module 05 how it works

Day-to-day workflow

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Full Lesson Reference

Everything you've learned so far fits into a single repeatable workflow . This is what every session looks like in practice, once you're set up.

The 6-step session loop

  1. Open a terminal in the right folder

Right-click the project folder in Finder/Explorer > "New Terminal at Folder" / "Open in Terminal". Or drag-drop the folder into your terminal after typing cd .

  1. Start Claude
terminal
claude

CLAUDE.md files load. Skills register. MCPs configur ed for this project activate.

  1. Run /startup
terminal
/startup

Claude reads your memory layer - project context, last session, pending items, global rules. Gives you a recap.

  1. Do your work

Tell Claude what you want in plain English. Approve (or deny) permission prompts as they come. Check context percentage occasionally.

Examples

Pull the last 30 days of Google Ads performance and build a weekly report.

Write 5 email variations for the Spring promo using our brand voice.

Audit this landing page for conversion issues and suggest 3 improvements.

Build a dashboard showing Meta vs Google Ads efficiency month over month.

  1. Run /wrapup
terminal
/wrapup

Claude summarises, saves to memory, commits + pushes, confirms done.

  1. Close the terminal

Done. Session is clean. RAM is freed.

What this looks like over a week

Monday morning: Open project, /startup, Claude recaps Friday's pending items, you knock out 3 of them, /wrapup, close.

Tuesday afternoon: Different project, open it, /startup, Claude recaps last time you were in it (2 weeks ago), you pick up the thread, /wrapup, close.

Wednesday: Back to the Monday project, /startup, Claude knows what you did Monday and on Tuesday's other project, loads the right context.

Friday: Audit your memory layer, trim stale rules, archive a finished project.

No drift. No re-explanation. No "where were we?". Just continuous work with perfect recall of your own decisions.

Workflow rules to build into habit

  • One project per session - don't mix client A and client B in the same Claude session. Open separate terminals. Keeps context clean.
  • Wrap up before you switch - if you're about to start something totally different, /wrapup first. Cleaner breaks.
  • Check context at milestones - after big tasks, glance at context percentage. Above 50%? Wrap and restart.
  • Permission prompts aren't friction - they're your safety net. Answer quickly with the number keys.
  • Everything important gets saved explicitly - don't trust Claude's implicit memory. Tell it to save rules, update project records, log decisions.

When the workflow breaks

If a session feels off

  • Claude keeps making the same mistake - audit CLAUDE.md (Module 02)
  • Claude forgets context mid-session - check context percentage, /wrapup if over 50%
  • Claude doesn't know your preferences - /startup wasn't run, or memory isn't connected
  • New session has no idea what you did - last /wrapup was skipped or didn't write to Supabase Module 15 (Troubleshooting) covers the fix es in detail.

Power-user tips

  • Name your terminal tabs by project - you'll have 3-5 sessions running in a heavy work day. Tab naming stops you from typing into the wrong one.
  • Use separate terminal profiles per client - background colour coded by client prevents "oops, wrong session" moments
  • Save your most-used prompts - if you find yourself typing "pull Google Ads last 30 days + build a report" every Monday, that's a skill waiting to be built (Module 09)
  • Close idle sessions - if a Claude session has been open 3+ hours and you haven't touched it, /wrapup and close. Frees RAM, forces a clean context on return.

Action items

☐ Run through the 6-step loop today with a real task

☐ Lock in the habit: claude → /startup → work → /wrapup → close

☐ Never skip /wrapup (it's 30 seconds that saves 15 minutes later)

☐ One project per session - separate terminals for separate work

☐ If sessions feel off, check CLAUDE.md + context % + memory connection in that order

Module complete. Next: Module 06 - Sessions, Files, and /wrapup deep dive.

Exercises

  1. Review the concepts covered in this lesson: Day-to-day workflow.
  2. Write down your key takeaway from this lesson.
  3. Practice running any commands or prompts mentioned above inside your terminal.