"I'm writing that same explanation to the AI again... 😳"
"It's so annoying to copy and paste the same prompt every time..."
Actually, this isn't a problem with Claude itself, but rather a structural issue in how it's being used.
Have you ever experienced this while using Claude Code?
- It's a hassle to explain the same thing to Claude every time.
- You've bookmarked AI info but haven't tried a single thing.
- You use AI daily but feel like you're doing the same things you did six months ago.
- Everyone around you is talking about AI utilization, but you're still typing prompts by hand.
By reading this article to the end, you'll learn how to transform Claude Code from a "tool that resets every time" into a "partner that gets smarter every day."
An article written by Chesny from Humalike, who is attracting attention in the overseas AI content creator community, is currently going viral with about 2 million views.
This time, I will break down and explain the content so that even non-engineers can put it into practice starting today ⏬
Original post here:
https://x.com/chesnyfcb/status/2049833814663323653
You are paying a "Prompt Tax" every morning
"Prompt Tax? What's that?" It's normal not to understand it at first.
Every time you open a new session in Claude, you rewrite the same explanation as last time.
You give instructions like "Write in polite language," "Organize with bullet points," or "I am a marketing manager..."
Claude uses it.
You close the tab.
You open the next session.
You write the same thing again.
・
・
・
Chesny named this act the "Prompt Tax."
It's hard to notice because it's invisible, but you continue to pay this cost every morning. It might only be a few minutes each time. But over a month or six months, a massive amount of time disappears into the task of "re-explaining."
And the most troublesome part of this tax is that nothing builds up, no matter how much you keep paying it.
There are 3 levels of Claude utilization
Is there a way to be freed from this "Prompt Tax"?
Actually, there are three levels of using Claude. Chesny explains each by comparing them to "going to work every morning."
■ Level 1: Prompts
It's like explaining your job from scratch to a stranger every morning.
They don't remember the previous conversation. It's a start from zero every time. Most people are here.
■ Level 2: Projects
It's like giving a business manual to a new employee.
By using the Project feature in the Claude app, your context is maintained across all chats within that project. You no longer need to re-explain every time.
■ Level 3: Skills
It's like training an employee once, and then they work exactly as taught forever.
If you define "how to behave" in an .md file, Claude remembers those instructions across sessions. Moreover, it activates automatically without slash commands.
The point here is that Skills teach "how to behave," not "what to do."
"Write a report" is a command. But "In the weekly report, start with key KPIs, consist of a maximum of 3 sections, and list the next steps in bullet points" is a definition of behavior.
Personally, I think Level 3 Skills is the only choice if you want to seriously utilize Claude in a business setting.
With just prompts, nothing changes even after a month of use
So, what happens if you continue Level 1 prompt operations for 30 days? Let's take a look.
Day 1: You explain your job to Claude, and a decent output comes back.
Day 15: You're doing the same thing as Day 1. You write the same explanation and receive a similar output.
Day 30: Nothing has changed. Productivity remains the same as Day 1.
And in reality, there's an even tougher problem.
On tired days, writing the context is a hassle, so you skip it. Then the quality of the output drops. On busy days, you skip the context entirely, and Claude returns a generic, thin response.
In other words, with prompt operations, you yourself become the bottleneck.
Claude does a good job only on days when you're in good shape, and Claude's output drops along with yours on bad days.
This isn't a matter of willpower. It's a structural problem.
With Skills, productivity is completely different after 30 days
What happens if you spend the same 30 days with Level 3 Skills?
Day 1: You pick one task you repeat the most and define it as a Skill. It takes about 10 minutes.
Day 15: The number of skills has increased to three. Moreover, each skill is built on top of the previous one, and Claude's output accuracy keeps rising.
Day 30: It's a completely different beast. It writes in your tone without being told. It outputs in your preferred structure without being asked. It automatically applies the defined frameworks.
By spending one hour in the first week, the returns continue for over six months.
Chesny describes it this way:
"One is a transaction, the other is an investment."
Prompts are disposable transactions. You consume value each time, and nothing remains. Skills are an investment. The work of the first week pays dividends in the sixth month.
This difference is the true nature of the "Prompt Tax." Those who keep paying vs. those who graduate with an initial investment. The gap that opens after 30 days is larger than you can imagine.
And the Claude Code ecosystem is growing rapidly right now. Now is the best time to start creating Skills to gain an early adopter advantage.
"If you write the same instruction 3 times, turn it into a Skill" is the criteria
"I understand that Skills are good. But I don't know what to turn into a Skill in my work."
For people like this, Chesny proposes a simple criterion.
If you've written the same instruction three times, that's a sign it should be turned into a Skill.
What's important here is "specificity." Chesny says, "Specificity is the skill."
For example, "Write a report." This doesn't become a skill.
"In the weekly report, start with key KPIs, a maximum of 3 sections, and list the next steps in bullet points." This is a skill.
The difference isn't complexity. It's permanence.
People who put "Write as a senior copywriter with 10 years of experience" in every prompt will keep writing that same thing tomorrow and the day after.
But if you write that same content in an .md file and save it as a Skill, Claude will act accordingly from tomorrow without you writing anything.
Think about the instructions you've written three or more times in your work. How to write emails, report formats, document structures. I'm sure many will come to mind.
Those are the first candidates for Skill creation.
You can't go wrong starting with these 4 skills
The original article introduces 14 skill templates.
They are all good skills, but if a non-engineer were to start, I recommend these four.
