Claude Code Guide

Stop burning usage on
simple tasks

By Dan Donovan, @askdandonovan

Claude Code defaults to medium effort for everything. That means a quick edit costs the same brainpower as a full workflow rebuild. Here's how to fix it.

3 Commands
30 sec To set up
~70% Usage savings
$0 Extra cost

Effort level controls how hard Claude thinks before responding. It's a built-in setting that tells Claude how much processing to spend reasoning through your request. The problem: it defaults to medium, for everything. A one-line rename gets the same processing as a multi-file refactor.

After this guide
Lower token usage
Simple tasks use up to 70% less usage
Longer-lasting quota
Your daily usage limit stretches further
Faster responses
Low effort means less thinking time
Better results when it counts
High effort gives deeper reasoning on complex tasks
Before you start: You need Claude Code installed and running. If you haven't set it up yet, check the Claude Code setup guide first.

The problem: one size fits all

Every time you ask Claude Code something, it picks how hard to think based on its default effort level. Out of the box, that's medium. Here's what that looks like:

Task Default What it should be
Rename a variable Medium Low
Fix a typo Medium Low
Write a short answer Medium Low
Explain a function Medium Medium
Rebuild a workflow Medium High
Debug a complex bug Medium High

Same effort for everything. That's like running your car in third gear whether you're parking or merging onto a highway. You're burning fuel for no reason on the easy stuff, and not getting enough power on the hard stuff.

1

Check your current effort level

Open Claude Code and check what effort level you're running. Type this:

Claude Code 
/effort

This shows your current setting. If you've never changed it, it'll say medium. That's what we're fixing.

2

Set low effort for simple tasks

Before you ask Claude something simple (a quick edit, a short answer, anything straightforward), drop the effort level first:

Claude Code 
/effort low

This is the big one. Low effort uses up to 70% less of your usage. Claude still gives you a correct answer. It just doesn't overthink it. For most quick tasks, the output is identical. You just pay less for it.

When to use low: Renaming things, fixing typos, writing short text, formatting code, answering quick questions, file operations, simple edits. Basically, anything you could explain in one sentence.
3

Set high effort when you need it

When you're about to ask Claude something that requires real reasoning (debugging, architecture decisions, multi-file changes), switch to high:

Claude Code 
/effort high

High effort gives Claude more room to reason through complex problems. It uses more of your limit, but the output quality is noticeably better for tasks that actually need deep thinking.

When to use high: Debugging tricky issues, planning architecture, building multi-step workflows, refactoring across files, writing complex logic, anything where you'd want a senior engineer to really think before answering.
4

Build the habit: match effort to task

The trick isn't picking one level and sticking with it. It's switching between them based on what you're about to ask. Here's the rule of thumb:

  • Low: quick tasks where the answer is obvious and you just need execution
  • Medium: general-purpose work where you're not sure how complex it'll be
  • High: complex tasks where quality of reasoning matters more than speed

Most people find that 80% of their tasks are low-effort tasks running at medium cost. That's where the savings come from.

?

Try it right now

Open Claude Code. Set low effort. Ask it something simple. Then check how much usage you burned compared to your usual. The difference is immediate.

Start with these:

Low effort: quick edit 
/effort low

Then ask it something straightforward:

Example prompt 
Rename the variable userList to activeUsers in app.js

Now try high effort for something complex:

High effort: deep thinking 
/effort high
Example prompt 
Build me a client dashboard that shows project status, upcoming deadlines, and recent activity
Notice the difference? Low effort responds fast with exactly what you asked for. High effort takes longer but produces more thoughtful, thorough output. Same model, same capability. You're just telling it how much to think.

Small setting. Massive difference.

People using effort levels report their daily usage lasting 2-3x longer. One creator ran an entire week of content production on usage that used to run out by Wednesday. Same work. Less usage wasted on simple tasks that didn't need deep reasoning.