Wall of Love • MacSparky Field Guides

The Robot Assistant Field Guide is the reason I have the bandwidth to take the time to actually write this testimonial right now. I was already using AI regularly, far from a beginner, but I was on the outskirts of what's actually possible. 

David's framework gave me the confidence and the structure to go deeper. It helped me hone my own custom robot assistant into something I now run my entire life through: daily planning, business systems, content creation, health tracking, parenting logistics, all of it. The biggest thing is that the value keeps compounding. Every week my system gets smarter because the foundation David taught me is built to evolve. 

I'd recommend it to anyone who's already using AI but knows there's another level they haven't hit yet, or who is interested in learning the basics from someone who knows how to break it down in the best and easiest to understand way.

I frequently find myself excited about a new software or package that offers the promise to make me more productive and streamline work tasks that I regularly do. However, once I begin to explore the product and follow the tutorial, I discover the product is forcing me into ITS mold. While some aspects of my workflow are addressed, in the end the tasks are not streamlined and my productivity is not increased. 

 My experience with the Robot Assistant Field Guide has been transformative! Initially, I was looking for a better understanding of how AI could be applied beyond a chat window. By lesson six, I decided to automate a workflow I repeatedly use, involving a custom proposal log in Excel and a custom proposal template, also an Excel worksheet. I briefly described the project to the Robot Assistant. 

 The Assistant asked me questions about the location of the Excel file, how the proposal number was formatted, and what other information was logged on the proposal log. The Assistant then asked me about the proposal template, where the proposal number was to be placed, where the new proposal was to be saved and the format of the new file name. Finally, it asked if there were other things to consider, which there were... I needed the proposal log copied to two other locations. The Assistant went to work. In a short time, it asked a few more clarifying questions and then said it was finished, asking me to check its work. AMAZING! It didn't question the logic of my workflow, tell me to use another method to track proposals, or attempt to alter the proposal template... it just automatically did everything I would do manually with no effort on my part! 

 I have charged the Assistant to build several other skills that are unique to my situation and require gathering information from different sources, summarizing content, and then outputting the results in a specific format I requested. I am still amazed by the completion of regular tasks, the Assistant has developed and learned, and can finally say my work has been streamlined and I am more productive.

Since December 2022, I've been deep into AI. ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, Grok, you name it. Over the past three months alone, I've used Claude to deliver complex projects in IT, law, and fiscal applications that I simply could not have done on my own. I was not starting from zero. But everything was scattered. Every session started from scratch. Every project lived in isolation. I had powerful tools but no backbone. That's exactly what this course gave me. 

 David Sparks doesn't just teach you how to use Co-Work. He delivers a system, a real architecture that becomes the foundation for everything you build on top of it. The skills index, the CLAUDE.md structure, and the text expander snippets for instant context. It all clicks together. I now run my system across Mac, Windows, the Claude Code terminal, and Visual Studio Code, all syncing through the same Obsidian vault. The course made that possible. And here's the thing: I've gone far beyond what the course covers. I've built a complex multi-platform setup with dozens of custom skills. But every piece of it still stands on the foundation David designed. If your fundamentals aren't solid, the more complex you build, the worse it gets. My fundamentals are now rock solid. 

If you're new to Co-Work and want a practical guide that actually delivers, not fake promises, but something you can implement in your life and see real results, this is your course. If you're an advanced user looking for the missing structure behind all the clever things you're already doing, this is also your course. And the best part? The ten weeks of live cohorts are still ahead. This is just the beginning. Would I buy it again knowing what I know now? Without hesitation. Thanks, David.

I'm a long-time MacSparky fan. I've listened to Mac power users for over 10 years and have purchased multiple field guides. The first thing that jumped out to me about the robot assistant field guide is how much more professional the videos look. David has come such a long way in making his videos and field guides, and they were great at the beginning! 

Like David said in one of his videos, this field guide is different than all of his previous ones. I'm not a programmer, I'm a pastor, and I have no idea how to program, but LLM makes programming your own computer possible for people like me. The basic concept is straightforward, creating simple skill files that you point the LLM at regularly so that it always knows what to do and how. Since my work is very different from David's, it's taking me a little time to brainstorm and figure out how best to use it. But it's coming along. 

