Claude lessons: workflows, plans, mistakes, prompt library
Reference lessons to use after the step-by-step tutorial.
Workflows
Long document review
- Make a project, upload the doc.
- "List obligations with section numbers."
- "Draft questions for the other side."
Writing in your voice
- Paste 3 samples into project instructions.
- "Match this voice; keep under 200 words."
Plans compared
| Free | Pro | Max | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | $0 | $20/mo or $17/mo yearly | From $100/mo |
| Projects | Up to 5 | More | More |
| Research | No | Yes | Yes |
| Claude Code | — | Yes | Yes |
| Weekly limits | — | Yes | Yes |
From claude.com/pricing.
Mistakes and fixes
| Mistake | Fix |
|---|---|
| Burning limits on huge chats | New chat plus a summary |
| Unclear asks | Say the goal, the audience and the format |
| Trusting citations blindly | Open them |
Prompt library
Bad: make slides
Good: Turn this report into an outline for 8 slides: a title and 3 bullets each, for a board audience, with no jargon.
Why: the count, the structure and the audience.
<context>[paste]</context>
Task: [one sentence]
Output: [format, length]
If something is missing, ask me before guessing.Use-case playbooks
Contract review
- Put the contract in a Project.
- Ask for obligations with section numbers.
- Ask for ambiguous clauses.
- Check three section numbers yourself.
Report from data
- Upload the CSV.
- Ask for a chart file and the code it ran.
- Re-run one total by hand.
Code change with Claude Code
- Commit first.
- Describe the bug with a repro and expected value.
- Ask it to run tests and show output.
- Review the diff.
Animated walkthrough
Animated walkthrough
Press play, or pick a chapter. Each chapter animates its steps.
Troubleshooting
I hit a limit. What now?
Paid plans have a session limit that resets every five hours and weekly limits that reset once a week. Usage across claude.ai, Claude Code and Claude Desktop counts toward the same limit (Anthropic help center). Start a new chat with a short summary instead of dragging a long one.
The answer cites a page that doesn't say that.
Treat the claim as unverified. Ask: quote the exact sentence from that page that supports this, or say it isn't there. Then open the page yourself.
It forgot my earlier instructions.
Long chats push early text out of context. Put standing instructions where Claude keeps them (Projects: reference files and instructions every chat in the project starts with. Free allows up to 5 projects (Anthropic).) and start a fresh chat.
It agrees with everything I say.
Ask it to argue the other side and list the strongest evidence against your view, with sources.
How do I keep costs down?
Pro is $20 billed monthly or $17/month billed annually ($200/year) per claude.com/pricing. Start new chats instead of dragging long ones, and keep big files in a Project.
Cost control
Paid plans have a session limit that resets every five hours and weekly limits that reset once a week. Usage across claude.ai, Claude Code and Claude Desktop counts toward the same limit (Anthropic help center).
- Test with the free tier on real tasks for a week first.
- Set a calendar reminder 2 days before any renewal.
- Keep one paid assistant, not three, unless each earns its place.
Prompt library: bad vs good
Bad: help me
Good: Read the attached contract. List every obligation for us, with section numbers. Then list anything ambiguous.
Why: situation, task, format and limits.
Bad: research this
Good: Find the 5 most relevant official sources from the last 12 months on [topic]. For each: title, date, link, and one sentence it actually says.
Why: asks for dated, quotable, checkable sources.
Bad: make it better
Good: Rewrite this for a busy customer: max 100 words, one ask, no jargon. Then list what you cut.
Why: a reader, a length and an audit of changes.
Bad: should I do X?
Good: List the 3 strongest reasons for and against X for someone in [situation]. Mark which reasons depend on facts I should check.
Why: balanced, and separates facts from judgement.
Privacy and safety
Profile / preferences, Privacy (the model-training choice) and Usage (Settings > Usage shows your limits).
- Don't paste passwords, ID numbers, card numbers or other people's private details.
- Assume the company can read and keep your chats unless its official policy says otherwise.
- For health, money or legal decisions, confirm with a professional or an official source.
Failure modes to watch
- Running out of the 5-hour session mid-task.
- Over-long answers when you didn't set a length.
- Trusting extracts without checking page numbers.
- Connectors given more access than the task needs.
When to use it vs other bots
| Use Claude for | Consider another bot when |
|---|---|
|
See: ChatGPT · Gemini · Perplexity · Copilot · comparison |
Leveled tutorials
Where these facts come from
- claude.com/pricing: plans, prices, limits, features, API prices
- support.claude.com: help center (reachable)
Checked Oct 29, 2026. Plans change, so confirm on the official page before you pay.
Next: Gemini tutorial →