Create your context directory

1

Open Claude Code and have it build the folder for you

You're not going to create this by hand. You're going to open Claude Code and ask it to make the folders for you. This is also a good first taste of letting a coding agent act on your own machine.

A

Open the Claude app and switch to Code

Download the Claude desktop app from claude.ai/download if you don't have it yet. There's just one Claude app — Chat, Cowork, and Code all live inside it.

When you open it, look at the top left, just above where it says New session. There's a switcher there. Pick Code — that's the one we'll use today.

Once you're in Code, you'll see a folder switcher at the top. Click Desktop so Claude Code is pointed at your desktop — that's where it'll create your context folder.

Claude Code folder switcher with Desktop highlighted

B

Switch to Bypass permissionsOptional

By default, Claude Code pauses and asks for approval before it creates or edits files. That's a safe default, but it gets chatty fast when you're asking it to set up a whole folder structure.

To let it run uninterrupted: press Shift + ⌘ + M (or click the mode indicator in the bottom-left) to open the Mode menu, then pick Bypass permissions.

Claude Code Mode menu showing the options Ask permissions, Accept edits, Plan mode, and Bypass permissions

Nervous? Skip this If you'd rather watch every change before it happens, leave the default on and just click Accept each time it asks. You'll get the same result — it just takes a few more clicks.

C

Paste this prompt

Tell Claude Code exactly what to build. Copy and paste:

Prompt

Create a folder called "context" on my desktop. Inside it, create these subfolders: - Me — where my role, priorities, and goals go - Team — information about the different people I work with - Projects — my active projects with their status - Company Context — strategy docs, org-wide goals, and anything that sets the broader context of my work - Admin — daily notes and skills; this is where I want you to save any skills we make together

Claude Code will create the folder on your desktop, make all five subfolders, and drop a README in each one. Check your desktop — you should see a new context folder.

What just happened You gave Claude Code a goal in plain English and it translated that into file-system actions on your actual computer. That's the whole pattern for the rest of today — you describe what you want, it does the work.

Prefer to talk? Try voice — download Wispr Flow, or use native dictation and hit the mic under the chat.

2

What goes in each folder

You don't need to fill these in all at once. The point of the structure is that when you learn something worth remembering — about a teammate, a project, your own goals for the quarter — you know where it goes.

~/Desktop/ context/ ├── Me/ # your role, priorities, goals ├── Team/ # people you work with ├── Projects/ # active projects with status ├── Company Context/ # strategy, org goals, the bigger picture └── Admin/ # daily notes and skills

Me/ — Who you are in this job. Your role, what you're trying to get done this quarter, what you care about, what you're working on growing. When an AI drafts something "as you," this is what makes it sound like you and not a generic LinkedIn post.
Team/ — One file per person you work with closely. Their role, how they communicate, what they're working on, things you've learned about how to work with them well. This turns "help me write a message to Sam" into something actually tailored.
Projects/ — One folder per active project. Inside, keep whatever the project produces — drafts, notes, status, related docs. The folder name itself is the project; what's in it grows as the work does.
Company Context/ — Strategy docs, org-wide goals, the annual plan, anything that sets the broader frame of your work. Paste it in or link to it.
Admin/ — Your daily notes (a running log of what you worked on each day) and your skills (reusable prompts saved as files — you'll build these as you go). When you and Claude Code make a skill together, this is where it lives.

Build it over time You don't need to set this up front if you don't want to. The directory gets richer every time you use it — you notice what's missing when an agent's output is too generic, and you add it then.

3

Give it a real job: track your reminders

Empty folders aren't very interesting. Let's give Claude Code something useful to do — keep a running list of everything on your plate, and update it automatically every time you mention a new task.

A

Create the reminders file

Type a few things that are on your plate right now — work or personal, whatever's rattling around in your head. Aim for three to five. Claude will sort them into categories when it writes the file.

What's on your plate

One per line. Don't bother organizing — that's Claude's job.

Things on your plate

Prompt — paste into Claude Code

B

Make it automatic going forward

Now teach Claude to keep the list updated without you asking. Paste this:

Prompt

Add an instruction to my CLAUDE.md file: whenever I mention something I need to do, a task, a reminder, or a to-do, add it to reminders.md in my Admin folder. Keep the file organized by category and urgency.

