01The three storage rooms.
| Room | What lives there | Human equivalent |
|---|---|---|
| Instructions | Who the twin is, its voice, rules, jobs | Employee handbook — read before every task |
| Knowledge | Reference docs: price lists, family logistics, FAQs | Filing cabinet next to the desk |
| Memory | Things picked up as you chat ('she's vegetarian now') | What a good assistant just… remembers |
Rule of thumb: rules → Instructions; documents → Knowledge; things that come up in conversation → Memory handles them automatically.
02The filing cabinet — Project knowledge.
Knowledge files are docs the twin can consult — too long for instructions, too important to leave out. 3–6 files is plenty to start.
Personal files
- › Family logistics doc (no ID numbers!)
- › Master preference list
- › Gift & occasions tracker
- › Home file: appliance models, paint colors, wifi notes
Business files
- › Services & pricing sheet (official version)
- › Client cheat sheet (one paragraph per key client)
- › FAQ doc (20 questions you answer every month)
- › Templates: best proposal, report, onboarding email
TIP// Don't have these documents? Good news
Create them with your twin: "Interview me and build a client cheat sheet for my five main clients." Twenty minutes of chatting produces the document — then upload it back as knowledge. The twin literally helps build its own filing cabinet.
Where uploads happen:
- On your Project's page, find Project knowledge panel (near Instructions).
- Click Add files. PDF, Word, and plain text all work.
NOTE// Knowledge vs. attaching a file to a chat
Attaching in chat = twin sees it for that conversation only (a paper across the desk). Uploading to Project knowledge = available in every conversation (filed in the cabinet). Permanent things go in the Project.
03Memory — the twin that stops asking twice.
With memory on, when you mention your daughter switched to vegetarian, or that a project wrapped up — the twin quietly notes it and uses it from then on.
Where to find it in Claude:
- Open Settings → find Memory.
- Check the toggle is on.
- Review the "what Claude remembers" list monthly. Delete anything wrong or stale — you're always the editor.
Steer memory directly in conversation:
- "Remember that we switched to oat milk" — files a fact.
- "Forget what I said about the Hendricks project" — removes one.
- "What do you remember about my food preferences?" — audits.
WARNING// Memory hygiene — two habits
- The stranger test still applies. Only feed it what you're comfortable persisting.
- Stale memories cause weird outputs. "My twin got weird" is usually "my twin's memory needs a spring clean."
DO THIS// Homework — 25 minutes
- Create/gather 3 knowledge files (use the interview trick) and upload them.
- Turn on memory and tell your twin three things to remember.
- Open a brand-new chat and ask something whose answer lives in a knowledge file. Watch it answer from the cabinet.
Lesson recap
- ›Three storage rooms: Instructions, Knowledge, Memory.
- ›Upload 3–6 reference docs; let the twin interview you to create missing ones.
- ›Project knowledge is permanent; chat attachments are one-conversation-only.
- ›You are memory's editor. Review monthly; delete stale entries.
Check yourself
CheckTold the twin your new pricing in a chat last week, but it's still quoting old prices. Why?+
The old pricing sheet is still in Project knowledge and outranks a passing remark. Fix at the source: replace the file. When a document is wrong, update the document — don't argue in chat.
CheckWhere does each belong — 'never quote discounts,' the FAQ, 'client X just got promoted'?+
Rule → Instructions. FAQ → Project knowledge. Promotion → let Memory file it (or say 'remember that…').