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A free guide by Mariah Brunner ↗ INSTAGRAM ↗ TIKTOK

New To Claude?
Do These 5 Things
First, Part 2

The setup for all five things from the video, with exact clicks and a starter prompt for each.

Five setups, one afternoon. Each prompt below pastes straight into Claude. Skills work on every plan, Free included. Scheduled tasks, plugins and the Chrome extension need a paid plan. Missed part one? Do that first.

Two Things Before You Start

1. Find your menu. Skills, connectors and plugins live under Customize in the left sidebar. Claude is renaming it Plugins through November 9, so if you see Plugins instead, that’s the same place, with skills, connectors and plugins on one page. (What changed)
2. Flip one toggle. Go to Settings, then Capabilities, and turn on Code execution and file creation (called Create and edit files in the newer layout). Skills don’t work without it.

The 5 Setups

01

Create one reusable skill

A skill is a saved set of instructions Claude pulls in whenever a task matches, so the work comes out the same way every time. Start with something you make weekly. For most people that’s a deck.

  1. Browse the library. Open Customize, then Skills, then the Discover tab, and add the one or two that match your work.
  2. Install my Deck Builder. Download the ZIP below. Go to Customize, then Skills, click +, then Create skill, then Upload a skill, and pick the ZIP. Don’t unzip it.
  3. Or try it once. Copy the skill below into a chat and add: "Interview me to fill in the brackets, then turn this into a skill."
↓ Download the Deck Builder skill (.zip)
deck-builder / SKILL.md
--- name: deck-builder description: Builds slide decks in my exact structure, style, and voice. Use whenever I ask for a deck, slides, a presentation, a pitch, or a PowerPoint. --- # Deck Builder ## First run: fill in my details If any [bracket] below is still empty, stop and interview me before building anything. - Ask ONE question at a time, 8 questions max. - Offer 2 or 3 example answers with each question so I can just pick one. - When we're done, rewrite this skill with my answers filled in and save it to my skills. If you can't save it, give me the finished file to download. ## Who my decks are for - My role and business: [e.g. solo creator selling a course] - Usual audiences: [clients, my team, my boss, investors, a class] - What they should walk away with: [a decision, a yes, a clear plan] ## My structure (use every time unless I say otherwise) 1. Title slide: a one-line promise, my name, the date. 2. The problem or goal, in the audience's words. 3. Three to five core slides, one idea each. 4. Proof: a number, an example, or a quote. 5. The ask or next step, with an owner and a date. 6. Appendix (optional): detail I might get asked about. Default length: [8 to 12] slides. ## Style rules - Brand colors: [hex codes]. Fonts: [heading / body]. Logo: [where, or "none"]. - Every headline is a full sentence that states the takeaway ("Sign-ups doubled after we cut the form to 3 fields"), never a label ("Sign-ups"). - Max [3] bullets per slide, about 12 words each. Need more? Split the slide. - One visual per slide: a chart, an image, or one big number. Every chart gets a one-line caption saying what to notice. - Speaker notes on every slide, written the way I talk: [plain, warm, direct]. - Never: [walls of text, clip art, generic stock photos]. ## How to work 1. If the goal, audience, or ask is unclear, ask up to 3 quick questions. If I gave you enough, skip them. 2. Show a one-line outline per slide first. Wait for my "go" unless I said "just build it." 3. Build an editable PowerPoint (.pptx) using the structure and style above. 4. Before handing it over, check: every headline states a takeaway, no slide breaks the bullet limit, every number matches my source, and the ask slide is there. 5. Hand it back with 3 lines: what's in it, anything you assumed, and what I should double-check. ## Sources I might give you notes, docs, spreadsheets, a transcript, or a rough brain dump. Use facts only from what I give you or what you can verify. Label anything you assumed. Never invent numbers or quotes. ## Examples Me: "Make me a deck for Thursday's client kickoff from these notes." You: outline first, then the full .pptx in my structure. Me: "Turn this report into 5 slides for my boss." You: condense to 5 slides, keep takeaway headlines, move the detail into speaker notes.

