Get Your Money's Worth from Claude (2026 Guide)
You will have Claude set up the way I use it: training turned off where you want it, the right model and thinking mode chosen, projects with custom instructions, and a first artifact running Claude inside it.
Was Sie brauchen
A Claude Pro plan (the $20 plan, at claude.ai)
Optional: Google Drive, Notion or GitHub accounts to connect
Schritt für Schritt
Check your privacy settings first
Open Settings, then Privacy (or Security, depending on the app). Find the option that says Help me improve this model and choose whether to turn it off. I leave it on for Claude but turn it off in other tools like ChatGPT and Perplexity.
Pick the right model
Click the model selector at the bottom right of the chat box. - Opus: the biggest, best for heavy reasoning, but the slowest. - Sonnet: medium size, great for everyday and business tasks, and cheap. - Haiku: the smallest.
Skip the older models: the newest ones are better and cheaper.
Turn on thinking mode for hard tasks
Click the thinking button on the left of the chat box. The model then reasons through the problem, tries paths and backtracks before answering. Turn it on for reasoning-intensive work such as creating assets or brainstorming.
Add files and connect your tools
Use the options on the left of the chat box to add documents or take screenshots of pages into the conversation. Scroll to the bottom of that menu to open connectors and link Claude to Google Drive, Notion, or GitHub if you are a developer.
Use research mode for deep questions
Turn on research mode when you need a lot of information. It works like deep research in ChatGPT and can search the web on its own for hours; I have had sessions run over two hours without intervention.
Set a response style
In the same menu, change the style Claude answers in: more formal, or more explanatory. If you are learning something, choose the learning style so Claude explains everything it does. Use custom connectors to link any other tool you need.
Use incognito for chats you don't want saved
Open a new chat and switch to an incognito window. Nothing in it gets saved: once you close the window, it is gone for good. If you don't know where to start, try one of the pre-made prompts on the homepage.
Create a project with custom instructions
In the left sidebar, open Projects, type a name (for example "investment project") and click Create a Project. Add files and custom instructions as context; every chat in the project uses them. My Italian coach project uses this instruction:
Custom instruction (language coach project)Always reply in Italian and with Spanish translations so that I can understand everything.
Build an artifact with Claude inside
Artifacts are webpages or apps Claude builds for you, and they can call Claude themselves. Open an example like the brainstorm idea generator, fill in company context, session type and team goals, then click Generate Ideas. Then ask Claude to build your own: a cover letter, business proposal or marketing asset generator.
Worauf Sie achten sollten
The "Help me improve this model" setting lives under Privacy or Security depending on the app, so check it every time you install a new AI tool.
Opus is the strongest model but also the slowest; use Sonnet for everyday business work.
In my demo the artifact failed to generate ideas because they had already been generated and I had not changed any inputs. Change the inputs before running it again.
Claude does not generate images. If you need image generation, you will need another tool.
