a survival guide to AI (written like IKEA instructions):

> ai is not that hard.

> ai is this simple.

> go to claude.ai.

> create a new account. somehow, you have to verify your phone.

> look at the box where you type. bottom-right corner.

> it shows a model, like “Sonnet 4.6” (free) or “Opus 4.8” (paid).

> you want the nice and smart ai instead of the free one.

> pick Opus 4.8. set the thinking level to High. turn on “Thinking”.

> it looks like this:

— "just follow 1 → 2 → 3, this simple"

> now the infamous “prompt”… suspenseful music

> you do NOT need to know how to prompt “like an engineer”.

> the trick is a tool few use, called AskUserQuestion.

> basically claude asks YOU the questions, instead of you prompting it (badly).

> so go for something like: “Help me do [X] for [Y]. Use AskUserQuestion first.”

— "if we were in highschool together, text me and i will sell you ai consulting services"

> you just click on the answer, or type it in the “Something else” box.

> it usually has 3-5 questions, the more you say, the better the answer after.

> sometimes you want to go pro, like “give me 3 different strategies”

> and claude gives you this nice little design for 3 answers:

— "i’m sorry to tell you this is fake, i want to a french highschool and french people only speak french"

> that one line, “ask me questions first,” makes you a power user

> write it on your hand. and brag about being a prompt engineer.

> you’re already using ai better than 99.9% of the population.

> that was level 1.

>

> now level 2. talk to your computer.

> you can use another ai to write by talking to your computer.

> yes, you talk 4x faster than you type. and if you’re my mom, 400x faster.

> typing on your computer is so 2024. the future is now, old man.

> i like using wispr flow, it’s a free tool, ai, you talk and the computer writes.

> it looks and sounds like this:

> you are not faster at using a computer, with ai.

>

> now level 3. you need claude’s app now.

> download the app here: claude.com/download

> open it. click the “cowork” tab. it’s at the top next to chat.

— "top left, the Cowork in the middle, click on it"

> in the browser, claude answe.. you copy-paste the results.

> claude cowork is different.

> it makes the actual file and saves it on your computer.

> the real PDF. the real spreadsheet. sitting in your folder.

> so make one folder on your computer. call it “cowork.”

> i can’t believe i’m explaining this, but go to your computer’s homepage and do a right click to “create a folder” that’s how you create a folder, like:

— "right click → new folder → congrats, now name it cowork or something"

> select it inside cowork. claude can read everything inside it now.

> ok. stop here. take a breath. how do you “select it”?

— "inside claude cowork → click on “work in a project” → select the folder"

— "that’s what happens next, click here"

— "you select your new cowork folder on your desktop"

> drag it into cowork. claude reads everything inside it now.

> drop in a messy doc, an old proposal, last month’s numbers. anything.

> now use the trick again:

> “build a spreadsheets to do [x]. but ask me what you need first.”

> 3 minutes later, a clean Excel file. in your computer.

> but wait, there is more.

>

> level 4. connect your apps.

> i can safely say after this level, you are the top 0.000000000001% of the world

> actually no, that’s less than one person, we need to make more kids, guys

> left sidebar, click “customize,” then “connectors.”

> it will connect your claude to your app, like gmail / calendar / notetakers.

> connect gmail. connect your calendar. connect your meeting notes (granola, otter, whatever) - shockers, i know

> it will ask you if you want to connect your apps.

> say yes to everything.

> test it by going super hacker mode and prompt something like:

— "claude reads my email, my meeting transcript & knows my calendar - magic"

> ai just needs context. it needs to know you. it’s simple.

>

> level 5. you can train claude on new skills.

> now go to the left side bar, and find “customize”, find “skills”

> skills are playbooks claude runs on its own when the task fits.

> wait, it sounds too technical

> skills are premade stuff claude knows before answering.

> like an employee who knows the standard procedure to do [X].

> so first, we need to create a skill before using a skill.

> turns out… claude made a skill… to create skills… called /skill-creator

— "just type /ski… and click on skill-creator"

> now just say what you need as a skill, like for example:

> “i want to teach claude how to make excel spreadsheets the way i love them.”

> and add “but ask me questions first” at the end.

> you answer the questions to the ai so the ai is better at being a good ai.

> once you’re done, it will ask you something like this:

— "just click on “Save skill” and now you can type /excel-style in your prompt "

— "for example here, i saved it and typed /exce… and it’s already offering a bunch of skills i built with claude"

> you gave claude skills, and you can share them with your team.

>

> final boss. coding.

> you don’t know how to code. me neither. but you can do cool stuff now.

> you can make a real website. or app. tonight. yourself. using English.

> in the app, open claude code (the </> tab in the left sidebar).

— "top left → go to Code → make sure “Bypass permissions” is on"

> turn on the mode that stops it asking permission for every step.

> (it’s the scary one. bypass permissions. all it means is “go. i trust you.”)

> same trick:

> “build a page where people book a 30-min call with me. ask me questions first.”

> the AskUserQuestion box pops:

— "it’s really my favorite ai feature, every ai should have this"

> “dark mode?” click. “bookings to gmail or calendly?” click.

> then it builds. the form, the buttons, all of it.

> 4 minutes later: “done. open this.” you open it. it works. magic.

> want it on your phone? “make this an app i can put on my phone. ask me first.”

>

> being good at ai is stupidly simple.

> you asked claude to ask you questions, then clicked the answers.

> most people i meet say “i’m so behind” but they never even tried.

> the bar to knowing is trying. how low is that?

> i dropped out of university. i can’t code. i now build things for enterprises.

> so open this article on my substack. open claude. start at level 1.

> tonight. not tomorrow. tonight.

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