--- title: "Your first power session: a guided tour of the Claude…" description: "The workspace at a glance (September 2026) Claude runs on the web (claude.ai), desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and iOS and Android. Labels move as…" url: https://optimizeall.com/learn/mastering-claude/your-first-power-session updated: 2026-10-05 --- Mastering Claude (Anthropic) · Claude foundations · lesson 3 of 20 · 14 min # Your first power session: a guided tour of the Claude workspace ## The workspace at a glance (September 2026) Claude runs on the web (claude.ai), desktop apps for macOS and Windows, and iOS and Android. Labels move as the product evolves and some features depend on plan and region, so treat this as a map rather than a pixel-perfect screenshot. - **Composer:** where you type, attach files and images, and open the **+** menu for tools such as web search, Research, connectors and skills. - **Model picker:** choose among the models your plan (and your admin) allows, and switch extended thinking on or off. - **Sidebar:** recent chats, starred chats, **Projects**, and your Artifacts. - **Artifacts panel:** substantial outputs open beside the chat. Since September 2026, Artifacts include **Claude Docs** (documents you write together), **Claude Slides** (presentations) and **Claude Design** (visual designs and prototypes). You can edit in place, download (for example as PowerPoint or PDF) or share a link. - **Customise / Settings:** profile preferences, styles, memory, connectors, skills, privacy and data controls. On 16 September 2026 Anthropic merged the separate **Cowork** workspace into the main Claude conversation. In practice this means you no longer choose between "chat" and "task mode": you ask for the outcome and Claude decides whether to answer, create a document, or work through a multi-step task using your connected tools, checking in with you before anything consequential. Rollout ran to Pro and Max first, with Team and Free following, and Enterprise organisations receiving advance notice. ## A 25-minute power session Use a real, non-confidential piece of work. **Step 1: Set profile preferences (3 min).** In settings, describe yourself and how you like answers: *"I'm a marketing manager at a skincare brand in Lahore. Prefer concise answers with bullets, British spelling, and a one-line summary first."* This applies across chats. **Step 2: Check memory and privacy (3 min).** Open memory settings and see what, if anything, Claude remembers. Check your model-training preference under privacy settings (consumer plans let you choose whether chats are used to improve models). Note where incognito chats are started. **Step 3: One chat per task (1 min).** Start a new chat and rename it something searchable, like "Q4 newsletter draft". **Step 4: Attach and orient (5 min).** Upload a document and ask for structure before detail: ```text Summarise the attached document for a busy manager: 1. Purpose in one sentence 2. Five key points, with page or section references 3. Decisions or actions required 4. Anything unclear, missing or contradictory ``` **Step 5: Turn it into a deliverable (5 min).** Ask: *"Turn this into a one-page brief as a Claude Doc I can edit."* Try one in-place edit: highlight a sentence in the document and type the change you want. **Step 6: Critique (4 min).** *"Review the brief as a sceptical finance director. List the five weakest points. Don't rewrite yet."* Then: *"Fix the top two."* **Step 7: Save the pattern (4 min).** Copy the prompts that worked into your prompt library, or note them for a Project or Skill later in the course. ## What a good first output looks like Run on a 12-page supplier proposal, a strong summary has a one-sentence purpose ("Proposal to supply packaging for the spring range at a fixed unit price for 12 months"), five specific points with numbers and page references, decisions ("approve pricing tier", "confirm delivery schedule") and gaps ("No penalty terms for late delivery are stated"). If yours is vaguer, add who you are and what decision you face, then rerun. ## Habits that compound - **Shift+Enter** for new lines so you can write structured prompts without sending early. - **Edit and resend** your earlier message instead of adding "actually, I meant...". - **Branch deliberately:** when a chat drifts, start a new one with a five-line summary. - **Use the right surface:** mobile for capturing ideas and photos of whiteboards; desktop for files, connectors and longer work. ## What differs by plan Free accounts include chat, web search, file creation and code execution, memory, Artifacts, a limited number of Projects, and access to skills and connectors, with usage limits. Pro adds features such as Research, Claude Code, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft 365 integrations, and more models. Max multiplies usage. Team and Enterprise add admin controls, SSO, model entitlements and commercial data terms. Plans and prices change, so confirm on Anthropic's pricing page before advising anyone. ## Hands-on checklist - [ ] Profile preferences written and saved - [ ] Memory reviewed; training preference checked - [ ] One document summarised with references - [ ] One Claude Doc created and edited in place - [ ] One critique-and-revise loop completed - [ ] Three prompts saved to your library ## Pitfalls - Mixing five unrelated tasks in one endless chat. - Uploading sensitive client files to a personal account. - Letting an autonomous task run with connectors you have not reviewed. - Forgetting that responses can contain errors: you are the editor. ## How to measure success After a week, you should be starting most work from a saved prompt, keeping one chat per task, and producing your first draft of routine documents noticeably faster than before. ## Video lecture: Your first power session: a guided tour of the Claude workspace Lecture coming soon · 15 chapters · about 9 minutes. Read the full transcript below. 