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Course/Your New Normal

7 min · +160 XP

Your new normal

A short routine for every working session, and one final project for your level.

By the end of this lesson

You will be able to work with Claude Code in a steady routine and finish a final project that fits your level.

You have seen the whole path, from the install line to automation. What remains is a habit: a short routine you repeat each time, and one real project finished from start to end.

The routine

Each working session

  1. 1Open the terminal in the project's folder, or open the folder in the desktop app.
  2. 2Type claude --continue to pick up the last conversation in this folder, or claude for a fresh start.
  3. 3Write one complete request: what you want, the details that matter, and how Claude should check the result.
  4. 4Check the result yourself: open the page, press the buttons, read what changed.
  5. 5Save a checkpoint with git, using the phrase below.
💬 End of each session

“Commit these changes with a clear message, and tell me in one sentence what we did today.”

Claude saves a Git snapshot and gives you a one-line summary for next time.

For beginners
›If you forgot how to open the folder

On a Mac, right-click the folder in Finder and choose Services > New Terminal at Folder, or drag the folder onto the Terminal icon in the Dock. On Windows, right-click the folder and choose Open in Terminal, or open it in File Explorer, click the address bar at the top, type powershell and press Enter. Then type claude --continue.

Practise the routineTask 1 of 3

An imitation of a terminal opened in the habit-tracker folder, and a Claude Code session. Type each step and press Enter.

1Pick up the last conversation: type claude --continue

~/habit-tracker %
Safe: nothing here touches your computer.

Your final project

Choose the project for your level. Each one ends the same way: something real that another person uses or runs.

For beginners

If you are new: a tool you use for a week

  1. 1Choose one small annoyance from your own week: a list, a reminder, a calculation you keep repeating. The Idea Bank has examples.
  2. 2Build it in its own folder with one complete request, in auto mode.
  3. 3Use it every day for a week. Each time something bothers you, ask Claude for one change.
  4. 4At the end of the week, show it to one person and watch them use it without your help.
  5. 5Write down one thing they found confusing, and ask Claude to fix it.

If you know the basics: one service, online

  1. 1Choose a tool that needs data from one outside service: weather, a calendar, a spreadsheet, a shop's orders.
  2. 2Connect it with an API key kept in .env, or connect Claude itself to the service through MCP.
  3. 3Ask Claude for a simple check that the connection works and for a clear message when it fails.
  4. 4Put it online, as in the module "Put It Online", with the key kept out of the code.
  5. 5Send the link to one person who will use it, and fix the first thing they report.
For experienced users

If you are experienced: unattended work and a shared skill

  1. 1Choose a task with a provable end state, such as a migration or a set of failing tests, on its own branch or in a worktree.
  2. 2Write the condition with a check, constraints and a turn limit, and run /goal in auto mode, or ask Claude to set up a headless run with a spending cap.
  3. 3Review the diff and the transcript: was the condition met the way you meant it?
  4. 4Turn the procedure into a skill, or a small plugin with that skill and a hook.
  5. 5Share it with a teammate (commit .claude/skills/ or publish a marketplace) and ask them to run it on their machine.

Finish your final project

0/5
For beginners
💬 Start the week-long tool

“Build me a small tool in this folder for [the annoyance from my week]. Keep the data on this computer, large text, one screen. It is done when I can use it every day without help. Decide the details yourself, check that it works, then tell me how to open it.”

Replace the part in brackets. After that, one change per day is enough.

💬 Connect one service

“Connect my tool to [the service] using an API key kept in .env, make sure .env is in .gitignore, add a clear message for when the connection fails, and check that it works.”

Claude wires up the service and tells you where to paste the key.

For experienced users
💬 Package the procedure

“Turn what we just did into a project skill in .claude/skills/, with a short description of when to use it, and test it once on a clean branch.”

A starting point for the skill you share with a teammate.

Stay safe

Five rules worth keeping

  1. 1One folder per project, and a git commit after each working step.
  2. 2Keys and passwords in .env, never in the code or in a chat.
  3. 3Auto or Manual mode on your own computer; bypass mode only in a disposable container.
  4. 4Nothing involving money, and nothing you cannot undo, while you are learning.
  5. 5Read what you install: plugins, hooks and MCP servers run with your permissions.
Quick check

You come back to a project after a week. What is the quickest way back into the work?

Facts checked against the official Claude Code docs October 24, 2026 · source

EAEvgenii Arsentev

Author

Evgenii Arsentev

PhD · Chief Executive Officer, digital health