Claude Cowork Setup and Prompting Guide

1. Cowork Setup (Tips 1-10) - Download the desktop app. Not the browser. - Create one folder on your PC called 'COWORK'. - 4 subfolders: About me, project, template, output - Download anti-ai-style here: [link] - Subscribe for free. Open my welcome email. - Hit the automatic reply button inside. - Download anti-ai & my about me from my Notion. 2. Pick the Right Model (Tips 11-20) - Opus 4.6 + Extended Thinking for complex tasks. - Sonnet = quick edits. Haiku = scanning files. - The model matters less than the prompt. - Bad prompt on Opus > Great prompt on Haiku. 3. Prompting (Tips 21-30) - Stop writing long prompts. Files > prompts. - One task per prompt. One. Not five. - Say "Does NOT sound like" to kill the AI voice. - Give the task, not the method. Let it figure it out. 4. AskUserQuestion Tool (Tips 31-40) - "Start with AskUserQuestion" in all 1st prompts. - Claude builds you a clickable form. Click answers. - It asks the right questions so you don't have to. - If the direction is wrong, say it. It rebuilds. 5. Connectors (Tips 41-50) - Settings -> Connectors -> Browse -> Click "Add." - Slack, Google Drive, Notion, Gmail. 50+ tools. - Claude reads your actual files. No copy-pasting. - Free on all plans. No extra cost. Just connect. 6. Plugins (Tips 51-60) - Cowork -> Customize -> Browse -> Install. - Marketing, Legal, Sales, Data - pick your role. - Type / to trigger any plugin command instantly. - Customize to match your company and voice. 7. Claude in Excel (Tips 61-70) - Install "Claude by Anthropic" from Microsoft Marketplace. - It reads every tab. Explains formulas in English. - Drop a PDF in. Claude extracts the tables for you. - No macros. Claude highlights what it touches. 8. Projects & Teams (Tips 71-80) - One Project per deliverable. Not per client. - Upload a great example. It matches the standard. - Convert one person first. Then scale to the team. - Use the 15-minute demo. Show, don't tell. 9. Artifacts (Tips 81-90) - Charts, dashboards, trackers - inside the chat. - They work automatically in Cowork. - Preview before you export. Edit it live. Then copy. - Share with non-Claude users as HTML. 10. Advanced Mastery (Tips 91-100) - Keep your files under 200 lines. Shorter is better. - 80% of your file should be what you're NOT. - Review outputs. Especially financial work. - Claude does 80% busywork. You do the 20%.