The person who built Claude Code just showed exactly how to use it.
30 minutes. Free. Straight from Boris Cherny himself.
Bookmark this before you forget.
Most people using Claude daily are missing 40+ features hiding in plain sight.
This single session is worth more than any $1000 course.
Don't upgrade to the $100 Claude plan (yet).
These 21 hacks make the $20/month plan enough:
1. You upload PDFs raw. One page = 3,000 tokens.
Fix: Paste the text into a Google doc. Download as .md format. Under 200 tokens.
2. You build files inside Cowork too early.
Fix: Plan in Chat first. Move to Cowork only when you know exactly what you want.
3. You write 500-word prompts that reload.
Fix: Write 29 words instead: "I want to [task] to [goal]. Ask me questions using AskUserQuestion."
4. You say "redo the whole thing" to fix section 3.
Fix: "Only redo section 3. Keep everything else. No commentary. Just the output."
5. You send 3 separate messages for 3 tasks.
Fix: One message, three tasks. "Summarize this, list the points, suggest a headline."
6. You type "No, I meant," stacking on the history.
Fix: Click 'Edit' on your original message. Fix it. Regenerate.
7. You rewrite prompts from scratch every time.
Fix: Keep a prompt library. Same structure, swap the variable.
8. You use Opus for a simple grammar check.
Fix: Sonnet for quick tasks. Save Opus + Extended Thinking for deep work.
9. Your about-me file is 22,000 words (too long).
Fix: Trim to under 2,000 words. End sessions with "Write a session-notes .md."
Paste my .md file prompt: https://t.co/LyV7fegv4c
10. You never restart & keep stacking long chats.
Fix: When Cowork goes sideways, click "Restart the conversation from here" on an earlier message.
11. You never summarize before things get long.
Fix: Every 15-20 messages → summarize, copy the brief, start a fresh session.
12. You use Projects for recurring files.
Fix: Use Projects. Upload once. Every chat inside references it without re-burning tokens.
13. You dump 50 files into Cowork "just in case."
Fix: Only include what this task needs. Zero folders for quick tasks like email drafts.
14. You keep 3 topics in 1 chat. Claude re-reads all.
Fix: New topic = new chat. Always. Dead context is dead tokens.
15. You leave search & connectors on by default.
Fix: Default everything off. Turn features on per task, not per account.
16. You manually run the same report every week.
Fix: Use /schedule. "Every Monday at 7am, create my weekly briefing."
17. You let Claude Code explore your whole repo.
Fix: Be specific. "Build a bar chart from this CSV. Save as chart .png."
18. You skip Personal Preferences & waste setup.
Fix: Settings → Personal Preferences. Set your tone and style once.
19. You type lazy prompts like "make it better."
Fix: Speak your prompts with wispr .ai. Richer context in one shot.
20. You burn your whole limit in one morning.
Fix: Claude runs on a rolling 5-hour window. Split it.
21. You use Claude for things it can't do.
Fix: Know your tools. Images → Gemini.
Real-time search → Grok.
To download my exact .md files:
1. Go to https://t.co/psB7XxAv8w.
2. Subscribe for free. Open my welcome email.
3. Hit the automatic reply button inside.
4. Go to the Notion link in the second mail.
5. Copy-paste prompts, too.