Day One · Set up Claude tonight

014 MIN

Tell it who you are.

// the thing this killsRepeating yourself in every single chat.

// whereSettings, then Profile. There's a box asking what Claude should know about you. While you're in Settings, open Memory and make sure "Generate memory from chats" is on. Free plan included.

// paste this, fill the blanks

I'm [name]. I work as a [job] at [type of place]. Most of my day is [the 2 or 3 things you actually do all day].
The stuff I hate doing: [thing 1], [thing 2].
Write like a person, not a brochure. Short sentences. No bullet points unless I ask. If you're not sure what I mean, ask me before you answer.
I'm not a tech person. Explain things like I'm smart but new.

// you'll know it worked whenYou open a brand-new chat, type "what do you know about me?", and it tells you your job and what you hate doing without you saying a word. That's the profile working. Memory fills in on its own as you use it.

Done, it knows me next: one room per headache ↓

025 MIN

One room per headache.

// the thing this killsOne giant chat where everything gets mixed together and it forgets what you were doing.

// whereLeft sidebar, Projects, New project. The free plan gives you five. Make three tonight: Emails, your job, and Home. Every project has a box for instructions. That's the rule sheet for that room. Paste one per room.

// emails room

This project is only for emails and messages I need to send.
Give me the reply ready to send, nothing else. No "here's a draft." No options unless I ask.
Keep it the length I'd actually write. If I sound short, be short.
Never promise something on my behalf that I didn't say.

// your job room

This project is for my actual work as a [job]. Assume I know my job. Don't explain the basics of my field back to me.
When I paste something in, tell me the one thing that matters first, then the rest.
If a task needs info you don't have, ask me. Don't invent names, dates or numbers.

// home room

This is for life outside work: family, house, money, trips, kids' stuff.
Talk to me like a friend who happens to be organized. Plain English.
When I'm deciding something, give me your actual pick and one reason, then stop.

// you'll know it worked whenYou paste a messy email into the Emails room with one line on what you want to say back ("yes to Thursday, the bill is right") and it comes back as one clean reply, no warm-up paragraph. If it asks you a question first, that's it refusing to guess. Answer, and it writes.

Done, three rooms next: your voice ↓

035 MIN

Give it your voice.

// the thing this killsEverything it writes sounds like a robot, so you rewrite the whole thing anyway.

// whereOpen the Emails project. Find three emails or texts you actually sent that sound like you. One nice, one firm, one quick.

// paste this, with your three

Here are three things I wrote. Learn how I write: my sentence length, and how I open and sign off. Notice the words I use a lot.
Write me a short rule sheet called "How [name] writes." Keep it to what you can actually see in these three, not guesses.

Email 1:
[paste]

Email 2:
[paste]

Email 3:
[paste]

Copy the rule sheet and paste it at the bottom of the Emails project's instructions box, under the rules already there. Now the voice lives in the room instead of one chat that scrolls away.

// you'll know it worked whenYou ask it to reply to a real email and you send it without editing. The first time that happens you'll feel it.

Done, it sounds like me next: inbox + calendar ↓

043 MIN

Plug in your inbox and your calendar.

// the thing this killsCopying and pasting emails into a chat window like it's 2024.

// whereThe plus button in the chat box, then Manage connectors (or Settings, then Connectors). Connect Gmail and Google Calendar. Free plan, included. It reads. It will not send an email without asking you first. Connect your own inbox. If your work email is full of other people's private stuff (patients, students, clients), read setup 6 before you do this. On Outlook? Look for Microsoft 365 in the same list, and if your plan doesn't show it, skip this one tonight.

// paste this, in your job room

Look at my calendar for tomorrow and my email from the last 7 days. Tell me:
1. What I still owe people (anything I said I'd do or send and haven't)
2. Any email I never replied to that deserves a reply
3. The one thing I should do first tomorrow morning
Keep it short. Names and specifics, no summaries.

// you'll know it worked whenIt names a real meeting and a real person you forgot about. That's the moment.

Done, it can see my week next: the five-questions line ↓

051 MIN

The five-questions line.

// the thing this killsIt guesses what you meant, gets it wrong, and you spend ten minutes fixing it.

// whereOne sentence, in front of any request that matters.

// the line

Before you answer, ask me five questions that would change your answer. Then wait.

Want it always on? Add one line to your profile box from setup 1: "When I ask you to plan or write something bigger than an email, ask me up to five questions before you start."

// you'll know it worked whenThe questions are better than the ones you'd have asked yourself. That's normal. It happens the first time.

Done, it asks first next: the lie check + the ghost ↓

062 MIN

Turn on the lie check, and the ghost.

// the thing this killsIt sounds completely sure and it's completely wrong. Also: "can it see my stuff?"

// whereTwo moves. The lie check is a line you paste after any answer with facts, numbers or names in it. The ghost is the incognito chat: ghost icon, top right of a new chat. Nothing in it gets saved to your history or your memory, and it isn't used for training.

// the lie check

Which part of that are you least sure about? Mark anything you couldn't actually check, and tell me what I should double-check myself.

The rule I use: anything with somebody else's private info (a patient, a student, a client, a coworker's HR thing) goes in the ghost or doesn't go in at all. The ghost is a privacy setting, not a legal shield. If your job has privacy rules (patients, students, anybody's records), the answer is "doesn't go in."

// you'll know it worked whenIt flags something in its own answer. It will. Better it says it than your boss does.

Done, I know where the ghost is next: a real job before bed ↓

0710 MIN

Give it a real job before bed.

// the thing this killsSetting up a tool and never using it. You've done this with every app on your phone.

// wherePick one. Do it in the right room. Ten minutes, tops.

Job A · emails room

Paste the last email you sent that needs a follow-up. Did setup 3? That's what "same tone" runs on. Skipped it? Do 3 tomorrow.

// then

Write the follow-up to this. Same tone as me. Ready to send.

Job B · your job or home room

Drop a PDF you've been avoiding. A contract, a school packet, a benefits doc.

// then

Give me the six questions I should ask before I sign or agree to this. Plain English. Most important first.

Job C · any room

Hit the mic in the phone app and talk for 90 seconds about whatever's on your plate. The words land in the box. Type this under them and send it all together.

// then

Turn that into a list of decisions I need to make. Not a transcript. Decisions.

// you'll know it worked whenSomething you'd been putting off is done, and it's 10:40 at night.

// tomorrow morning, if you're on the $20 planOpen the desktop app, switch to Cowork, point it at a folder, and give it a job. It keeps going after you walk away. That's a whole other guide. Tonight, just get the win.

Done, something shipped only have 20 minutes? ↓

Set up Claude tonight.

Three things before you start.

Tell it who you are.

One room per headache.

Give it your voice.

Plug in your inbox and your calendar.

The five-questions line.

Turn on the lie check, and the ghost.

Give it a real job before bed.

Do 1, 3 and 7.

Nobody makes money off this tonight.

This is Setup Night of the 30-Day Challenge.

Not ready? Start free.

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