The first time you ask for a deck, it interviews you to fill in your details. After that, just ask for a deck the way you normally would and Claude picks the skill up on its own.

02

Set up a scheduled task

A scheduled task is a prompt Claude runs on a timer. It runs remotely, so it still happens with your laptop closed, unless it needs files on your computer. The best first one is a morning brief.

  1. Connect your sources. In Customize, add the Gmail and Google Calendar connectors (or Microsoft 365).
  2. Create it. If your message box doesn’t show Chat and Cowork options, paste the prompt into any conversation, answer Claude’s questions and click Schedule. If it does, switch to Cowork, click Scheduled in the left sidebar, then New task, then Create with Claude, and paste it.
  3. Run it once now. On the Scheduled page, run it on demand and fix anything off before tomorrow morning.
Morning Brief (Scheduled Task)
Every weekday at 8:00 AM [my time zone], give me my morning brief. SOURCES Use Gmail, Google Calendar, and [Slack / a Google Drive folder] if connected. If a source isn't connected, say so in one line and keep going. BUILD IT IN THIS ORDER 1. URGENT (only if something qualifies): a failed payment, a security alert, a legal or contract issue, or an upset client. Put it at the very top. 2. TODAY: every meeting with time, who's in it, and one line on what I should prep. Flag double-bookings and meetings with no agenda. 3. NEEDS A REPLY TODAY: emails from the last 24 hours that ask me a direct question, carry a deadline in the next 48 hours, or come from [my VIP list: names or domains]. For each: sender, a one-line summary, and a one-sentence suggested reply. Max 7. 4. WAITING ON OTHERS: threads where I asked something and haven't heard back in 3+ days. 5. FYI: anything else worth knowing, max 5 bullets. 6. ONE THING: the single most important task for today, and why, in one sentence. SKIP Newsletters, receipts, promos, social notifications, and automated alerts (unless they're urgent per step 1). RULES - Under 300 words. Bullets only. Start with the first section and stop after the last. - Read only. Never send, reply, archive, label, or delete anything. - If a section is empty, write "Nothing today" so I know you checked. - Don't guess. If something is unclear, flag it with "(check this)". - On Mondays, add a line with my 3 biggest deadlines this week.

How scheduled tasks work →

03

Build an artifact

An artifact is a working tool, like a tracker or a dashboard, that Claude builds next to your chat. I built one to track credit card benefits across my cards, and it found me hundreds of dollars I wasn’t using.

Credit Card Benefits Tracker (Artifact)
Build me an interactive artifact: a credit card benefits tracker. STEP 1: RESEARCH My cards: [e.g. Amex Platinum, Chase Sapphire Reserve, Capital One Venture X]. Search the web for each card's CURRENT recurring credits and perks (statement credits, travel credits, subscriptions, lounge access, free night certificates, insurance). For each benefit, capture: name, dollar value, how often it resets (monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, card anniversary), and how to activate or use it. Give me the source link for each card. If you can't confirm a benefit is still offered, mark it "verify" instead of guessing. STEP 2: BUILD THE TRACKER - One section per card, one row per benefit: name, value, reset period, next reset date, and a "used" checkbox. - Let me log partial use (e.g. $12 of a $15 monthly credit). - A dashboard at the top: total benefit value per year, value used so far, and value left on the table. - An "Expiring soon" panel listing anything that resets in the next 30 days that I haven't used, sorted by dollar value. - A "How to use it" note on each benefit (e.g. "Enroll in the app first, then pay with this card"). - Let me add, edit, or delete cards and benefits by hand, and set my card anniversary dates. STEP 3: MAKE IT PERSONAL AND SAFE - Save my entries so they're still there when I come back, kept private to me. If saving isn't available, add Export and Import buttons (JSON) instead. - Never ask for card numbers, logins, or security codes. Card names only. DESIGN Clean and mobile-friendly. Big numbers for the dashboard, green for used, red for expiring soon. No clutter. When it's built, walk me through it in 3 bullets and tell me the single benefit I'm most likely wasting right now.

