Setting up Cowork for your actual work
Module 03 · est. 25 min · You’ll build: a Cowork project loaded with your context, so you stop re-explaining yourself.
TL;DR: The difference between people who get a little from Cowork and people who get a lot is setup. A few minutes organizing your files and a short “about me/my work” note means every future task starts with the context already loaded — you just say “do X.”
[Operator’s read] I never re-paste the same background. I set it up once, in a project, and reuse it. Setup is a one-time tax that pays off every single day after.
1. Make a project per area of your life/work
Group related work into a project (e.g., “Marketing,” “Client X,” “Personal admin”). Everything in a project shares context, so Cowork already knows the players, the goals, and the voice.
2. Add a short “context” note
Drop a single note into the project with the essentials:
- Who you are and what you do.
- Who the audience is (customers? team? you?).
- Your voice (warm/direct/formal) — one line.
- Any rules (“never promise dates,” “always CC Sam,” “we use $ not USD”).
📷 [Screenshot placeholder: a Cowork project with a pinned “Context” note]
3. Add your real materials
Upload the files you actually work from — brand guide, last month’s report, your résumé, the spreadsheet. Cowork reads them so you don’t have to paste them every time.
4. Connect your tools (optional but powerful)
If available, connect the apps where your work lives (docs, drive, calendar). Now you can say “summarize this week’s calendar” or “find the latest version of the proposal” without uploading anything.
📷 [Screenshot placeholder: the connectors screen]
Lab
Create one project for the area where you spend the most time. Add a context note (use the template in the course examples: cowork-project-setup.md) and 2–3 real files. Then ask it something only someone with your context could answer well. Feel the difference.