Pick the right work tasks and set up your space
A good helper at work does the boring first draft so you can do the thinking. Before you start, you pick the jobs a helper is good at, and you give the helper a tidy desk with your notes on it.
- Course 1.1 listed reliable uses: write, summarize, explain, plan, translate, brainstorm and data help. At work, the best starting tasks are ones that are frequent, take you a while, and have a draft you can check.
- A task is a poor fit when a mistake would be costly and you cannot check the result, or when it needs private information you are not allowed to share.
- In Claude, a Project is described by Anthropic as a self-contained workspace with its own chat histories and knowledge base. You can upload documents to a project's knowledge, and give each project its own custom instructions (for example, a formal tone or a specific role).
- Projects are available on all Claude plans. Free users can create up to five projects. Sharing a project with teammates is only for Team and Enterprise plans. (Plan details can change; check the app.)
- A new version of projects is rolling out in stages, so screens may look different from the steps below.
- Always follow your employer's AI policy before using company information (course 1.1, lesson 6).
| Good first tasks | Poor first tasks |
|---|---|
| Draft a routine email you send every week | A legal or medical decision you cannot check |
| Summarize a long report you must read anyway | Anything with passwords or customer card numbers |
| Turn rough notes into a clean list | A task your employer's policy does not allow |
- Write down every task you did last week at work. Aim for 10.
- Mark each task: how often (daily, weekly, rare), how long it takes, and whether you could check an AI draft yourself.
- Circle the 3 tasks that are frequent, slow and checkable.
- Open Claude and create a Project for one of them (names and menus can differ by version).
- In the project's instructions, write who you are, who reads your work, and your tone (for example, "plain English, short sentences").
- Upload one or two example documents that show good work, only if your employer's policy allows it.
- Check: you have a named workspace, short instructions and 3 chosen tasks.
Videos by other creators on YouTube, for reference. They are not made by or affiliated with The Future Market.
Read the video script
[Host] "Do not start by asking, 'What can AI do?' Start with, 'What eats my week?'"
[Screen: list of 10 weekly tasks, three circled] "I list my tasks, then circle the ones that are frequent, slow and easy to check."
[Screen: creating a Claude Project with instructions] "Then I make a workspace with my tone and my audience written once."
[Text on screen: Frequent + slow + checkable] "Frequent, slow, checkable. Those are your first three."
Make your 10-task list and circle three. Create a project or a saved note with your tone and audience for the first one.
ClaudeStuck? Copy a ready-made prompt for Claude
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For a grown-up: Claude is for adults (18+). Copy this, paste it into Claude, and use the answer to explain the lesson to your child.
I'm learning "AI at Work: research, writing and analysis with AI" on The Future Market. Lesson 1: "Pick the right work tasks and set up your space". What the lesson teaches: - Course 1.1 listed reliable uses: write, summarize, explain, plan, translate, brainstorm and data help. At work, the best starting tasks are ones that are frequent, take you a while, and have a draft you can check. - A task is a poor fit when a mistake would be costly and you cannot check the result, or when it needs private information you are not allowed to share. - In Claude, a Project is described by Anthropic as a self-contained workspace with its own chat histories and knowledge base. You can upload documents to a project's knowledge, and give each project its own custom instructions (for example, a formal tone or a specific role). - Projects are available on all Claude plans. Free users can create up to five projects. Sharing a project with teammates is only for Team and Enterprise plans. (Plan details can change; check the app.) - A new version of projects is rolling out in stages, so screens may look different from the steps below. - Always follow your employer's AI policy before using company information (course 1.1, lesson 6). - Good first tasks - Poor first tasks The exercise I'm working on: Make your 10-task list and circle three. Create a project or a saved note with your tone and audience for the first one. I'm stuck. Please: 1. Explain the main idea in plain, simple words with one everyday example. 2. Walk me through the exercise one small step at a time. Ask me what I've done so far before giving the next step. 3. Don't just give me the final answer. Help me do it myself, and check my work when I share it.
I'm a parent helping my child (about 8 years old) with a lesson called "Pick the right work tasks and set up your space" from the course "AI at Work: research, writing and analysis with AI". Here's what the lesson says: A good helper at work does the boring first draft so you can do the thinking. Before you start, you pick the jobs a helper is good at, and you give the helper a tidy desk with your notes on it. The activity: Make your 10-task list and circle three. Create a project or a saved note with your tone and audience for the first one. Please explain this so an 8-year-old understands: short sentences, a fun everyday example, and no hard words. Then give me 3 simple questions I can ask my child to check they understood, and a way to do the activity together, one tiny step at a time.
Sources
- Anthropic, What are Projects: support.claude.com/en/articles/9517075-what-are-projects
Research with AI and keep your sources
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Long documents (reports, contracts, policies)
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Spreadsheets and numbers
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Meeting notes and action items
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Check the output (your quality gate)
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Your weekly AI routine
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Final project
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Quiz
Which tasks make good first AI tasks at work?
Frequent, slow and easy for you to check.
What is a Claude Project?
A self-contained workspace with its own chats, knowledge files and custom instructions.
Is an AI citation proof?
No. It is a lead; open the link and find the sentence.
What should you ask for first in a long-document task?
Ask it to quote the relevant sentences, then do the task.
Where should long material go in a prompt?
Near the top, with your question at the end.
How many files can you upload to one Claude chat?
20 (per Anthropic's help page).
What should you do before uploading a spreadsheet?
Make a copy and remove private data the task does not need.
How do you check a formula from AI?
Test it on a real row and recalculate a total yourself.
What should an action item include?
An owner and a due date (or "not stated" if missing).
Name the five checks in the quality gate.
Facts, numbers, names and dates, tone and audience, private data.
Why keep an error log?
To learn where the AI usually makes mistakes and check there next time.
Should you keep an AI task that does not save time after checking?
No. Drop or change it.
Final exam
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Certificate
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