and moving them to plugins and skills. If you have one, migrate it from My GPTs. Don’t start a new one.

05

Set up a scheduled task

This is what makes it feel like a system. A scheduled task runs on its own and the work is waiting for you.

  1. Ask for something and add when: "Every weekday at 7 AM, give me..." ChatGPT offers to schedule it.
  2. Pick the time and how often: once, daily or weekly.
  3. Find and edit your tasks under Scheduled in the sidebar (how scheduled tasks work). Tasks that touch files on your computer need it on with the app running.

Three that earn their keep are a morning news briefing, a Monday calendar summary, and a monitor that only pings you when something changes.

Morning Briefing Task
Every weekday at 7:00 AM [YOUR TIME ZONE], give me a morning briefing. Include, in this order: 1. Three or four headlines that actually matter in [MY INDUSTRY, e.g. AI and marketing], one sentence each with a source link. 2. What's on my calendar today, with the first meeting time called out. (Use my connected calendar.) 3. One reminder of my focus this week: [YOUR FOCUS]. Rules: - Keep it readable in under a minute. - Only include news from the last 24 hours. - If nothing important happened in my industry, say so instead of padding the list. - If my calendar isn't connected, skip that section and tell me how to connect it.

How It Stacks

The briefing can read your calendar because you connected it in step 3. The app gives ChatGPT reach, Projects give it memory, plugins give it your real information, Skills give it consistency, and scheduled tasks keep it working while you’re away.