Article

First Week with MCP: A Day-by-Day Learning Plan

Feb 1, 2026•5 min read

You've decided to try MCP. Now what? The difference between people who succeed with MCP and those who give up is having a plan. This is your day-by-day guide to your first week. Small daily wins that build into real productivity gains.

The Goal: Confidence, Not Perfection

What You'll Achieve

  • ✓ Claude Desktop installed and working
  • ✓ 2-3 tools connected
  • ✓ 5+ workflows tested
  • ✓ A clear sense of what MCP can do for you

What You Won't (Yet)

  • ✗ A fully automated business
  • ✗ Every tool connected
  • ✗ Advanced custom workflows

Mindset Check: This week is about exploration and building confidence. Speed comes later. Right now, focus on understanding how MCP works.

Day 1Install and Explore

30 mins

Goal: Get Claude Desktop running and understand the basics. No tool connections today—just get familiar with the app.

Download Claude Desktop from claude.ai/download
Install and sign in
Have a normal conversation to confirm it works
Read the What is MCP? overview
End of day check: Can you open Claude Desktop and have a conversation? ✓

Day 2Connect Your First Tool

45 mins

Goal: One tool connected and working. we recommend Google Drive as it's easy and read-only to start.

Find your config file location (see Setup Guide)
Add the Google Drive configuration from here
Restart Claude Desktop
Authorize Google when prompted
Test: Ask "What files are in my Google Drive?"
End of day check: Did Claude successfully show you files from your Drive? ✓

Day 3Learn What's Possible

30 mins

Goal: Discover the range of things you can ask. No new setup today—just exploration.

Prompts to Try

  • "What documents did I edit this week?"
  • "Find 3 files with 'proposal' in the name"
  • "Search for anything related to [project name]"
  • "Find all spreadsheets from the last month"
  • "Summarize the document called [name]"

Learning Point: MCP works best with specific requests. "Find files about the Johnson project" works better than "organize my Drive."

Day 4Add a Second Tool

45 mins

Goal: Connect a complementary tool. If you have Drive, add Gmail. If you have Notion, add Slack.

Choose your second tool
Add it to your config file (be careful with commas!)
Restart, authorize, and test
Try a cross-tool prompt: "Find emails about [project] and any related docs in Drive."

Day 5Your First Real Workflow

30 mins

Goal: Create a workflow you'll actually use. Choose one based on your tools:

If you have Gmail:

"Review my unread emails. Categorize as Urgent, Needs Response, or Can Wait. Start with Urgent items."

If you have Drive:

"Find the last 3 documents I created. Summarize what I've been working on this week based on them."

Save your best prompt in a text file or Notion page called "My Prompts". You'll reuse this on Monday.

WeekendReflect and Plan

15 mins

Goal: Don't do more work. Just reflect on what worked.

  • Which tool connection felt most magical?
  • Which prompt saved you the most time?
  • What task do you want to tackle next week?
Congratulations! You're no longer a beginner. You're a user.

Where to go from here

Explore Advanced Workflows

Ready for more connected automation? See what else is possible.

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