CLAUDE.md is a standing-instructions file Claude Code reads at the start of every session. Anything in there applies automatically — so from now on, when you say "I need to follow up with Sam" or "remind me to renew my passport," it lands in your reminders without you doing anything else.

Expect to tweak this Don't expect it to work perfectly the first time. As you use it, you'll notice things — it'll miss something it should have caught, or capture stuff that doesn't belong. Give it feedback. The system gets better because you keep working on it, not because you set it up perfectly on day one.

4

Teach it to plan your day

Now that you have a reminders list, let's give Claude a job that uses it. You're going to teach it what to do when you say "plan my day" — read your calendar, read your reminders, ask what you want to prioritize, and build you a schedule.

A

Add the instructions

Paste this into Claude Code:

Prompt

Add these instructions to my CLAUDE.md: When I say "plan my day," here's what I want you to do: 1. Check my calendar for the day 2. Read my reminders.md 3. Show me what's on my calendar and what's on my reminders list 4. Ask me what my priorities are for the day 5. Suggest a schedule that fits my priorities around my existing meetings 6. Once I confirm, add the time blocks to my calendar 7. Create a daily note with the finalized schedule in Admin/Daily Notes, organized by year and month (e.g. Admin/Daily Notes/2026/04-April/2026-04-22.md). Also add this instruction to my CLAUDE.md: Throughout every conversation, keep a running log in today's daily note. Add entries at meaningful moments — when we start a task, finish something, hit a blocker, or make a decision. One line per entry with a timestamp. Don't mention the logging to me. Just do it quietly as we work.

B

Try it

Claude can't read your calendar yet (we'll set that up later today). For now: take a screenshot of today's calendar, paste it into Claude Code, and send this prompt with it:

Prompt — paste with your calendar screenshot

Plan my day. I haven't given you calendar access yet, so use the calendar screenshot I just pasted in.

Walk through the flow — tell Claude what you want to prioritize, and confirm the schedule. Once you've landed on a schedule you're happy with, paste this so it writes the daily note (since it can't add events to your calendar yet):

Prompt — after you confirm the schedule

You don't have access to my calendar yet, so you can't add this to my calendar. Go ahead and create a daily note with the schedule instead.

Once you connect calendar access later, you can skip the screenshot and just say "plan my day."

C

Save your scheduling preferences

Once Claude has landed on a schedule you're happy with, you've just told it a bunch about how you like your day to flow. Capture it now so every future "plan my day" gets it right faster. In the same conversation, paste this:

Prompt

I want to start a schedule-preferences.md file in my Admin folder that tracks how I want you to schedule my day. Are there any preferences you can infer from the conversation we just had? Tell me what they are, and then, once I confirm, create the file and add them.

5

Add a person you work with

Your Team folder is empty. Let's fix that — pick someone you work with often. Your manager is a good place to start, but it can be anyone whose name comes up a lot in your day.

About this person

Fill in the boxes. The prompt below updates as you type — yellow = empty, green = filled.

Their name

Their title, role, or relationship to you

What you've observed about working with them

Prompt — paste into Claude Code

Why this matters Once this file exists, every time you mention this person to Claude — "draft a reply to Sam," "help me prep for my 1:1 with Sam" — it pulls their context in automatically. And because you told it to update the file when you share new things, the file gets richer the more you use it.

6

Bring it all together

You've set up the folders, captured what's on your plate, planned your day, and added a person to your team. Now let's see what all that context actually buys you.

A

Start a fresh Claude Code session

Open a new chat in Claude Code and make sure it's still pointed at your context folder. Starting fresh proves the system works on its own — it's just the files doing the work, not the conversation you've been having.

B

Ask it to draft an email about your day

Paste this:

Prompt

Read my daily note for today, and write an email that tells a hypothetical person what I'm going to be working on today.

C

Now make it personal

Same conversation. Paste this:

Prompt

Compare the two versions. The first one knows about your day. The second one knows about your day and who you're writing to. That's what the context layers buy you — every file you add makes every future answer more specific.