// FREE STARTER KIT

The complete Claude Cowork setup guide.

Three layers of instructions, six building blocks, four copy-paste templates, and the skill anatomy that turns Claude from a chatbot into a team member.

Three places for instructions and when to use each one
The six building blocks of a working Cowork setup
Skills vs Projects: the distinction most teams get wrong
A starter skill template you can customize in 5 minutes
// THE THREE LAYERS
Layer 1 → User Preferences (who you are)
Layer 2 → Project Instructions (what this project does)
Layer 3 → Skills (reusable automations)
Most people only use one layer. The power is in all three working together.

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What's Inside 3 sections
// Foundation

The Three Layers

User preferences, project instructions, and skills. Where each one lives and when to use it.

Architecture
// Building Blocks

Six Components

Custom instructions, skills, connectors, scheduled tasks, memory, and artifacts.

6 Blocks
// Templates

Copy-Paste Setup

Four ready-to-use templates including a starter skill you can customize in 5 minutes.

Templates

Stop treating Claude like a chatbot.

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Complete guide Copy-paste templates Built from live training

Your team has Claude.
You are still not seeing the ROI.
Now make them actually use it.

Three layers of instructions, six building blocks, four ready-to-paste templates, and the skill anatomy that turns Claude from a chatbot into a team member. Built from a live corporate Claude training workshop.

The pattern

The blank page is killing adoption.

You bought Claude Team seats. Three people love it. Everyone else opened it once, typed something vague, got a generic answer, and went back to doing things manually.

The problem is not Claude. The problem is the blank page. Nobody knows what to type. Nobody knows how to give Claude enough context to be useful. And nobody has time to figure it out through trial and error.

This guide fixes that. It gives your team a structure that works, templates they can paste in 60 seconds, and the understanding to build their own from here.

The shift

Claude is not a chatbot. It is an agent.

Most people use Claude like a chatbot: you ask, it answers, you act. That is the bicycle. Cowork is something different. An agent takes actions.

Regular Claude generates text. Cowork Claude can search the web, read your files, create documents, connect to your calendar, your email, your CRM, and run tasks on a schedule while you sleep. The difference is not that it is smarter. The difference is that it can do things.

The kitchen metaphor. Claude chat is ordering takeaway. You describe what you want, someone else makes it, and you hope it is close enough. Cowork is having your own chef in your own kitchen, using your ingredients, following your recipes, and plating it the way you like. This guide teaches you how to stock the kitchen.

Foundation

Three places for instructions.

The single biggest mistake teams make is putting everything in the chat. Claude has three layers of memory, and each one serves a different purpose. Get this right and you never have to repeat yourself.

Layer Where It Lives What It Does When To Use It
Global Instructions Settings → Instructions for Claude Who you are as a person. Tone, language, preferences. Set once, rarely change.
Project Instructions Project → Custom Instructions Who you are in this role. Business context, services, rules for this project. Set per project. This is where you spend your time.
CLAUDE.md File A file in your connected folder Folder specific conventions. Technical rules, process notes. Power feature. Optional. Add when you need it.

Think of it like this. Global is your personality. Project Instructions is your job description. CLAUDE.md is the sticky note on the desk that says "the printer jams if you use A3." Most teams only need the first two. The third is there when you want rules that live with the folder itself.

What goes in your Project Instructions

This is the layer that matters most. A good set of Project Instructions tells Claude:

Include

Your name, role, and business description. Your services and pricing. Your target audience. Your brand voice and tone rules. The tools you use (CRM, booking system, email platform). Document types you create regularly. Rules and things to never do.

Avoid

"Help me with my business" tells Claude nothing. "Write in a professional tone" is too vague. Be specific. "Write in British English, short sentences, no jargon, like a straight talking friend who knows business operations" gives Claude something real to work with.

Want this built for your team?

I build custom Cowork setups tailored to how your specific team works. Reply to my message on LinkedIn.

Let's talk →
The system

Six building blocks of your AI HQ.

These are the six components of a working Cowork setup. You do not need all six on day one. Start with Projects and Skills, then layer in the rest.

Skills

A repeatable process. Claude runs it on command or picks it up conversationally. One sentence triggers a full, structured output.
Kitchen: A recipe. One sentence triggers a full dish.

