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Stop Using Claude Like Everyone Else

Saving prompts, re-explaining yourself, and using Claude like a glorified Google are not the best way to use AI anymore. Here are the 3 things to do instead, with the exact steps and prompts, including the ONE prompt that builds your AI second brain.

Zach Nov 2026 · 5 prompts

1. Build your AI second brain

Claude only knows what you give it. Start a new chat with nothing and it guesses. A second brain fixes that: a small set of documents with who you are, what you do, and how you sound, so Claude starts every job from your world instead of a blank page.

The best places to keep it are Notion, Google Drive, or a folder on your computer. Pick whichever one you already use.

  • Notion
    In Claude, go to Settings → Connectors, find Notion, and sign in. Good if you already live in Notion.
  • Google Drive
    Same place: Settings → Connectors, find Google Drive, and sign in. Good if your work is already in Docs.
  • A folder on your computer
    In the Claude desktop app, start a Cowork task and pick the folder. Simple and private, but see the note in step 3.

Now build it

  1. Paste the prompt below into Claude. Tell it which tool you picked when it asks.
  2. Answer its questions. Talk to it like a new hire on day one. The more specific you are, the better every future answer gets.
  3. Add the instruction it gives you. When it's done, Claude gives you a line to paste into your settings, so every new chat reads your second brain first.
Prompt 1: The ONE prompt that builds your AI second brain 
You're going to build my AI second brain: a small set of plain text files that tells you exactly who I am, what I do, and how I sound. It's my constant source of truth, so I never have to re-explain myself again.

FIRST, ASK ME ONE THING
Ask where I want my second brain to live: Notion, Google Drive, or a folder on my computer. Check that you can actually reach it. If you can't, walk me through connecting it, one step at a time, and wait for me to say "done" before you move on.

THEN INTERVIEW ME
- Ask me ONE question at a time. Wait for my answer before asking the next one.
- Go in this order: (1) who I am and what I do, (2) who I do it for, (3) what I'm trying to get done in the next 90 days, (4) how I like answers (length, format, tone), (5) how I write and talk, (6) the tools I use every day, (7) the tasks I repeat every week.
- If an answer is vague, push back with a follow-up. "I do marketing" is not an answer. "I run Meta ads for 4 dental offices and send them a report every Monday" is.
- When we get to how I write, ask me to paste 2 or 3 real things I've written (an email, a post, a text). Study them.
- If I say "skip", move on. If I say "done", stop and build with what you have.
- Tell me which section we're on and roughly how many questions are left.

WHAT TO BUILD WHEN WE'RE DONE
In the place I picked, create a folder (or, in Notion, a page) called "AI Second Brain" with these 6 documents:

1. START HERE: the front door. 10 to 20 lines. Tells any AI to read "About Me" first, then whichever other documents fit the task. Lists every document and what it's for.
2. About Me: who I am, what I do, who I do it for, my current priorities, and how I like answers.
3. My Voice: how I write and talk. My tone in 3 words, sentence length, words and phrases I actually use, words I'd never use, and 2 or 3 short real examples from what I pasted.
4. My Work: what I (or my business) offer, what makes it different, and the topics I care about. If I don't have a business, make this about my job and role.
5. My People: the people I serve or work with. Who they are, what they want, what keeps them stuck, and the words they use.
6. Memory: starts with today's date and the key facts and decisions from this interview. New facts and decisions get added here with the date.

RULES
- Write everything in short, plain bullet points so any AI can read it fast.
- Use my own words wherever you can. Never invent a fact I didn't give you. If something is missing, write "TBD" so I can fill it in later.
- When it's built, show me what you made. Then give me the exact instruction to paste into my Claude settings, so every new chat reads my second brain first.
- Finish by telling me the 3 tasks from my weekly list you could take off my plate first, and the exact sentence I'd type to hand each one over.

FROM NOW ON
Whenever I tell you something new about my work, my goals, my audience, or how I like things done, update the right document and tell me in one line what you changed.

Start with your first question.

2. Use a voice-to-text tool

Wispr Flow logo

The average person talks around 150 words a minute and types around 40. So by talking to your computer, you can give your AI about 4X the context in the same amount of time. Better inputs, better answers.

The tool I recommend is Wispr Flow. It works in every app on your computer, and it cleans up your filler words as you go.

  1. Install Wispr Flow from wisprflow.ai and give it mic access.
  2. Click into Claude's chat box, hold the hotkey, and talk. Let go and the text lands in the box.
  3. Ramble on purpose. Say what you want, why, who it's for, what you tried, and what you don't want. The stuff you'd skip when typing is what makes the answer good.
  4. Tell Claude how to handle it. Paste the prompt below into your Claude instructions, so it knows your messages are dictated.
Prompt 2: The voice-to-text instruction 
I talk to you with voice-to-text most of the time. That means my messages will be long, messy, and full of filler words, repeats, and the occasional wrong word from the transcription.

When I send you one of those:
1. Pull out what I actually mean. Ignore "um", "like", restarts and repeats. If a word looks like a transcription mistake, use the word that makes sense.
2. Treat everything I said as context, even the tangents. The extra detail is the point.
3. If my ask is still unclear after that, ask me up to 3 short questions before you start. Otherwise, just do the work.
4. Never repeat my rambling back to me. Start with the answer.

3. Build scheduled tasks

A scheduled task is a job Claude does for you on repeat. You describe it once and it just runs, every day or every week, without you asking. It needs a paid Claude plan.

Set one up

  1. Go to Scheduled. In the Claude app, click Scheduled in the left sidebar.
  2. Hit New task, then choose Create with Claude.
  3. Paste one of the prompts below and answer Claude's questions. It shows you the name, schedule, and instructions.
  4. Click Schedule. You can pause, edit, or run it any time from the same page.

3 to start with

Connect the tools each one needs first, in Settings → Connectors. Change the times to fit your day.

Prompt 3: Your morning brief 
Every weekday at 7 AM, send me my morning brief.

Read my AI second brain first so you know my priorities. Then check my email and calendar, and give me:
1. Today's meetings: the time, who's in it, and one line on what I should know going in.
2. The emails from the last 24 hours that actually need me. One line each, most important first.
3. The 3 things I should get done today, based on my priorities.

Keep the whole thing short enough to read in 2 minutes. Don't send, delete, or change anything.
Prompt 4: Manage your emails 
Every weekday at 8 AM and 3 PM, go through my inbox for me.

Read my AI second brain first, especially "My Voice". Then:
1. Sort everything new since the last run into: needs me, can wait, and ignore.
2. For anything that needs a reply, write a draft in my voice and save it as a draft.
3. Give me a short summary: what came in, what you drafted, and anything urgent.

Never send an email. Never delete anything. Drafts only.
Prompt 5: Update your to-do list after meetings 
Every weekday at 6 PM, update my to-do list from today's meetings.

Read my AI second brain first. Then find today's meeting notes and pull out:
1. Everything I said I'd do, with who it's for and when it's due.
2. Anything someone else owes me, so I can follow up.

Add those to my to-do list in [WHERE YOUR LIST LIVES. Example: my "To-Do" page in Notion]. Don't remove anything that's already there. If you're not sure something is really a task, list it separately and ask me. End with a 3-line recap of what you added.

What to do this week

  1. Today: build your second brain. Run Prompt 1 and test the before and after.
  2. Tomorrow: install Wispr Flow. Add Prompt 2 to your instructions and talk to Claude from now on.
  3. This week: set up your first scheduled task. Start with the morning brief. Add the other two once you trust it.

Want to go further? The 10X Claude Setup covers connecting every tool and automating the work you're already good at.