Most people using Claude Code are still typing into it like it's a chatbot. The tool got good months ago. Their setup didn't move. Four things that actually changed my output: 1. CLAUDE.md is a front desk, not a filing cabinet. It's the first thing read on every session, not the place you dump everything you know. Short beats complete. 2. If you'd be annoyed it got ignored once, it's not a rule. It's a hook. CLAUDE.md guides. Hooks force. Anything you can't afford to have skipped goes in settings.json, not in a sentence and a prayer. 3. Anything you've retyped twice is a skill. Not the cleverest thing you do — the most repeated one. Say "save this as a skill" and it writes the file itself. 4. Hand over at 50% context, not 95%. Models read the ends carefully and skim the middle. Write the handover before the middle is where your instructions live. None of this is advanced. That's the point. The gap isn't skill, it's that most people never set the thing up and then blame the model. Chart by @charliejhills — 173 days of his notes in one screen