Projects

A knowledge base. Holds your instructions, files, memory, and history for one context. Everything Claude needs for a specific role.
Kitchen: Your stocked kitchen. Everything Claude needs for this role.

Connectors

Links to your other tools. Email, calendar, CRM, file storage. Claude can read from and act on them directly.
Kitchen: The delivery service that brings ingredients from your suppliers.

Scheduled Tasks

Work that runs on autopilot. Daily, weekly, monthly. The output is waiting when you arrive.
Kitchen: The slow cooker. Set it, walk away, dinner is ready.

Plugins

Bundles of skills, connectors, and tools packaged together. Install once, get a whole capability set.
Kitchen: A cookbook with its own spice kit included.

Memory

What Claude learns about you and your work over time, within a project. It adapts without being told twice.
Kitchen: Your chef remembering you hate coriander without being told.
The key distinction

Skills vs Projects: know the difference.

This is where most people get confused. Projects are the kitchen. Skills are the recipes. You need both, and they do completely different jobs.

A Project is...

A workspace where Claude knows your business context. Think of it as a dedicated AI assistant that remembers who you are, what you do, and how you like things done. It holds your custom instructions, files, skills, and scheduled tasks. Create one project per major area of your business.

A Skill is...

A reusable instruction set that tells Claude how to produce a specific type of output. Like a recipe card for a document or task you create regularly. Input a topic, get a formatted newsletter. Input rough notes, get a structured SOP. One sentence triggers a full, structured result.

Why this matters: Garbage vs Gold

The difference between a vague prompt and a structured setup is the difference between useless output and something you can actually send to a client.

The garbage prompt
Write me a LinkedIn post about losing a client

You get a generic, forgettable post. Probably starts with "I recently lost a client and here is what I learned..." Uses cliches. No specifics. No personality. Could have been written by anyone about anything.
With Project Instructions + a Skill
Write a LinkedIn post about losing a client

Same prompt. But Claude already knows your industry, your voice, your audience, and your formatting preferences. The output has real numbers, a specific story, and sounds like you wrote it. The garbage prompt becomes the gold prompt automatically.

The lesson: Context is everything. Claude is brilliant, but it cannot read your mind. Custom Instructions eliminate the need to explain who you are every time. Skills add the structure so you get consistent quality without thinking about it. Everything in this guide builds on this principle: give Claude the context once, benefit every time.

Getting value from this? There's more.

I run live workshops where we build all of this hands on for your team's actual workflows. Reply to my message on LinkedIn.

Let's talk →
Build your own

Anatomy of a skill that works.

Every good skill has six parts. Follow this structure and your skills will produce consistent, high quality output every time. If you only build one skill, build the document you create most often.

1

Skill Name

A short, clear identifier. Lowercase with hyphens: wellness-newsletter, audit-report, sop-generator. If you cannot describe it in 2 to 3 words, it is too broad.

2

Description

One to two sentences explaining when to trigger this skill. Include the exact phrases that should activate it: "Use when I say 'write a newsletter about [topic]' or 'draft this week's email'."

3

Instructions

The core of the skill. Define input requirements (what Claude needs from you), output structure (section by section breakdown), formatting rules (paragraph length, tables, word count), and tone direction (specific examples, not vague adjectives).

4

Output Format

One line: "Markdown document ready to paste into Google Docs" or "Plain text with email platform formatting notes."

5

Rules (The Guardrails)

The most important section for quality control. NEVER rules: "Never invent data. Never use corporate buzzwords." ALWAYS rules: "Always write in British English. Always include one actionable tip." If Claude keeps doing something wrong, add a NEVER rule. If it keeps missing something, add an ALWAYS rule.

6

Test It

Run it with a realistic one line prompt. The output should follow your structure, match your tone, respect every rule, and sound like you. If it needs more than 10% editing, the skill needs refinement.

Starter Skill Template
# [Skill Name] ## Skill Name [lowercase-with-hyphens] ## Description [What this skill does. When to trigger it. Include exact trigger phrases.] ## Instructions ### Input Required [What you need to provide. List required and optional inputs.] ### Output Structure [Section by section breakdown of the document.] ### Formatting Rules [Paragraph length, tables, word count, platform specifics.] ### Tone [How it should sound. Give examples, not adjectives.] ## Output Format [File type and delivery format.] ## Rules - NEVER [thing to avoid] - NEVER [thing to avoid] - ALWAYS [thing to enforce] - ALWAYS [thing to enforce]

Your first three skills. (1) The email or post you write every week. (2) The document you create for every client. (3) The internal process you repeat. Pick one. Build it. Test it. Refine it. Then build the next.

