I've made a lot of ChatGPT guides, so I put the best ones in order for you. If you're new, start at Step 1 and work down. If you already use ChatGPT every day, jump to whatever step you haven't done yet. Every guide here is free.
The plan
- 1Set up the settings that matter (Steps 1 to 3).
- 2Teach ChatGPT about you and your projects (Steps 4 and 5).
- 3Get better answers with better prompts and modes (Steps 6 and 7).
- 4Let ChatGPT run tasks on a schedule (Step 8).
- 5Level up with Work, plugins and the newest features.
Before you start
Your account
A free ChatGPT account works for most of this path. A few steps go further on Plus.
Your device
Install the ChatGPT desktop app if you can. Some features, like the built-in browser, live there.
Your first goal
One real task you want help with this week. You'll learn faster using it on something real.
Do the First Five Things
Five Things To Do When You Start Using ChatGPT
Start with the settings. This guide walks you through the five changes to make on day one: Work mode, plugins, your data controls, custom instructions and the built-in browser.
Get the Big Picture
Now see how it all fits together: Chat, Work and Codex, the plans, and every main feature. You don't have to read it in one sitting. Bookmark it and come back when something comes up.
Decide What ChatGPT Keeps
Before you start telling ChatGPT about your life, check what it remembers. This checklist shows you how to clean up memory, stop your chats being used for training and see which apps have access.
Make Memory Work for You
Once you know what it saves, teach it the things you're tired of repeating, and correct what it gets wrong. You'll also learn when to use a temporary chat so nothing gets remembered.
Give Every Big Goal Its Own Project
A project keeps the instructions, files and chats for one goal together, like a job search, a side business or a trip. ChatGPT remembers the context every time you open it, so you stop starting from zero.
Write Better Prompts
This is where your answers get way better. You'll learn a few simple ways to structure a request, plus 50 prompts you can copy and change for your own life.
Find the Secret Modes
ChatGPT has built-in modes most people never find, like study mode and temporary chat. You can also build your own with trigger words. Pick the two or three you'll actually use.
Let ChatGPT Work While You Don't
Last step: set up a task that runs on its own, like a morning briefing or a weekly check-in. Free accounts can have 3 active tasks, so start with the one you'd use most.
Maverick's tip
Don't rush the path. Doing one step a day for a week is better than reading all eight tonight and changing nothing.
Level Up: When You're Ready for More
Done with the eight steps? These take you from using ChatGPT to handing it real work.
- ChatGPT Chat, Work and Codex: which mode to use when. Chat for answers, Work for finished files, Codex for building.
- ChatGPT Work Guide: hand off a whole task and get back a document, spreadsheet or slides.
- ChatGPT Apps and Plugins: connect Gmail, Calendar, Canva and more, so ChatGPT can work inside the apps you already use.
- Five New ChatGPT Features Nobody's Talking About: credit score, ChatGPT in Word, dots, Space and sticker packs.
New to plugins? Read Plugins, Connectors and MCPs Explained first. It covers what they are, what's safe to connect and what each plan gets you.
Want to try Claude too?
Lots of people end up using both. New to Claude? Start Here is the same kind of path for Claude, and Which AI Should You Use? compares all the big tools.
Quick Reference: The ChatGPT Path
- Day 1: Steps 1 to 3. Settings, the big picture and privacy.
- This week: Steps 4 and 5. Memory and your first project.
- Next week: Steps 6 and 7. Prompts and modes.
- After that: Step 8, then the Level Up guides.
- Stuck on a word? The Complete ChatGPT Guide explains every feature.
DO THIS TODAY
Open Five Things To Do When You Start Using ChatGPT and make the five changes. It's the fastest way to make ChatGPT work better for you.