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Setting Up Your AI Workspace

A step-by-step guide to setting up Projects, connecting your email and calendar, and building your first GPT or Skill. Get the foundation right and everything else gets easier.

Written by Team

Start with a Project

Before you build anything else, set up a Project. Think of it as a folder that travels with every conversation — your files, your instructions, and your context all in one place.

In Claude:

  1. Click Projects in the sidebar, then Create project

  2. Give it a name (use the job, not the tool — "Listing Prep" beats "AI Stuff")

  3. Add project instructions and upload reference files (your bio, brand voice notes, past examples)

  4. Start chats inside the project — they stay scoped and don't bleed into other work

In ChatGPT:

  1. Find the Projects section in the left sidebar, click New project

  2. Name it, then add standing instructions and reference files

  3. Every chat you open inside the project has access to that context automatically

Connect your email and calendar first

Before you run anything time-sensitive (like a Daily Brief), connect your email and calendar. The AI is only as useful as the data it can reach.

In Claude or ChatGPT:

  1. Go to Settings and find Connectors (Claude) or Apps/Connectors (ChatGPT)

  2. Click Connect on the platform you want (Gmail, Outlook, Google Calendar, etc.)

  3. Log in and approve access

  4. Reference it naturally in chat: "Check my calendar" or "Pull my unread emails"

Connect email and calendar before running the Daily Brief or Calendar Block use cases. Those prompts don't work without live data.

Setting up a GPT (ChatGPT only)

Use a GPT when you have one specific job you'll run the same way every time — like writing listing descriptions.

  1. Go to chatgpt.com, click Explore GPTs in the sidebar, then Create

  2. Skip the Create tab — go straight to Configure

  3. Set the Name (keep it obvious: "Listing Description Writer")

  4. Paste your prompt into the Instructions field

  5. Upload any reference files under Knowledge (compliance rules, brand voice, example listings — up to 20 files)

  6. Add 3-4 Conversation starters so it's easy to use

  7. Set visibility and click Create

Good instructions are specific. "Be helpful" does nothing. Tell it the exact output format, word count, and what to never do.

Setting up a Skill (Claude or ChatGPT Business/Enterprise)

Skills are smarter than GPTs — they trigger automatically when relevant and only load what they need.

In Claude:

  1. Go to Settings > Capabilities and enable Code execution and file creation (Skills won't run without this)

  2. Go to Settings > Customize > Skills

  3. Click + Create skill or Upload a skill if you already have the file

  4. Toggle it on

  5. Test it with a request that should trigger it, then try one that shouldn't

If a Skill never fires, the description is usually too vague. Edit the SKILL.md description to say exactly what it does and when to use it.

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