One surprising thing I've experienced is that it makes reviews fun. I often struggle to do my weekly reviews because it feels like a slog to run through all my projects in my calendar and emails, and I'm just exhausted by the end of the review, not energized. But having Claude take me through my weekly review this morning, having Claude review all that stuff for me, and bring me back a summary made the process feel so much more lightweight and fun! 

I feel like I'm just scratching the surface of creating a robot assistant and figuring out everything I can do with it, and it's exciting. The only downside is that I am constantly hitting the limit on my pro-level Claude subscription. I think to really dig into what David is doing in these videos, you need the $100-a-month subscription. That's the only downside.

I wanted to share some feedback on my experience with the AI Robot Field Guide. David talks about donkey work, and it’s fantastic at handling exactly that. But I’ve also found it incredibly useful for other types of structured work in my day-to-day life. A couple of roles I juggle are: Red Cross volunteer for Disaster Cycle Services, and avid overlander who ships my vehicle internationally and explores different countries. 

As with David’s other field guides, this one is professionally done, easy to follow, and extremely thorough. Whether you’re a beginner or a power user, there’s value here no matter where you fall on the skill spectrum. What stands out most is how solid the AI Robot framework is. It provides a strong foundation that can grow into a very sophisticated and capable AI assistant. 

For example, when I’m wearing my Red Cross volunteer hat, I often have to do a lot of data manipulation to produce reports and graphs for disaster leadership. It’s classic “donkey work.” With the AI Robot, I was able to eliminate that manual effort. Tasks that normally took me an hour and a half are now handled with a simple voice command and completed in seconds. Another example: I’m currently preparing to ship my truck to Australia for an overlanding trip. There are a lot of logistics involved. I used the AI assistant to generate a full list of tasks for me to review, and once approved, it automatically wrote those tasks directly into OmniFocus. The time savings and clarity this creates are huge. The AI Robot doesn’t just save time—it makes complex workflows simple and manageable.

Anthropic introduced Claude Cowork to the public on January 12. In less than two months, David Sparks has not only mastered the application but also developed his own system for using it effectively and published an entire MacSparky Field Guide on using it as your robot assistant. It never would have occurred to me to use Cowork in conjunction with a project management tool like Obsidian in the way David demonstrates in the video. By doing that, David has made his robot assistant the center of his project management universe, which is incredible. To say that I am blown away by David’s preparation and thoroughness in preparing this Field Guide would be an understatement. This Field Guide is a must-buy for anyone looking to leverage the power of artificial intelligence in their everyday work beyond coding. I cannot recommend it enough. And the little robot assistant character is extremely cute!

I have used Foundational LLMs for some time for  many tasks. However, getting LLMs to perform these tasks to my specific requirements has been challenging due to their need for highly structured instructions. The Robot Assistant Field Guide has been amazing because it has given me the tools and knowledge to use LLMs properly to make me more productive. I highly recommend the Robot Assistant Field Guide.

I love bringing some rigor to the AI as a way to keep it moving the way I want. And the file organization part blew my mind!

The first thing I built was a productivity coach skill, and here's the twist: it's powered by your Productivity Field Guide. The robot walks me through weekly (and soon also monthly, and quarterly reviews). It also compares and can generate reports. It can make a dashboard output. Keeps me on point. 

 From there, things snowballed and I'm not nearly finished yet with experimenting. I've built skills for preparing standardized emails, translating between Dutch and English, generating structured meeting reports, and even an assistant for my financial services practice. The Robot Assistant Field Guide gave me the framework to make all of that happen — the skill structure, the index system, the iterative build process. It's like LEGO for AI workflows. What surprised me most is how much I genuinely enjoy the process of building these things. It doesn't feel like work. 

 Would I recommend the Field Guides? Without hesitation. The Obsidian field guide is also great, and without a doubt, the productivity field guide is a life changer, certainly in combination with the Robot Assistant field guide. You've made AI practical for people who aren't developers, and that's no small thing. Keep up the good work David! 

As a freelance IT consultant (but not a professional coder), I've watched with interest as colleagues have adopted AI services such as Claude Code to help with their workflows. When Anthropic recently launched Claude Cowork, I was further intrigued by how I could better leverage this tool to help me be more effective as a one-person operation, but figuring out details such as MCP and Claude "skills" felt daunting while trying to also meet my client work obligations.  

