Picking Up Finished Work on the Desktop

Dispatch tasks produce output. That output needs to go somewhere you can find it. Establishing a clear, consistent output location and format before you start using Dispatch heavily prevents the experience of returning to your desk and not knowing where to look.

Why this matters

The value of a Dispatch task isn’t just that it ran. It’s that the output is waiting in a useful form where you can immediately act on it. An output that’s hard to find or requires decoding to interpret is only partially useful.

Output options

A dedicated review folder. The most common and recommended pattern: Dispatch tasks write output to a specific folder (e.g., “Cowork Outputs” or “Review Queue”) that you check when you return to your desk. Files are dated and named clearly. You open the folder, review the outputs, act on what needs action.

A response in the Dispatch thread. For shorter outputs, Claude can respond directly in the Dispatch conversation thread. You return to the thread in the mobile app or on the desktop and read the response there. This works for summaries, answers, and short outputs. It doesn’t work well for long documents or files you need to edit.

A specific file path. For tasks that should update or create specific files, you can specify the exact path. “Write to /Projects/Hartwell/weekly-notes.md” produces output at the exact location where you expect it.

Naming conventions for output files

For a review folder that accumulates output over time, clear naming conventions prevent confusion:

• Include the task type: briefing, summary, draft, analysis
• Include the date: YYYY-MM-DD format sorts chronologically
• Be specific about the subject: client name, topic, context

Example names:

• 2026-05-30-morning-briefing.md
• hartwell-status-update-2026-05-30.md
• draft-reply-meridian-invoice-question.md

Review habit

When you return to your desk after triggering one or more Dispatch tasks, your first step is the review folder (or the Dispatch thread, depending on your output pattern). Review outputs, act on what needs action, and clear reviewed items.

If outputs are accumulating unreviewed, either your cadence is too frequent, the tasks are producing outputs that aren’t useful, or your review habit needs strengthening.

Try this in Claude

Create a “Cowork Outputs” folder in your file system. Add it to your Cowork authorized folders with write access. Update your Dispatch task prompts to write output there. Verify that the next Dispatch task produces a file in that folder with a sensible name.

Quick summary

Dispatch task output needs a clear, consistent destination. A dedicated review folder is the most practical pattern for accumulated output. Name files clearly with date and subject. For short outputs, in-thread responses work. For longer outputs and documents, file-based output is more practical. Establish the output pattern before relying on Dispatch for real work.