1. Your first power session 2. Why a setup session pays off 3. The map 4. What changed in Sept 2026 5. Setup in six minutes 6. Orient, then deliver 7. The expert habit 8. Plans in one breath 9. What good looks like 10. Habits that compound 11. Simple example 12. Try this now 13. Watch me do it, part 1 14. Watch me do it, part 2 15. Recap and next step ## Lecture transcript ### Your first power session In the next few minutes we are going to turn Claude from a chat box into a genuine work tool. You will tour the workspace as it looks in September twenty twenty six, set it up properly, and produce a real deliverable you can edit and share, all in about twenty five minutes. ### Why a setup session pays off Why spend twenty five minutes on setup when you could just start typing? Because it pays you back every single day. Think of it like setting up a new phone. Ten minutes choosing your settings saves you irritation for years. Here, a short profile description means every answer arrives closer to your style. A quick look at memory and privacy settings means you know exactly what is being kept, before you paste anything sensitive. And knowing where Docs, Slides and connectors live means you stop copying and pasting between apps. Small setup, compounding return. ### The map Start with the map. The composer is where you type and attach files, and its plus menu holds tools like web search, Research, your connectors and skills. The model picker lets you choose among the models your plan allows and switch extended thinking on. The sidebar holds your chats, Projects and Artifacts. And when Claude produces something substantial, it opens in the Artifacts panel beside the chat. ### What changed in Sept 2026 Two recent changes matter. In September twenty twenty six, Anthropic folded its separate Cowork workspace into the main conversation. You no longer pick a mode. You ask for the outcome, and Claude decides whether to answer, build a document or work through a multi step task using your connected tools, checking in before anything consequential. At the same time, Artifacts gained Claude Docs, Claude Slides and Claude Design, so a brief, a deck or a visual mock up can be created, edited in place, downloaded or shared by link. ### Setup in six minutes Now setup. First, profile preferences. Tell Claude who you are and how you like answers, for example, marketing manager at a skincare brand in Lahore, concise bullets, British spelling, one line summary first. Second, open memory and see what Claude remembers about you. Third, check your privacy settings, including whether your chats can be used to improve models on consumer plans. And find where incognito chats start, for anything you do not want kept. ### Orient, then deliver Next, one chat per task. Attach a document and ask for structure first. Purpose in one sentence, five key points with page references, decisions required, and anything unclear or missing. That last item is where Claude often catches the gap you missed. Then ask Claude to turn it into a one page brief as a Doc you can edit. Try highlighting a sentence and simply typing the change you want. ### The expert habit Here is the habit most people skip. Ask Claude to critique its own work as a specific reader. Review this as a sceptical finance director and list the five weakest points, do not rewrite yet. Then ask it to fix the top two. Finally, save what worked. Copy your best prompts into a library so next time you start from a proven template, not a blank box. ### Plans in one breath A quick word on plans. Free covers chat, web search, file creation, memory, Artifacts and a few Projects, with usage limits. Pro adds things like Research, Claude Code, Claude in Chrome and Microsoft three six five integrations. Max multiplies usage. Team and Enterprise add admin controls, single sign on and commercial data terms. These details change, so always confirm on Anthropic's pricing page before advising a client. ### What good looks like How do you know your first output is good? Take a twelve page supplier proposal. A strong summary opens with a one sentence purpose, a proposal to supply packaging for the spring range at a fixed unit price for twelve months. Then five specific points, with the numbers and page references the document actually contains. Then the decisions required, approve the pricing tier, confirm the delivery schedule. And then the gaps, for example no penalty terms for late delivery are stated. If your summary is vaguer than that, the fix is almost always more context. Add who you are and what decision you face, then run it again. ### Habits that compound A few habits make everything faster. Use shift and enter for new lines so you can write structured prompts without sending early. Edit and resend your earlier message rather than adding actually, I meant, five times. When a chat drifts, start a new one with a five line summary. And use the right surface. Mobile is brilliant for capturing ideas and