Claude Cowork for Beginners: Build Your Own Jarvis

How to Build an Efficient Co-Work Setup

Introduction and Overview

• The speaker begins by expressing a humorous state of being hungover while outlining the day's tasks, which include finalizing a workshop outline, reviewing expenses, and processing credit card statements.

• Acknowledges excessive spending on Bumble Premium, reflecting on personal finance management amidst humor.

Finalizing Newsletter Draft

• The speaker discusses finalizing their newsletter draft using their unique tone of voice and requests access to the Notion page for edits.

• They clarify that they are not actually hungover but emphasize the effectiveness of the co-work setup they will explain in detail.

Understanding Co-Work System

• The speaker introduces the concept of Co-work, explaining how it operates through simple text files named claw.md and memory.mmd, which govern their workspace.

• Emphasizes that these files are not intimidating; they can be easily copied into any notes app for editing or reference.

Structure of Co-Work Files

• Describes how claw.md serves as an instruction manual for Co-work, detailing rules and guidelines for operation.

• Explains that memory.mmd contains active projects and helps maintain continuity between sessions by storing relevant information.

Analogy for Understanding Workspace Hierarchy

• Uses an analogy comparing the structure of their workspace to the U.S. Constitution and state laws to illustrate how rules apply at different levels within their system.

• Root level: claw.md acts as overarching governance.

• State level: Individual workstations (e.g., email HQ, newsletter HQ).

Building Your Own Co-Work Setup

• Provides guidance on creating a personal co-work setup starting with establishing a folder named "co-work OS."

• Offers starter templates (claw.md, memory.mmd, voice principles.mmd) linked below for user convenience.

Installation Tips

• Advises users to download markdown files correctly from provided links to ensure proper formatting during setup.

Conclusion on Functionality

• Reiterates that claw.md is crucial for instructing Co-work behavior while emphasizing its simplicity in managing complex tasks efficiently.

Understanding Co-work's Memory System

Overview of Co-work's Functionality

• The process begins by opening the co-work OS folder to view markdown files in a readable format, emphasizing that no prior knowledge of Obsidian is necessary.

• Key features include instructions for persistent memory: reading memory.md at the start of each session and writing information when prompted with "remember this."

• The routing map section will guide which workstation folders to load for specific tasks, although workstations have yet to be built in this video.

Memory Management

• The memory.mmd file contains sections for active projects and memory entries, automatically updating based on user prompts.

• Users can test memory functionality by asking about previous statements, demonstrating how co-work retains information over sessions.

• Active project updates are similarly managed; users can inform co-work about ongoing projects for tracking progress.

Building Voice Principles

• To create a voice principles file, users can connect their Gmail account or provide writing samples to extract personal writing patterns.

• After processing, co-work updates the voice principles file with insights into the user's tone and style preferences.

• Each workstation has its own set of files (cloud.md, memory.md, etc.), ensuring organized management across different areas of life.

The Importance of Relevant Context

Learning from Corsera

• Emphasizes the significance of relevant context learned from an AI course on Corsera, highlighting how it improves AI outputs by providing implied context.

• Implied context includes personal writing styles and active projects that enhance interaction quality with AI systems.

Creating Workstations in Co-work

Types of Workstations

• Two types exist: universal workstations (e.g., Email HQ), which apply rules across various life areas, and dedicated workstations focused on specific tasks like personal finance management.

Setting Up a Universal Workstation

• Instructions are provided for creating a universal workstation named Email HQ using prompt templates linked below.

• This setup triggers rules within the root cloud MD to facilitate organization as new workstations are created.

Email and Personal Finance Management with Co-work

Setting Up Email HQ

• The process begins with creating an empty resources folder, followed by instructions to analyze the last four weeks of emails in the Gmail send folder for specific patterns not covered by root voice principles.

• Co-work generates an email HQ workstation along with a Cloud MD and Memory MD file, establishing a structured environment for email management.

• The editorial rules are layered on top of global voice principles, ensuring that emails reflect personal style through default greetings and sign-offs.

• Co-work is trained on the inbox zero workflow, understanding rules like the two-minute rule, archiving practices, and label usage for efficient email management.

• A course is being developed to help users set up their systems quickly without trial and error.

Managing Personal Finances

• Dedicated workstations are created for specific life areas; personal finances have their own context and memory separate from other tasks.

• After sharing credit card statements, Co-work builds a master spending tracker spreadsheet categorized by transactions, yearly summaries, monthly summaries, and category taxonomy.

• Users can correct classification mistakes (e.g., categorizing Canva correctly), allowing Co-work to learn from corrections for future accuracy.

• Obsidian only indexes markdown files; thus Excel files remain invisible in the sidebar but exist on disk as part of the single source of truth within Co-work OS folders.

• It’s recommended to start slow when building workstations—begin with two or three before expanding based on needs.

Project Management within Workstations

• Each dedicated workstation can contain project subfolders tailored to specific tasks such as refinancing mortgages or planning trips.

• Every project receives its own Cloud MD, Memory MD, and resources folder following consistent organizational logic across all workstations.

Use Cases Demonstrating Functionality

• Users can save frameworks or ideas into Co-work simply by pasting screenshots and instructing it to categorize them appropriately based on existing files.

• Before drafting emails, there’s a rule that prompts searching existing threads related to recipients to avoid unnecessary new threads.

• Advanced functionalities allow users to draft follow-up emails automatically after meetings by pulling relevant information from calendars and transcripts while adhering to established email conventions.

Project Management with Co-work

Setting Up Projects in Notion

• The speaker discusses setting up a wedding project in Notion, utilizing Co-work to automate the process by filling out properties and sections according to predefined conventions.

• Emphasizes that once rules are taught to Co-work, it can replicate the setup for any project, ensuring consistency and efficiency.

Pro Tips for Maximizing Efficiency

Session Audit Technique

• After completing a session, typing "/session audit" prompts Co-work to scan conversations for unsaved principles and preferences, enhancing future interactions.

• A starter session audit skill is available for download, allowing users to customize their workspace easily.

Managing Token Usage

• Suggests keeping the root cla.md file under 300 lines to optimize performance since it's loaded by default in every session.

• Advises against repeating rules across multiple files; instead, focus on specific preferences relevant to each context (e.g., email-specific rules).

Cost-effective Strategies

• Recommends using the Sonnet model as a default due to its cost-effectiveness compared to Opus unless tasks require complex dependencies.

Building a Personal System

• Stresses the importance of establishing a personal contact system immediately; compounding knowledge from sessions gives an advantage over late starters.

• The speaker plans more tutorials on Co-work, encouraging viewers to start building their systems without needing specific templates or courses.