To share it, open the artifact, click Share, pick Anyone with the link and copy the link. A few things to know first.

  • Viewers need a Claude account (free is fine). Older artifacts published from a chat still open without one.
  • Some can’t go public. Artifacts that use your connected apps or call Claude can’t use Anyone with the link.
  • Send a blank copy. Some artifacts store data every viewer sees, so ask Claude for a clean version before you share your tracker.
  • Change sharing on the web or desktop app. The mobile apps can’t.

Sharing artifacts →

04

Add a plugin

A plugin bundles the skills and connectors for one kind of work into a single install. Open Customize, then the Plugins tab, then Discover. Pick one and click Add, then type / or click + in the message box to see its new skills.

Not sure which? These come from Anthropic’s own set (full list).

  • Productivity handles tasks, calendars and daily workflows. The safe default for almost anyone.
  • Marketing drafts content, plans campaigns and keeps your brand voice. Great for creators and small business owners.
  • Sales researches prospects, preps calls and drafts outreach.
  • Data analyzes spreadsheets, writes SQL and builds dashboards.

Install One At A Time

Anthropic warns that plugins can include local tools that run on your computer with the same permissions as any other program, so only install from sources you trust. Use one for a week before adding a second, so you can tell what’s actually helping. (Plugin help)

05

Download the Chrome extension

Claude in Chrome puts Claude in a side panel while you browse. It sees the page and can click, type and fill in forms. It needs a paid plan and works in Google Chrome only, not other Chromium browsers or mobile.

  1. Open Claude on the Chrome Web Store and check the publisher is Anthropic.
  2. Click Add to Chrome and sign in with your Claude account.
  3. Click the puzzle piece icon, then the pin next to Claude, and grant the permissions it asks for.
  4. Open the side panel. For your first few tasks, switch to Manually approve so you see every action. The default, Automatically approve, safety-checks each step and pauses when needed. Avoid Skip all approvals, which turns those checks off. (Modes explained)

It shines on job applications, logging call notes into your CRM and bookings. Open an application page and paste this.

Job Application Helper (Chrome Side Panel)
Help me fill out the job application on this tab. ABOUT ME [Paste your resume text here.] Target role: [title]. Location and work setup: [city / remote / hybrid]. Work authorization: [e.g. authorized to work in the US, no sponsorship needed]. HOW TO WORK 1. Read the whole form first, including every page or step. List the fields you'll fill, the fields you need me for, and any question you're unsure about. 2. Fill the standard fields from my resume exactly as written: name, contact info, work history, dates, education. 3. For open-ended questions ("Why do you want this role?"), read the job description on this page and draft an answer in plain, warm, confident language, under 150 words, using only real details from my resume. Show me each draft in the chat before typing it in. 4. For dropdowns and checkboxes, pick the option that matches my info. If none clearly matches, ask me. NEVER - Never click Submit, Apply, or anything final. Stop and tell me it's ready for my review. - Never enter my Social Security number, date of birth, bank details, salary history, or passwords. Leave those for me. - Never answer voluntary demographic questions. Leave them for me. - Never create an account or accept terms for me. - Never invent skills, titles, dates, or degrees. WHEN YOU'RE DONE Give me a short checklist: fields filled, fields left for me, and anything I should double-check before I submit.
  • It takes screenshots of the tabs it works in, so close sensitive tabs first.
  • Money stays with you. Claude asks before going onto financial sites and is blocked from trading stocks or entering sensitive data. Let it search and fill details, then you pay.
  • Watch for odd behavior. Pages can hide instructions meant to hijack an AI. If Claude heads somewhere unexpected or asks for private info, stop the task. Anthropic suggests a separate Chrome profile without your banking or health accounts.

Use Claude in Chrome safely →