photographing whiteboards. Desktop is better for files, connectors and longer work. One more caution. Before letting Claude run a multi step task with your connected tools, check which connectors are switched on, and be ready to approve or stop actions. ### Simple example Let's warm up with a simple example. After a team huddle, photograph the whiteboard with your phone and send it to Claude with one line. Turn this into a checklist with owners and dates, and mark anything you cannot read. In seconds you have a clean checklist, plus a note that one owner's name was unclear. Open it as a Doc, highlight the date that is wrong, type Thursday, not Friday, and only that item changes. That is the whole loop in miniature. Capture, structure, fix precisely, and share. Everything else in this session is that loop applied to bigger material. ### Try this now Try this now. Set a timer for ten minutes. First, open settings and write three or four lines of profile preferences, your role, your market, and how you like answers. Second, open memory and privacy, read what is stored and decide your training preference deliberately. Third, take a photo of a page of handwritten notes or a whiteboard, send it to Claude, and ask for a structured checklist as a Doc, flagging anything unreadable. Fix one item in place. When the timer ends, you will have a personalised, privacy checked workspace and your first real deliverable. ### Watch me do it, part 1 Let me do the power session with you, screen by screen. First, settings. In profile preferences I type, marketing manager at a skincare brand in Lahore, concise bullets, British spelling, one line summary first. Next I open memory. I can see categorised entries, and one mentions a supplier we no longer use, so I delete it. Then privacy, where I read the model training setting and choose deliberately. Now I go back and start a new chat, and I rename it straight away, Q four supplier proposal, so I can find it later. That took about four minutes, and every future conversation benefits. ### Watch me do it, part 2 Now the real work. I drop in the twelve page supplier proposal and paste the four part summary prompt. Purpose, five key points with page references, decisions required, and anything unclear. The summary comes back, and the gaps section notes that no late delivery penalties are stated. I ask, turn this into a one page brief as a Claude Doc I can edit. The Doc opens beside the chat. The delivery date is wrong in one bullet, so I highlight it and type, the start date is the first of March, and only that line changes. Last step, I ask Claude to review the brief as a sceptical finance director and list five weaknesses without rewriting. I fix the top two, and the brief is ready to share. ### Recap and next step Recap. Know the map, set preferences and privacy first, keep one chat per task, orient before you ask details, turn outputs into editable Docs, critique before you polish, and save what works. Your next step is the checklist in the lesson. Complete the power session with a real, non confidential document this week, and notice how much faster your next draft arrives. ## Video transcript Welcome to your first Claude power session. In the next few minutes, we will turn Claude from a chat box into a genuine work tool. Start with your profile preferences. Tell Claude who you are, what you do, and how you like answers: short or detailed, bullets or prose, British or American spelling. You only do this once, and every conversation starts closer to what you need. Next, open a new chat for one task only. Give it a clear name, like 'Q4 newsletter draft'. One task per chat keeps Claude focused. Now attach a document. Do not ask for a vague summary. Ask for structure: the purpose in one sentence, five key points, the decisions required, and anything unclear or missing. That last part is where Claude often catches gaps you missed. Then turn that summary into something useful: a one-page brief, an email to your manager, or a checklist. When the output is substantial, Claude may open it in a separate panel called an Artifact, which you can edit, copy or download. Here is the expert habit most people skip: ask Claude to critique its own work. 'What would a sceptical reader challenge here?' Then ask it to fix the top two issues. Finally, save what worked. Copy your best prompts into a simple prompt library. Next time, you start from a proven template instead of a blank box. Remember: features vary by plan and region, and Claude can make mistakes. You are the editor. Claude is the very fast first draft. ## Key takeaways - The workspace combines a message box, model selector, feature toggles, history, Projects and settings. - One chat per task keeps context clean; start fresh with a summary when a chat drifts. - Set profile preferences once so every chat starts closer to your style. - Plan and region determine available features; always check official help pages. ## Try it Complete the 20-minute power session with a non-confidential document from your work and save the three most useful prompts in a personal prompt library. - [Previous: Chat fundamentals: the prompt structure experts use](https://optimizeall.com/learn/mastering-claude/chat-fundamentals-and-prompt-structure) - [Next: Long documents and file analysis](https://optimizeall.com/learn/mastering-claude/long-documents-and-file-analysis) - [All lessons of Mastering Claude (Anthropic)](https://optimizeall.com/learn/mastering-claude)