I’ve been using AI tools daily for a couple of years. I was on ChatGPT the whole time, and honestly, it worked fine. Switching to Claude had a learning curve I didn’t expect, but about a week in, something clicked. This is everything I wish I’d known on day one.

First, the honest part

ChatGPT vs. Claude: what’s actually different

ChatGPT handles memory more naturally out of the box. You can just start talking and it picks up context reasonably well. Claude does not do this automatically. you have to build the system. That’s the trade-off, and it’s worth knowing before you start.

What you get in return is an AI that, once it knows how you think and work, operates more like a collaborator than a tool. It pushes back when something doesn’t add up. It builds things (pages, documents, plans, trackers) with real depth and without a lot of hand-holding. The difference shows up most when you’re doing something complex, not just asking questions.

I’m about a week into the full setup. Here’s what actually made it work.

Start here

Use Projects. This is non-negotiable.

Projects are how you give Claude persistent context. Without one, every conversation starts from zero and Claude has no idea who you are, what you’re working on, or how you like to communicate. With one, it’s a completely different experience.

Think of a Project as a folder with a brain. You put your relevant files in it, write instructions that tell Claude how to work with you, and every conversation inside that project inherits all of that context.

• Create a Project for any area of your life you return to regularly: work, a side project, health, finances, a job search
• Upload documents that give Claude what it needs: your resume, a strategy doc, a business plan, notes from previous sessions
• Write a set of instructions (more on this below) that tells it how to communicate with you
• Every chat you start inside that project has all of this available automatically

The thing most people miss: You don’t just upload files and hope for the best. The instructions you write are what actually shape how Claude behaves. The files give it facts. The instructions give it a way of working with you.

The most important setup step

Write an instructions file. Make it specific.

This is the part most people skip, and it’s why their experience stays generic. Your instructions file is a document you write (or have Claude write for you, more on that in a second) that lives in your Project and tells Claude exactly how to work with you.

Mine covers things like:

• How I want to be communicated with: direct, warm, don’t be preachy, don’t hedge everything, don’t start every response with “Great question”
• My active projects and priorities: what I’m working on right now and what’s parked
• My tool stack: what software I use so it can give me relevant suggestions and instructions
• My brands and businesses: the names, what they do, what they don’t do, rules about tone and audience
• How I want tasks formatted: I have specific rules for how Asana tasks should be named and created, which project they go in, which section
• Session logging rules: I have Claude append important decisions, URLs, and facts to a running Google Doc throughout every session so context doesn’t get lost between conversations
• What to check before doing anything: I tell it to always read my project files before generating output, even if it takes longer

You don’t have to write all of this yourself. Start with a prompt like this:

Prompt — to build your instructions file

I want to set up a Claude Project and create an instructions file so you can work with me consistently. Ask me everything you need to know: how I like to communicate, what I’m working on, what tools I use, what I want you to always do or never do. Then write the instructions file for me based on my answers.

Claude will interview you and then write a draft. You edit it, add specifics, and upload it to your Project. That’s it. It will save you hours of re-explaining yourself in every chat.

Starter prompts

How to ask for what you actually want

Vague prompts get vague answers. The more context you give, the better the output. These are prompts I’ve found actually work:

Research — person, brand, or topic

Research [name/brand]. I want to understand: what they’re known for, who their audience is, what their content style and tone are, what platforms they’re most active on, and any recent work or partnerships worth noting. Summarize what you find and tell me what’s most relevant if I’m thinking about [your reason: collaboration, competitive research, pitching to them, etc.].

Build something — page, tool, document

I need you to build [describe what it is]. The audience is [who will use or see it]. The purpose is [what it should accomplish]. The tone should be [how it should feel]. Before you start, ask me any questions that will help you do this well.

Create an Asana task

Create an Asana task for [what the task is]. Add it to my [project name] project under the [section name] section. The task name should follow my naming format: [PROJECT] – task description.

Tip: If you use Asana, Claude can create, assign, and organize tasks directly, but only if you tell it your workspace ID, project ID, and section ID in your instructions file. Once those are in there, one sentence is all it takes to add something to your task list.

Make a plan.

I want to [goal]. My timeline is [timeframe]. My constraints are [time, budget, tools, skill level, whatever applies]. Don’t give me a generic framework. Give me a specific, realistic plan based on what I’ve told you, and flag anything that looks like a risk or gap.

Work through a financial or logistical decision

I need to think through [the decision]. Here are the facts: [paste the numbers, dates, terms, or details you have]. Help me understand my options, what the real cost or risk is in each scenario, and what you’d pay attention to if you were in my position.

Real examples from my life

What I actually use it for

Morning briefing

Claude Desktop connects to my calendar, Gmail, and task list and gives me a structured briefing every morning. I don’t open three apps to figure out what I’m doing. I get one clean summary. This requires the desktop app and some setup, but once it’s running it genuinely changes your mornings.

Computer access

With Claude Desktop (the desktop app, not the browser), you can give Claude the ability to operate your computer: open apps, manage files, automate repetitive tasks. Most people have no idea this is possible. It’s a real feature. It handles things in the background while I do something else.

Trading in my car lease

I had a lease that wasn’t structured well. I walked through the whole thing with Claude: exact payoff amount, current market value, month-by-month equity timeline, what questions to ask dealers, how to negotiate by email. I timed the trade-in so I handed the car back and walked out essentially even, right before my next payment and registration were both due. Real money. Real clarity I wouldn’t have gotten on my own that fast.

A cat feeding tracker

I have four cats. I built a simple tool that logs their weights and calculates how much each one should eat. I described what I needed, Claude built it, took about ten minutes. No coding. You can build small, specific things for your actual life without any technical background.

An emergency document

I built a complete “if something happens to me” guide covering account access, insurance, financial accounts, business details, emergency contacts, what to do and in what order. Claude helped me think through every section. It lives in Google Drive and the people I’d need to have it are covered. It’s one of those things you feel better just having done.

Workout programs and health tracking

I’ve had Claude build full workout programs tailored to my schedule and goals, time tracking tools, and accountability systems. The difference between this and a generic app is that it adjusts when your life changes. It’s specific to you, not a template.

My stack

Other tools I actually use

Claude – The AI this whole page is about. Start with the free plan. If you’re using it every day, Pro is worth it.

Canva Pro – Design everything: graphics, documents, presentations. Use it daily. The Pro plan is worth it.

Galaxy AI ↗ – 3,000+ AI tools in one place: writing, images, video, audio. Good for cutting down on how many subscriptions you need. (affiliate link)

Kartra ↗ – All-in-one platform for pages, email automation, and digital products. What I run my business backend on. (affiliate link)

Midjourney – AI image generation. Still the best for quality output. Requires Discord to use, but the results are worth the friction.

Descript – Edit audio and video by editing the transcript. Record, transcribe, and clean up content in one place. Free tier is genuinely useful.