The first ten minutes of my workday were embarrassing. I would waste 5 to 10 minutes trying to remember where I left off on my projects. That changed when I found Claude Dispatch, a feature inside Cowork that lets me send tasks from my phone while I’m away from my computer.

I tried it the first day I saw it in the Claude Desktop, and it solved my problem before I finished my coffee. I sent it a task to research the latest Claude Pro features from my kitchen, and by the time I sat down, it had a list of all the Pro features.

Dispatch tells me exactly where I left off before I touch my keyboard

One message from my phone and I already know my next move

Remembering where I stopped the day before took longer than it should have. I can’t always finish researching a topic when I need to, so I have to save what I have and call it a day. Now I just ask Dispatch before I even sit down.

One time, I couldn’t remember which interactive file I told it to create. I asked so I wouldn’t waste time asking it to make another one. Dispatch mentioned it had created one for my Italian course and that I still needed to practice numbers and family members in Italian. It told me that it included all 24 phrases across five categories for greetings, along with features such as a progress bar and shuffle and restart buttons.

It does my research while I’m away from my desk

I come back to a research summary instead of an empty page

Research used to eat into my writing time more than I expected. I would sit at my desk, tell Claude to research something about Windows 11 or Python, and then just wait. Since I had no reason to get up, I would usually get distracted by TikTok, the latest tech news, or other projects. I spent more time scrolling than I would like to.

One time, I ran out of coffee and went to the kitchen to make a new cup. I knew the research was going to take at least a few minutes, so I sent Dispatch the task while I was in the kitchen, so it would be done when I sat back down. I asked it to look up the latest PowerToys features. When I came back, it had a detailed list waiting for me. Claude Dispatch showed me all the latest features, the names, what each one did, and even the bug fixes. It also formatted everything in bullet points, making it easy to read.

I didn’t expect Dispatch to put together something usable that fast

A lost cat flyer was ready before I walked back inside

My sister's cat went missing, and I needed a flyer fast. I was already outside feeding my dogs, so I sent Dispatch the task from my phone and didn’t think much of it. I thought I was going to get an error message or something like “Dispatch is unable to complete this task.”

But when I got back to my screen, it gave me four types of lost cat flyers to choose from. I looked at the first two options but eventually went with option two, since the goal was to get the message out as soon as possible. I did have to add the cat’s image and make some color changes, but nothing major. Just in case you’re wondering, we did find her cat.

Dispatch is not as hands-free as it sounds

My computer has to stay awake the entire time

I was really disappointed when it didn’t work. I was already in bed when I thought of researching the best tips for Python beginners. I sent the prompt from my phone anyway, with that feeling it might not work, but I had to give it a shot. I assumed it would queue the task and run it once everything was back up.

I turned on my computer the next morning, but Dispatch never picked it up. My prompt was just sitting there with no answer. There was no spinning indicator like when it’s actually working, but after staring at my screen for a few seconds, I lost all hope. According to Anthropic, if your computer is asleep or Claude Desktop is closed, Dispatch can’t work on tasks at all.

The limitation is real, but it only took me one bad experience to fix it

Now I leave Claude Desktop open before I walk away from my desk

Now that I know Dispatch won’t run if my computer is asleep or Claude Desktop is closed, I make sure everything is open before I walk away. That way, I know it’s working, and I won’t come back to an empty screen. I’m still going to send ideas from my phone even when my laptop is closed. The prompt is already there in the thread when I get back to my desk, so I can just resend it once everything is running. That way, I don’t lose the idea, because if I just try to remember, I won’t.

My first ten minutes look nothing like they used to

Dispatch didn’t fix everything for me, but it did fix the part that was slowing me down. I sit down knowing where I left off, with research already done, and sometimes with a draft already waiting for me. The first ten minutes of my day were the most frustrating, but now I can deal with them more easily.