Your first 10 minutes

Start with a real task you already know how to judge.

• Pick a real task — one you already do and can judge in fifteen seconds. Not a test, the actual thing.
• Give it context — drop in a few files or a whole folder, or connect an app.
• Describe the outcome, not the steps. Say what you want at the end.
• Make Claude ask first — add “before you start, repeat my ask back and ask any clarifying questions.” This one habit prevents most bad outputs.

Then step away and check the result. You already know what good looks like, so you'll see in seconds whether it's right, wrong, or 70% there.

And when a task earns a repeat — same job next week, same job next month — that's the moment to install a skill for it, so next time is one short sentence.