Claude cowork tips I wish I knew at start
2026-10-14T21:00:50Z openrouter_free google/gemma-4-31b-it
The article introduces Claude Cowork, a desktop app that connects Claude AI directly to local files for better context and efficiency. It provides tips for optimizing the experience, such as using Obsidian for markdown files and keeping instruction and memory files lean to save tokens.
The article introduces Claude Cowork, a desktop application that distinguishes itself from Claude Chat and Claude Code by providing direct access to a user's local files. While Claude Chat is a browser-based tool for general queries and Claude Code is a terminal tool for developers, Claude Cowork acts as a persistent digital assistant with a dedicated workspace. By connecting directly to real files rather than copies, it eliminates the repetitive manual process of providing context and copy-pasting data, which the author estimates can save users several hours of productivity per month.
To optimize the experience, the author provides three specific technical tips. First, they recommend using Obsidian as a Markdown translator to make the raw .md files used by Cowork easier to read and edit. Second, they advise keeping the primary instruction file, CLAUDE.md, under 300 lines to reduce token consumption and increase speed. This is achieved by using a 'routing map' that directs the AI to specific workstations only when needed, rather than loading all rules at once. Finally, the author suggests structuring the MEMORY.md file into three distinct sections—Active Projects, Scheduled Tasks, and Core Memory—to prevent the AI's memory from becoming a bloated, unstructured wall of text that degrades performance.