■ Tone & Style Enforcer
"In polite language," "In bullet points," "In my brand's tone." Do you write these kinds of specifications every time?
By setting this skill, Claude will automatically apply your writing style and tone preferences. Not only does the effort of specifying it every time become zero, but the consistency of the output also improves significantly.
Whether it's an email, an SNS post, or a proposal, a unified output in your style comes out every time. It's subtle, but it's a skill that applies to everyone.
■ SCQA Writing Framework
"I want to write a report, but I don't know where to start." This is for people who have had this experience.
It's a skill that automatically structures text in four steps: Situation, Complication, Question, and Answer. Meeting reports, proposal emails to clients, internal project documents. The "time spent worrying about structure" disappears entirely, and effective writing comes out instantly.
■ Hook Generator
Thinking of a hook at the beginning of an SNS post or presentation material is tedious work.
This skill automatically generates attention-grabbing opening sentences. And in a way that fits your tone. The burden of thinking of that "first sentence that gets read" disappears.
■ Skill Creator (Meta-Skill)
This is the most important one among the 14 skills. It's the "skill to create skills."
Just by saying "Create a skill that fits my work," Claude will interview you and automatically generate the optimal skill file.
In other words, you'll be able to create an infinite number of skills like the three above, tailored to your own work.
Specifically, tell Claude, "Create a skill for the task I repeat the most." Claude will ask questions, so answer as specifically as possible. Instead of "writing a report," say "In the weekly report, start with key KPIs, a maximum of 3 sections, and list the next steps in bullet points."
The specificity of that answer directly becomes the accuracy of the skill.
Introducing 10 more for those who want to know more
In addition to the four introduced above, the original article publishes 10 skills across five categories. If there's something that seems relevant to your work, please check the original article for details.
■ Writing & Content
- Content Repurposing Engine: Automatically converts one long-form content piece into five assets like SNS posts and emails.
- Structured Copywriting: Automatically generates high-impact copy including hooks, structure, and CTAs.
■ Research & Analysis
- Deep Research Synthesizer: Integrates large amounts of information into a structured report.
- Source Validation: Automatically checks the reliability and bias of cited sources.
- Competitive Intelligence: Analyzes competitors' strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities in a structured way.
■ Video & Content
- Video Script Generator: Automatically generates video scripts including hooks, structure, and CTAs.
- Video Editing Planner: Automatically creates editing plans for cuts, transitions, and tempo.
■ Visual & Design
- Excalidraw Diagram Generator: Automatically converts concepts and relationships into diagrams.
■ Programming & Automation
- Code Review: Automatically detects bugs, inefficient code, and style issues.
- Workflow Automation Agent: When told a goal, it automatically designs execution steps and tool links.
14 skills in total. It's a lot, but you don't need to put them all in at once. It's recommended to start with the four from the previous section and add what you need as you get used to it.
There are only 3 ways to add skills
There are three ways to start using Skills. Choose the one that fits your environment.
■ Pattern 1: Claude Code
This is the most recommended.
You just write your skill in an .md file and save it in the .claude/skills/ folder.
The next time you open Claude Code, the skill is automatically loaded. It activates on its own without slash commands.
This is the pattern Chesny calls the "only true compounding method." Since the skill persists as a file, Claude always remembers your instructions even across sessions or after restarting your PC.
The permanence of Skills as files. This is the true nature of the mechanism that transforms Claude from a "tool that resets every time" into a "partner that gets smarter every day."
■ Pattern 2: Claude.ai Projects
I think this is for those not using Claude Code.
Create a project in the Claude app and paste the skill content as project content. The skill will be active in all chats within that project.
It doesn't have the same permanence as Claude Code, but it's a big step up from Level 1, where you rewrite prompts every time. For those not using Claude Code, this is the best method available now.
■ Pattern 3: Session-based
This is for those who want to try it out for now.
It's the method of pasting the skill text directly at the beginning of a conversation.
It only lasts for that session and disappears in the next. However, it's the easiest way to experience what "Skills" are all about. It's much better than doing nothing.
First, feel the effect of Skills with Pattern 3, and if you think "this is good," move to Pattern 1 or 2. This is the most reasonable way to start.
Summary
- Rewriting prompts every time is the same as continuing to pay a "Prompt Tax."
- There are 3 stages of Claude utilization: Prompts → Projects → Skills.
- Prompts have the same productivity on Day 30 as Day 1. Skills are completely different after 30 days.
- "If you write the same instruction 3 times, turn it into a Skill" is the criteria.
- The essence of a skill is "specificity." Not "Write a report," but "Weekly report starting with KPIs, max 3 sections."
- Setup takes one hour in the first week. Returns continue for over 6 months.
- If you add the Skill Creator first, you can create infinite skills tailored to your work.
Source:
For those who found this article even slightly helpful:
UTokyo Claude Code Lab (@ClaudeCode_UT) is an account seriously operated by a team of University of Tokyo students. Joint AI business development with major companies is also underway. We deliver "genuinely useful" information and know-how specialized for practical work every day.
By following, you can get information like this👇
■ Free release and practical explanation of Claude Code Skills like the ones introduced today.
■ Explanations of know-how for Claude Code and AI agents.
■ This is the only place where you can receive "genuinely useful" Claude Code skills and tools developed seriously by UTokyo students for free.
If you're interested, please follow and check it out.
There's also an official LINE, so be sure to add it 👀