Copy-paste templates

Four templates, ready to go.

Paste any of these into a Claude Project's Custom Instructions field. Your team opens the project, picks a starter prompt, and gets a useful result on the first try. No training session needed.

01

Client Brief to First Draft

For any team that turns client briefs into deliverables. Paste a brief in, get a structured first draft back.

Custom Instructions
You are a senior strategist embedded in this team. Your job is to turn client briefs into structured first drafts. When someone pastes a brief, follow this process: 1. Read the full brief before responding. 2. If the brief is missing any of these, ask up to 3 clarifying questions before drafting: target audience, desired outcome, deliverable format, or tone of voice. 3. Once you have enough context, produce a structured first draft with clear sections and headings. 4. Flag anything in the brief that seems contradictory, vague, or incomplete. 5. End every draft with a "Questions for the Client" section listing anything you would want clarified before finalizing. Draft quality standards: Write at 60 to 70 percent of the expected final length. Leave room to add, not just cut. Use clear headings and subheadings. Keep language professional but not stiff. Match the client's industry and tone. Never pad with filler. If a section is thin, flag it as needing more input rather than filling it with generic content. If the brief references data, case studies, or specifics you do not have, insert a placeholder like [INSERT: Q3 revenue figure] rather than making something up. When asked to revise: Make the specific changes requested. Note what you changed and why in a short summary at the top. If the revision contradicts the original brief, flag that before proceeding.
Here is a client brief. Read it fully, ask me anything that is unclear, then give me a structured first draft. COPY
Revise the last draft based on this client feedback: [paste feedback below] COPY
Turn these rough notes into a structured brief I can share with the team before we start work. COPY
02

Weekly Status Report

For managers and team leads who lose 30 to 60 minutes every week writing the same update.

Custom Instructions
You are a reporting assistant for this team. Your job is to turn rough notes, bullet points, and brain dumps into polished status reports that respect the reader's time. When someone gives you notes: 1. Organize everything into four sections: Completed This Week, In Progress, Blocked or Needs Input, and Next Week. 2. Write each item as one clear sentence. No jargon. No padding. 3. For anything blocked, always state what is needed to unblock it and who needs to act. 4. Add a one sentence Executive Summary at the very top. This should tell a CEO the state of things in 10 seconds. 5. Keep the full report under 400 words unless told otherwise. Tone: Direct, factual, no fluff. Reads like it was written by someone senior who respects the reader's time. Format to follow unless told otherwise: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [One to two sentences. The single most important thing this week.] COMPLETED THIS WEEK [Bullet items, one sentence each] IN PROGRESS [Bullet items with expected completion where known] BLOCKED / NEEDS INPUT [Bullet items with what is needed and from whom] NEXT WEEK [Bullet items, priorities in order] If someone asks for a different format (board report, investor update, team Slack post), adapt the structure but keep the same principles: short sentences, clear sections, no filler.
Here are my rough notes from this week. Turn them into a status report. COPY
Write a month end summary from these four weekly reports. One page max. COPY
Turn this status report into a 3 sentence Slack update I can post in the team channel. COPY
03

Meeting Notes to Action Items

For anyone who finishes meetings with scattered notes and no clear next steps. Dump the mess, get a structured plan.

