Dan Donovan@askdandonovan
Free guides

Free guides from Dan Donovan

Step-by-step guides for getting real work done with Claude and other AI tools. Pick one and follow along.

68 guides

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Setup and foundations 21

Practise a language out loud with Claude

Three prompts that turn voice mode into a speaking partner.

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The two-minute Claude privacy check

Find the setting that decides how long your chats are kept, and clear old ones.

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What actually eats your Claude Code usage

Twelve checks from Anthropic's own cost docs that cut your usage.

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Which Claude to use for what

Four models, one lookup table, and the setting that stops you paying twice.

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The effort dial: which setting to use, and when

Which reasoning level suits which job, so simple tasks don't eat your plan.

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Make Claude interview you

Skip the perfect prompt and let Claude ask the right questions first.

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Make Claude get to the point

A free skill that makes Claude lead with the answer.

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Plug Claude into your Gmail, Drive and Calendar

Turn on Connectors in about two minutes, with five prompts to try.

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Turn on Claude Reflect and use it

See how you really use AI, then improve it with a three-question review.

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Run Claude while your laptop's off

Set up Cowork so tasks keep going with the lid shut. No code.

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Stop hitting Claude's usage limits

The settings and habits that make your plan last longer, in plain English.

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Make Claude Code behave

A short rules file so Claude Code asks first, keeps code simple and sticks to the job.

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The Claude efficiency kit

15 tips, five prompt templates and a CLAUDE.md file to stretch your usage.

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The AI context cheat sheet

Six things to give Claude or ChatGPT so you get the answer first time.

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3 Claude settings most people skip

Turn on memory, bring over your ChatGPT history and get a learning path.

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What changed in Claude Opus 4.7

The real changes, plus three prompts to test whether it's worth switching.

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See your Claude Code limit before you hit it

Add a status line that shows token use, time left and context as you work.

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The 7 day Claude Code plan

One hour a day for a week, ending with a business tool you'll use.

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Stop burning Claude Code usage on simple tasks

Change one default setting in 30 seconds so small jobs cost less.

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Find the ghost tokens in your Claude Code

One command shows where your Claude Code usage is really going.

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Set up Claude Code in VS Code

Install Claude Code inside VS Code in four steps, no terminal needed.

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Memory and context 7

Skills and connectors 12

The Claude plugin list, and the 3 to install first

Skip the engineering tools and add the three worth having.

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Record a skill instead of writing one

Do a task once on screen and Claude turns it into a skill you can reuse.

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Get the file, not a wall of text

Flip one setting and Claude hands you the finished spreadsheet, deck or doc.

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Connect Claude to Apify's scrapers

Pull real data into Claude with plain-English prompts, in four steps.

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Build your first Claude skill

Turn a weekly task into a skill that works in your voice, in about ten minutes.

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Generate videos and images inside Claude Code

Connect Higgsfield's video and image models to Claude Code in three steps.

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The 5 MCPs that run my business

Connect Claude Code to Apify, n8n, Granola, Playwright and Google Workspace.

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Your skills are eating your context

Audit your Claude Code skills and archive the ones you don't use.

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5 marketing skills for Claude

Copywriting, ad creative, SEO, email sequences and conversion, set up step by step.

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5 Claude skills that cover freelancer work

Free skills for copy, ads, SEO, video and design, in Claude Code or the desktop app.

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The 5 MCPs I use every day

Connect Claude to Drive, Gmail, Calendar, Slack and Notion in about ten minutes.

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The 5 Claude skills to install on day one

Five beginner skills, each with setup steps and a prompt to try straight away.

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Content and marketing 9

Websites and video 8

Work and everyday life 11