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How to Create Custom Claude Skills for Your Productivity Workflow

Cowrie
Cowrie
Dev @ Bswen

Problem

I keep re-explaining the same context to Claude every time I work on a recurring task. My policy briefs, research summaries, and code reviews all follow similar patterns, but I still have to type out the same instructions repeatedly.

Even worse, when I use pre-built skills from the community, they’re often “almost right” but require significant manual adjustment. The output doesn’t match my specific workflow or preferences.

Environment

  • Claude Pro plan (~200 skills available)
  • Recurring tasks: policy briefs, research summaries, code documentation
  • MacBook with organized skill folders

What happened?

I tried using generic prompts like “Write a policy brief about X.” The output was polished but generic. It didn’t follow my organization’s format, didn’t emphasize the right points, and used a tone that didn’t match my voice.

Then I tried community skills. Better, but still not quite right. I’d spend 10-15 minutes adjusting each output to match my needs.

Here’s what a typical generic prompt output looked like:

Generic prompt output
Executive Summary
This comprehensive analysis delves into the key factors affecting...


[5 paragraphs of generic AI-sounding text]


Furthermore, it is worth noting that...


[More generic structure]

The problem: generic skills don’t capture my unique context, preferences, and decision-making process.

How to solve it?

I discovered that the solution is creating custom skills with SKILL.md files. The key insight from experienced users:

“How do you handle it when you have to do it yourself? Write that in SKILL.md”

Step 1: Use Claude’s Skill Creator

The easiest way to start:

Prompt to Claude
Help me create a skill using the skill creator. I need a skill that [describe your recurring task].

Claude will guide you through structuring your SKILL.md. This is better than starting from scratch because Claude understands the optimal format and will ask clarifying questions.

Step 2: Document Your Manual Process

This is the critical part most people skip. Your SKILL.md should capture HOW you work, not just what output you want.

Here’s a SKILL.md structure that works:

SKILL.md
# Skill: Policy Brief Generator


## Purpose
Transform research notes into concise, actionable policy briefs.


## When to Use
- Converting research findings into briefs
- Summarizing complex topics for decision-makers
- Creating standardized policy documents


## Input Expected
- Research notes or source material
- Target audience (executive, technical, public)
- Key points to emphasize
- Desired length (1-page, 2-page, extended)


## Output Format
- Executive Summary (3-5 bullet points)
- Background Context (2-3 paragraphs)
- Policy Recommendations (numbered list)
- Implementation Considerations
- Sources/References


## How I Handle This Manually
1. Read through all source material
2. Identify the core problem or question
3. Extract 3-5 key findings
4. Determine policy implications
5. Draft recommendations with rationale
6. Format for target audience
7. Add sources and verify citations


## Decision Criteria
- If audience is executive: prioritize brevity and action items
- If audience is technical: include methodology and data
- If audience is public: simplify jargon, add context


## Examples
[Include 2-3 examples of well-formatted policy briefs]

Step 3: Organize Your Skills

As you build more skills, organization matters. Pro users can have up to 200 skills—without structure, finding the right one becomes a bottleneck.

Here’s a folder structure that works:

Skill folder structure
~/.claude/skills/
├── writing/
│   ├── policy-brief/
│   │   ├── SKILL.md
│   │   ├── examples/
│   │   │   ├── brief-1.md
│   │   │   └── brief-2.md
│   │   └── templates/
│   │       └── executive-template.md
│   └── memo/
│       └── SKILL.md
├── research/
│   ├── literature-review/
│   │   └── SKILL.md
│   └── data-analysis/
│       └── SKILL.md
└── coding/
    ├── dashboard-creator/
    │   └── SKILL.md
    └── api-docs/
        └── SKILL.md

Step 4: Leverage Nested Skills

Pro tip from experienced users:

“Create skill folders where you have one skill within it but it has different skills within it as knowledge and resources”

This enables modular, composable workflows:

Nested skills example
# Skill: Comprehensive Report Generator


## Purpose
Create multi-section professional reports combining research, analysis, and recommendations.


## Nested Skills (Knowledge Resources)
- literature-review (skill): Synthesize existing research
- data-analysis (skill): Process and visualize data
- policy-brief (skill): Format recommendations
- citation-formatter (skill): Standardize references


## Workflow
1. Use `literature-review` skill to synthesize background research
2. Use `data-analysis` skill to process quantitative findings
3. Use `policy-brief` skill to draft recommendations section
4. Use `citation-formatter` skill to standardize all references
5. Combine sections into final report structure

Now when I test my custom skill:

Custom skill output
Executive Summary
- Q3 GDP growth exceeded expectations at 4.9%
- Consumer spending and inventory buildup drove gains
- Fed likely to hold rates through year-end


[Output matches my style, format, and decision criteria]

The reason

I think the key reason generic skills fail is they optimize for average use cases. A skill designed for “everyone” is designed for no one specifically.

Custom skills work because they encode:

  1. Your context: Your organization, your audience, your constraints
  2. Your process: How you actually think through problems
  3. Your preferences: Your tone, format, and style choices

The SKILL.md file is the bridge between your expertise and Claude’s capabilities. Without it, Claude guesses. With it, Claude executes your workflow precisely.

Summary

In this post, I showed how to create custom Claude skills using SKILL.md files. The key point is documenting your actual manual workflow—not just the output you want, but the decisions and criteria you apply. Start with Claude’s skill creator to structure your SKILL.md, then organize your skills in folders as your library grows.

Final Words + More Resources

My intention with this article was to help others share my knowledge and experience. If you want to contact me, you can contact by email: Email me

Here are also the most important links from this article along with some further resources that will help you in this scope:

Oh, and if you found these resources useful, don’t forget to support me by starring the repo on GitHub!

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