First Five Moves for Brand-New Claude Users

A free guide by New Money School

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How to set up Claude in one day. The way you set it up matters way more than any prompt or skill you use, and most people skip a couple of these and wonder why it feels basic.

If you're new to Claude, the way you set it up matters way more than any prompt or skill you use.

Most people skip a couple of these, then wonder why Claude feels just like ChatGPT back in 2022. Do these five first and it turns into something that actually knows you and reaches into your real work. You can knock all five out this afternoon.

Step 1Get The Desktop App

Work in the desktop app instead of your browser. This is the one most people skip, and it's the biggest, because the app can actually reach the files and apps on your computer. Instead of copying and pasting everything in, Claude works with what's already on your machine. It's free and takes about two minutes to set up:

1. Go to claude.com/download and download the version for your computer. It works on Mac, Windows, and Linux.
2. Open the file it downloads and follow the quick installer.
3. Open Claude from your Applications folder on a Mac, or your Start menu on Windows.
4. Sign in with the same account you already use for Claude in your browser. That's it.

From now on, do your work in the app. That single change is the difference between a chatbot and an assistant that's actually in your workflow.

Step 2Fill Out Your Instructions

This is where you tell Claude who you are and what you do one time, and it carries that into every single chat so you never repeat yourself again. Here's exactly where to put it:

1. Click your profile icon in the bottom-left corner, then click Settings.
2. Find the box labeled "What preferences should Claude consider in responses?" That's your personal instructions, and it's on every plan, including free.
3. Paste the template below into that box, edit it to be about you, and click Save. It now loads into every new chat automatically, before you type a word.

The hack most people miss: be specific, and tell it what to stop doing. Things like "push back when I'm wrong," "no em dashes," or "keep answers under 150 words." Telling it what not to do is often more powerful than telling it what to do. Here's a template you can paste straight in and edit:

Paste Into Settings — Your Claude InstructionsCopy

Who I am: - Name and what I do: [your role / business] - What I'm usually trying to get done with you: [e.g. write content, analyze data, plan my week, handle email] - My audience or customers, if relevant: [who]

How I want you to work with me: - Be direct. Give me your real opinion, and push back when I'm wrong instead of just agreeing. - Match my voice: [describe it in a few words, e.g. warm, plain-spoken, a little bold]. - When a task is ambiguous, ask me one clarifying question before doing it, don't guess. - Show your reasoning briefly when it matters, but lead with the answer.

Hard rules (things to always or never do): - No em dashes. No hype words like "unlock," "elevate," or "game-changer." - Keep answers tight. Don't pad. [add your own, e.g. "under 150 words unless I ask for depth"] - Never make up facts, numbers, or sources. If you're not sure, say so. - [add any personal rules: tone, formatting, things you hate]

Context you should remember about me: - [your work history, goals, current projects, tools you use, anything you'd otherwise re-explain every chat]

Step 3Connect Your Tools

Connectors link Claude to apps you already use, like Gmail, Google Drive, Calendar, and Notion, so it can read your real emails, docs, and notes instead of you copying and pasting them in. This is where it starts saving you hours a week. Here's exactly how to add one:

1. Open the desktop app and look at the left sidebar. Click Customize, then click Connectors.
2. Click the + button at the top of the list. A window opens showing every tool you can add.
3. Find the one you want and click Connect. If you're not sure where to start, pick Google Drive or Gmail.
4. A sign-in window pops up from that app itself. For Gmail, that's Google's own login screen. Choose your account and click Allow to give Claude permission. You're signing in directly with them, so Claude never sees your password.
5. That's it, it now shows as connected. Repeat for the two or three tools you use every single day.

To actually use one in a chat, click the + in the bottom-left of the message box, hover over Connectors, and switch on the ones you want for that conversation. Then just ask like you'd ask a person: "check my calendar for tomorrow," or "find the invoice email from Sarah and summarize it for me."

Do This Safely

You stay in control the whole time. You sign in through each app's own login, so Claude never sees your password, and it asks before it does anything. Good to know: Claude can read your email and write drafts for you, but it can't actually send them, you always send those yourself. Only connect tools you trust, skip anything tied to money or private client data until you're comfortable, and you can disconnect any tool in one click under Customize, then Connectors, anytime.

Step 4Learn To Switch Models

You can switch which model you're using anytime. Just click the model name at the top of your chat (or right under the message box when you start a new one) and pick a different one from the list. You can even change it in the middle of a conversation, and it kicks in on Claude's next reply. Most people never touch this, but it changes how good your answers are.

• Opus 4.8 is the powerhouse. Use it for your hardest, highest-stakes work: strategy, deep analysis, complex problems, important writing, anything where a wrong answer costs you.
• Sonnet 5 is the smart everyday default. It's what most of your work should run on, fast and sharp enough for the vast majority of your day.
• Haiku 4.5 is the speed pick. Use it for quick, simple stuff: fast lookups, reformatting, and short answers you just need right now.
• Fable 5, if you see it, is the newest and most capable. Worth reaching for when you want the absolute best on something big.

The names change every few months, but the rule doesn't: the heaviest model for the hard stuff, the lightest for the quick stuff.

Step 5Create One Project

A project keeps a whole part of your life or work in one place. Everything you drop in stays there, and Claude remembers all of it across every chat inside that project. Here's how to make one:

1. Click Projects in the left sidebar, then click New project in the top-right corner.
2. A box pops up. Fill in "What are you working on?" (that's the name, like "Job Search") and a short line for "What are you trying to achieve?" Then click Create project.
3. Click Set project instructions, type the background Claude should always know, and click Save instructions.
4. Click the + to add files. Upload the documents you'd hand a new assistant, and start with just two or three.
5. Start a chat inside the project. It already knows your instructions and your files, so you skip the setup speech every time.

Say you're job hunting. You'd drop your resume and cover letter into the files, and put your work history, where you want to work, and your skills into the instructions. Now every conversation in there already knows your full situation. Start with one area, then spin up a separate project for each big part of your life: one for your job, one for your side hustle, one for personal stuff. Each one stays its own world.

The Real Win

Prompts and skills are what you do after setup. These five are the foundation that makes all of them work. Knock them out once and Claude stops feeling generic and starts feeling like it's actually yours.