Claude Cowork Best Practices

Master the correct way to use Claude Cowork to boost your productivity 10x.

Prompt Writing Tips

1. Be Specific and Clear

❌ Bad Prompt: "organize my files"

✅ Good Prompt:

Scan the "Downloads" folder and move all PDF files to "Documents/PDF Archive",
creating year-month subfolders based on the file date.

2. Break Down Complex Tasks

✅ Structured Prompt:

Help me organize the project folder in 3 steps:

Step 1: Scan all subfolders for video files larger than 50MB
Step 2: Move these files to "Large Files/Videos"  
Step 3: Generate a CSV listing all moved files and their original paths

Report results after each step and wait for my confirmation.

3. Specify Output Format

Extract from all PDFs in "Invoices" folder:
- Invoice number
- Date (convert to YYYY-MM-DD)
- Vendor name
- Total amount

Save to Excel file "invoice_summary.xlsx"

Common Pitfalls

Pitfall 1: Vague Delete Instructions

❌ Dangerous: "clean up my folder, delete unnecessary files"

✅ Safe:

Scan "Downloads" for files matching:
- Created over 90 days ago
- Size less than 1KB
- Filename contains "temp" or "tmp"

List all matching files for my review BEFORE deleting.

Pitfall 2: No Backup Plan

Always:

• Use Time Machine or manual backups
• Have Claude Cowork list files before operations
• Keep original files in a separate location

Safety Principles

Principle 1: Use Dedicated Work Folders

~/CoworkWorkspace/
  ├── input/        # Files to process
  ├── output/       # Results
  ├── backup/       # Backups
  └── archive/      # Archives

Principle 2: Gradual Authorization

1. Test Phase: Try with 5-10 test files first
2. Small Batch: Process 10-20 real files
3. Full Run: Process all files with backup ready

Principle 3: Pre-Operation Checklist

• [ ] ✅ Complete file backup exists
• [ ] ✅ Prompt is clear and unambiguous
• [ ] ✅ Tested on sample files
• [ ] ✅ Confirmation points set

Quick Examples

File Organization

Organize "Downloads" folder:
1. Create: Documents, Images, Videos, Archives folders
2. Move files to corresponding categories
3. Generate report with file counts per category

Data Extraction

Extract from all PDFs in "Invoices":
- Invoice number, Date, Vendor, Amount
Save to "invoice_summary.xlsx"

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Related:

• Return Home
• Claude Cowork Introduction
• Prompt Library