How to Set Up Claude Cowork for Productivity

TL;DR

Keep the root CLAUDE.md between 200 and 250 lines, cap MEMORY.md at 150 lines, and move task-specific instructions or outdated facts into files loaded only when needed. Use Obsidian to edit Markdown comfortably, separate prescriptive rules from changeable facts, and maintain ARCHIVE.md as a complete historical record that Cowork consults on demand.

Transcript

Co-work is insanely powerful, but there's a problem. Right now, there's no gold standard on how to set up your workspace. So, if you get the foundation wrong, you're going to keep running into avoidable issues down the line. So, after 5 months of using co-work daily to run my entire life and going to debt to pay for token usage, here are five essen... Read More

Key Insights

• Obsidian is a practical lens for Cowork files because it renders Markdown with readable headings, bold text, and bullet points while saving edits directly to the underlying workspace files.
• The root CLAUDE.md loads during every session, so unnecessary content repeatedly consumes tokens. Cutting the presented file from more than 600 lines to about 250 reportedly reduced token usage by roughly 25%.
• The recommended CLAUDE.md size is 200 to 250 lines, with 300 lines treated as the absolute maximum. Keeping only universally relevant instructions prevents task-specific guidance from bloating every session.
• Task-specific instructions should live in reference files that Cowork loads on demand. A one-line pointer in CLAUDE.md preserves access while removing detailed procedures that are irrelevant to most sessions.
• Prescriptive behavior belongs in CLAUDE.md because rules describe what Cowork should always, never, or conditionally do. Facts and statuses that could change belong in MEMORY.md instead.
• A structured MEMORY.md should contain active projects and their statuses, scheduled recurring tasks, and persistent personal or business facts that need frequent reference. Clear sections help Cowork interpret current context quickly.
• Memory entries should be limited to one or two sentences, and the root MEMORY.md should have a 150-line ceiling. When it exceeds that ceiling, the prescribed response is compression and archiving, not expansion.
• ARCHIVE.md is the historical filing cabinet for information no longer needed every day. Cowork does not load it at every session, but can consult it when a question requires older context.

Questions & Answers

Q: How should I organize a Claude Cowork workspace?

Organize the workspace around a lean root CLAUDE.md, a structured root MEMORY.md, task-specific reference files, and an ARCHIVE.md. CLAUDE.md should hold session-wide instructions, preferences, guardrails, routing information, and pointers. MEMORY.md should track active projects, scheduled tasks, and persistent facts. Detailed procedures and older information should remain available in files that Cowork loads only when needed.

Q: How can I make Claude Cowork Markdown files easier to edit?

Install Obsidian, choose Open folder as vault, and point it to the Cowork workspace folder. Obsidian renders Markdown headings, bold text, and bullet points in a more readable form while editing the same underlying files. Reading mode can prevent accidental edits, and enabling Show all file types displays spreadsheets, PDFs, and images alongside Markdown files in the sidebar.

Q: How long should the root CLAUDE.md file be?

Keep the root CLAUDE.md between 200 and 250 lines, with 300 lines as the absolute maximum recommended in the source. The file loads in every session, so excessive length repeatedly consumes tokens. The presented example fell from more than 600 lines to around 250 lines, which reportedly reduced token usage by roughly 25%.

Q: What information belongs in CLAUDE.md instead of MEMORY.md?

CLAUDE.md should contain prescriptive instructions that define how Cowork behaves. Entries using terms such as always or never belong there, as do conditional procedures such as checking for an existing recipient thread before drafting an email. Workspace-wide governance, communication preferences, behavioral guardrails, routing rules, and instructions required at every session also belong in the root CLAUDE.md.

Q: What information belongs in MEMORY.md instead of CLAUDE.md?

MEMORY.md should record facts and statuses that may change rather than rules about behavior. Examples include the current status of active work, the tools a company presently uses, scheduled recurring jobs, and persistent personal or business facts that require frequent reference. The suggested test is whether an entry describes a changeable fact rather than prescribing what Cowork should do.

Q: How can I reduce token usage in Claude Cowork?

Reduce token usage by keeping files loaded at session start concise. Limit CLAUDE.md to essential universal instructions, replace task-specific sections with one-line pointers, and keep MEMORY.md entries to one or two sentences. Enforce a 150-line memory ceiling, compress current information when necessary, and move older details into ARCHIVE.md, which is consulted only when a request requires historical context.

Q: How should I structure the root MEMORY.md file?

Use three clear sections: active projects and work, scheduled tasks, and core memory. Active projects should include a short status so Cowork understands current priorities. Scheduled tasks should record recurring automated jobs to prevent duplicates or omissions. Core memory should store persistent facts, such as career background, a LinkedIn URL, or a business address and its intended use.

Q: Why should Claude Cowork use an ARCHIVE.md file?

ARCHIVE.md preserves a complete historical record without burdening every new session. The root MEMORY.md acts like a whiteboard for active projects and frequently needed facts, while ARCHIVE.md acts like a filing cabinet for older material. Cowork reads the archive only when a request requires historical information, so the archive does not need the same size ceiling as root memory.

Summary & Key Takeaways

• Obsidian can serve as a readable editing interface for a Cowork workspace. Opening the workspace folder as a vault renders Markdown headings, bold text, and lists properly, while preserving direct file updates. Reading mode prevents accidental changes, and showing all file types exposes spreadsheets, PDFs, and images in the sidebar.

• The root CLAUDE.md should contain only instructions needed across sessions, including memory-loading directions, communication preferences, behavioral rules, routing information, and reference pointers. Task-specific sections should move into separate files loaded on demand. Prescriptive instructions belong in CLAUDE.md, while facts or statuses that may change belong in MEMORY.md.

• The root MEMORY.md should track active projects, scheduled tasks, and persistent facts in concise entries. A 150-line ceiling forces compression and archiving instead of unlimited growth. Older information belongs in ARCHIVE.md, which preserves historical details without consuming tokens at every session because Cowork reads it only when relevant questions arise.