Custom Instructions
You are a meeting intelligence assistant. Your job is to turn messy meeting notes, brain dumps, voice memo transcripts, and scattered bullet points into structured, actionable documents. When someone gives you notes from a meeting or planning session: 1. Read everything before responding. Do not start organizing until you have seen all the input. 2. Identify the type of meeting (client call, internal planning, 1:1, brainstorm, quarterly review) and adapt the output format accordingly. 3. Organize into these sections: DECISIONS MADE [What was agreed. One sentence per decision. No ambiguity.] ACTION ITEMS [Who needs to do what, by when. Format: [Owner] | [Action] | [Deadline if mentioned]] OPEN QUESTIONS [Anything raised but not resolved. Include who needs to answer it.] KEY DISCUSSION POINTS [The 3 to 5 most important things discussed, summarized in 1 to 2 sentences each] FOLLOW UP NEEDED [Anything that requires a follow up meeting, email, or check in] 4. If deadlines are mentioned vaguely ("next week", "soon", "after the holidays"), flag them as [DEADLINE NEEDED] rather than guessing. 5. If an action item has no clear owner, flag it as [OWNER TBD]. 6. Keep the total output under 500 words unless the meeting was exceptionally complex. Tone: Crisp and direct. This document gets forwarded to people who were not in the meeting. It needs to stand alone. If the notes reference specific people by first name only, keep those names. Do not expand or guess full names.
Here are my notes from today's meeting. Turn them into a structured summary with action items. COPY
I just finished a client call. Here are my rough notes. Give me the action items and anything I need to follow up on. COPY
Turn these quarterly planning notes into a structured plan. Organize by category, flag anything missing a deadline or owner. COPY
04

New Hire or Team Onboarding

For managers onboarding new team members. Give Claude the role context and it produces onboarding docs, checklists, and first-week plans.

Custom Instructions
You are an onboarding specialist for this team. Your job is to create clear, structured onboarding materials that help new team members become productive as quickly as possible. When asked to create onboarding materials: 1. Ask for the role title, team, reporting line, and key responsibilities if not provided. 2. Produce a structured onboarding document with these sections: ROLE OVERVIEW [2 to 3 sentences on what this person does and why it matters] FIRST WEEK CHECKLIST [Day by day breakdown. Each item is one specific, completable task. Include who to contact for each item where relevant.] KEY PEOPLE TO MEET [Name | Role | Why they matter to this person | Suggested first conversation topic] TOOLS AND ACCESS NEEDED [System | What they need access to | Who grants it | Priority (Day 1 / Week 1 / Month 1)] 30 DAY MILESTONES [3 to 5 concrete, measurable things this person should have accomplished by day 30] RESOURCES AND READING [Internal docs, wikis, Slack channels, or recorded meetings they should review. Organized by priority.] COMMON QUESTIONS [5 to 8 questions every new person in this role asks, with clear answers] 3. Keep the tone welcoming but practical. This is not a culture deck. It is a "here is how to get things done" document. 4. If information is missing or assumed, use [CONFIRM: specific question] rather than guessing. 5. Adapt the depth based on seniority. A junior hire needs more hand holding. A senior hire needs more context on decision making processes and stakeholder dynamics.
We are hiring a [role title] starting [date]. Create the onboarding pack. COPY
New team member starts Monday. Here is what I know about the role. Build a first week plan. COPY
Update the onboarding doc for [role]. We changed the reporting line and added new tools since the last version. COPY
Get started

Set this up in 60 seconds.

1

Create a new Project in Claude

Open Claude, click Projects in the sidebar, then "New Project." Name it something your team will recognize (e.g. "Client Drafts" or "Weekly Reports").

2

Paste the Custom Instructions

Click "Set custom instructions" inside the Project. Copy any template from above and paste it in. Claude now knows how to behave inside this Project.

3

Share it with your team

Click "Share" on the Project. Anyone on your Claude Team plan can now open it, pick a starter prompt, paste their content, and get a useful result on the first try.

4

Build your first skill

Use the skill template above. Pick the document your team creates most often. Build the skill, test it with a real prompt, and install it into your Project. That is when it clicks.

Beyond the basics

What comes next.

Once your team is using Projects and Skills consistently, these are the next three moves that compound the value.

Connect your tools

Link Claude to your email, calendar, CRM, or project management tool. The highest value connector is the tool where you spend the most time manually moving information in or out. Start with one.

Schedule your first task

Set up a Monday morning briefing that runs automatically: review the week's priorities, flag overdue items, surface what needs attention. The output is waiting when you start your day.

Build a dashboard

Create a live artifact that pulls data from your project and displays it visually. Client pipeline, content calendar, SOP tracker. It refreshes every time you open it.

Want this built for your team?

These templates are a starting point. I build custom Claude Cowork setups tailored to how your specific team works, so every person on your plan gets value from day one. Reply to my message on LinkedIn and let me know what your team does.

Connect on LinkedIn →
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