· Saul Mateos · Claude and AI Tools · 2 min read
Claude Cowork Cheat Sheet: 10 Steps to Set It Up
A free Claude Cowork cheat sheet for leaders, managers and analysts: 10 steps from download to a project that picks up where you left off.
This Claude Cowork cheat sheet is your 10-step guide to set up Claude Cowork. A simple roadmap to start smarter, faster, together. It’s built for leaders, managers, and analysts, and it fits on two pages.
Download the Claude Cowork cheat sheet (PDF)
What’s inside the Claude Cowork cheat sheet
- Get the app.
- Go Pro. Or Max.
- Make a Claude_Cowork folder.
- Open Claude Desktop and create a Project.
- Fill About_Me with three .md files.
- Set Project instructions.
- Pick the right model.
- Get a markdown editor.
- Create a project for your work.
- Pick up where you left off.
Five of the steps, word for word
Make a Claude_Cowork folder. On your computer. Create a Claude_Cowork folder with two subfolders: About_Me and Projects.
Fill About_Me with three .md files. A .md file is plain text. Any editor opens it. Three files: about-me.md (your role), my-firm.md (clients, services, deals), my-voice.md (how you write). One file with three sections also works.
Don’t want to write blind? Paste this in Claude:
“Interview me to build my About_Me files. One question at a time. Three topics: my role, my firm, how I write. 3-5 questions per topic. After each topic, draft the .md and let me edit before we move on.”
Set Project instructions. One sentence:
“Read every file in About_Me before answering. Match my voice. Ask before assuming.”
Create a project for your work. For each workstream (a forecast, a memo, a client deck) make a subfolder inside Projects/. Do it yourself in Finder/File Explorer, or ask Claude: “Create a new subfolder under Projects/ called [name].” Keeps each piece of work tidy and separately resumable.
Pick up where you left off. Don’t start over each session. Reopen the chat from Claude Desktop’s sidebar. Or before you wrap, ask Claude: “Save a summary of what we did and what’s next to summary.md in this project folder.” Next session: “Read this folder and pick up where we left off.”
The other five steps (plans, models, editors and the Project setup clicks) are in the PDF.
Download the Claude Cowork cheat sheet (PDF)