Why Projects exist
You start a chat. You explain the context. You paste a file. You explain again. You close the tab.
Tomorrow you do it all again. That is exhausting and slow.
A Project saves all that setup once. You walk in. You ask. It just knows.
What goes inside a Project
Two things really matter.
The instructions. A short note that says how Claude should help. Your tone. Your style. Your goals.
The files. PDFs, notes, examples, a brand guide, last quarter's report. The stuff Claude should peek at when answering.
What a good Project looks like
Name it after a real job. "Monthly newsletter." "Customer support replies." "Investor updates."
Keep instructions short. Three or four lines. Tone, audience, what to avoid.
Add files only if Claude actually needs them. More is not better.
Real examples I use
Newsletter Project. Past issues as files. Tone notes. One sentence about what we will not write about.
Sales reply Project. Common objections as a list. The voice we want. Three example replies.
Recipe Project. My family's allergies. Ingredients we love. The kind of meals we like.
When to start a Project
The moment you find yourself doing the same thing twice. Not earlier. Not later.
If you only do something once, a normal chat is fine. If you do it every week, a Project saves your future self time.
When NOT to use a Project
One off questions. Random ideas. Things that have nothing to do with each other.
You do not want a giant Project that holds everything. You want small, focused ones.
Three or four good Projects beat one giant messy one.
How to keep them clean
Update the instructions when your style changes. Take old files out when they get stale.
If a Project starts giving worse answers, look inside. Usually there is a bad file or a vague instruction.
Treat them like rooms in your house. They need a tidy now and then.
Projects on the team plan
If you are on a team plan, Projects can be shared. One person sets it up, the rest of the team uses it.
That is the whole reason teams pay for the team plan. There is more on that on the Teams page.
One question for you: what is the one task you do every week that has the same shape every time? That is the first Project I would build. Tell me on LinkedIn and I will share my template.