Files In, Files Out

Everything Cowork does starts and ends in the folder you gave it. That makes folder hygiene a superpower. Before a task, stage the inputs: put the files that matter in one place, delete or move the noise, and (for bigger jobs) add a short notes file with context Claude can't infer — audience, deadline, decisions already made. Riley Brown calls this pattern writing an idea doc first, and ends his with a summary "so the AI agent knows what's really important to me."

Name the deliverable in your prompt: "create q3-update.docx", not "help me with the update." A named file gives the task a finish line and gives you something concrete to review. For recurring work, keep a folder per project, not per task — Cowork sessions can build on previous outputs, and next month's report goes faster when last month's is sitting right there.

One habit prevents most messes: treat the folder as shared workspace, not private scratch space. Claude will create, rename, and reorganize files as part of the job — that's the point — so don't point it at the one folder where your filing system is sacred. Give it a project folder and let it work.