5 things to do before you ever send a single prompt. This is why some people get incredible results and most people get mid answers.
Most people open Claude on the website, type something, get a mediocre answer, and close it. Then they say "AI isn't that useful." But they set up 1 thing out of 5. The top 1% of Claude users don't have better prompts. They have better setup. Here are the 5 things they all do.
Go to claude.ai/download. Install the desktop app. Open it and switch to the Cowork tab.
The website is a chatbot. The desktop app with Cowork is where Claude goes from answering questions to doing actual work. It can see your files, create real documents, run tasks in the background, and work the way you do.
You Need
Claude Pro ($20/month). This unlocks Cowork, Projects, connectors, better models, and higher usage limits. It pays for itself in the first week. If you're using Claude for free, you're using maybe 10% of what it can do.
Open the model picker at the top of any chat. Switch to Opus 4.6. Turn on Extended Thinking.
This takes 5 seconds and most people never do it. Default Claude gives you surface-level answers. Opus with Extended Thinking actually reasons through your problem step by step before responding. The difference in output quality is massive.
When to Use What
Opus 4.6 + Extended Thinking: Use for anything important — strategy, complex writing, analysis, decision-making. It uses more of your daily allowance but the quality is worth it.
Sonnet: Use for quick tasks, drafts, and anything where speed matters more than depth. 95% of daily tasks.
Make a folder on your computer. Inside it, create 4 subfolders:
Open Cowork. Connect this folder. Now Claude has context before you say a word. It reads your files, knows your projects, and produces work in the right place.
Why This Matters
Without a workspace, every conversation starts from zero. With one, Claude already knows what you're working on, what your standards look like (from your reference folder), and where to put finished work. You stop explaining and start getting results.
Inside your who-i-am/ folder, create 3 short files:
This Is the Secret
These 3 files are what separates a generic AI response from one that sounds like you wrote it. Claude reads them before every task. Spend 10 minutes making them detailed. You'll save hours of corrections forever.
Go to Settings → Profile → Personalization. Find the section that says "What personal preferences should Claude consider in responses?"
Paste your standing instructions here. These run automatically on every single conversation without you typing them.
You Write This Once
It applies to every conversation forever. Now every prompt you send can be a single sentence. "Draft a follow-up email to the client" — and Claude already knows who you are, how you write, what your rules are, and where your files live. That's why the top 1% get better results. It's not the prompt. It's the setup.
Total Setup Time
20 minutes. Download the app (2 min). Fix model settings (30 sec). Create the folder structure (3 min). Write your 3 context files (10 min). Set standing instructions (5 min). Done. Every conversation you have with Claude from now on is fundamentally different.
You just set up the base. The Weekend Claude Bootcamp builds everything on top of it — Skills, Plugins, Connectors, Projects, scheduled automations, and a complete daily routine. All customized for your specific job. Done in one weekend.
The setup takes 20 minutes. The full system takes one weekend.
25
Job-specific chapters
4
Phases per chapter
1
Weekend to complete
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This is the lowest price the bootcamp will ever be. After this week, the price goes up and stays up.
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