David Spark's "Robot Assistant" course has come along at just the right time. By walking through how to set up an intelligent "assistant" that can interact with other current tools, such as task management and calendars, he provides a structured path for getting the most out of a customized AI assistant to help with all the "donkey work" which will then let us focus our mental energy on the work that truly creates value for our clients. I no longer have to figure all this out myself; I have a knowledgeable guide to help me create my own customized "Robot Assistant." Klaus M. IT Architect & Consulting.

I highly recommend the MacSparky Robot Assistant Field Guide, if you want to safely automate routine tasks on your home computer. I have purchased many of David's Field Guides and they all lead you from no knowledge to the state of being comfortable with experimenting and growing on your own. 

  David explains the concepts and walks you through the steps to implement the concept. It is easy to follow along with the video using the referenced apps on your computer. The bite size videos allow you to learn and play at your own pace. I am up to video 6 and see exactly where this is headed. I look forward to completing the course and using my robot assistant to automate my life.

I’ve been using artificial intelligence for about three years now, and I thought I already had a solid understanding of it. However, the ideas David presents truly take things to another level. 

I was especially drawn to the concept of building my own personal assistant. In just a few days, I was able not only to create that assistant but also to assemble a small library of skills that I can activate whenever I need them. What I particularly appreciated is how clearly the underlying principles are explained. At first, I was hesitant about the use of Obsidian, since I already rely on Craft for my note-taking. But I quickly realized that Obsidian is not the cornerstone of the system—it simply serves as a convenient Markdown editor. Thank you, David. Thank you for taking the time to explain these ideas in a clear and thoughtful way, without the usual hype and noise that so often surrounds AI “gurus.”

My Donkey Work has been reduced! This is an excellent course, as usual. I've done the majority of the Field Guides and David puts out excellent work. 

 I learned how to control and guide Claude Cowork to my advantage. This knowledge is not intuative using Cowork and David gives you the guidance and understanding you need to make Claude Cowork do your Donkey Work. I made several Skills, the most important one to me right now is, I can drop CCW a YouTube link and it will ask me if I want a summary or the summary and complete transcript, and puts it into my Obsidian Vault. I have way too many Youtube videos that I like to keep up with but can't always watch them all. Being able to have a summary is a very nice feature. 

 I am hoping for many more connectors in Claude, I'm unable to get a good daily briefing because my calendars and Todo apps have no connectors as of now. Using the Claude.md files within a desktop folder to sort and name files was magical as well. This is probably the best part for me, giving Claude Cowork a file to read. Now, it has memory and instructions. This saves bags of time! I'm a huge supporter of Davids and enjoy all of his content. The Field Guides are outstanding! Take the time to go through a course and it will save you loads of time later with your new found knowledge.

Die Kurse von David sind jeden Cent wert. Er bringt die Informationen präzise auf den Punkt und schafft es dabei, sympathisch und unterhaltsam zu moderieren. Sehr empfehlenswert! Beste Grüße aus Österreich!

(Translation: David's courses are worth every penny. He gets straight to the point with his knowledge and manages to present it in a friendly and entertaining way. Highly recommended! Best regards from Austria!)

Bought it for the Reminders content, stayed for the Calendar integration tips. Worth every penny.

I found the Alfred Field Guide to be really informative. I have been using Alfred for a few years now but have never felt comfortable doing more than simple things with it. Thanks to the Field Guide I am getting much more out of it. I will definitely have to watch a lot of the videos again so that I can catch all the information that I missed the first time around. The cost of the Field Guide was worth every penny. I have already signed up for the Keyboard Maestro Field Guide. I plan to go for the one on Hazel next. Thank you David!

I've been using Alfred for years, just as a launcher. I've only worked my way through the first few sections of the Alfred Field Guide, but I have learned quite a bit already. I'll confess that I switched to Raycast a few years ago, because I thought Alfred couldn't compare, but the Alfred Field Guide was so well done, that I've switched back to Alfred as my primary launcher. (I still have Raycast as a secondary launcher, but I only use it now for my window management needs.) I look forward to moving through all of the lessons, especially when it comes to making workflows.

I have been a user of Alfred for years and it is my app launcher. I also have some custom workflows that I use but I never took the time to learn the basics so the Alfred Field Guide was an eye-opener for me and I love it. I am a power user now.

I’ve used a good number of the MacSparky Field Guides, and the most recent one I completed—on the Alfred application—was truly exceptional. I had tried Alfred before but found it more complex to set up than I wanted to deal with at the time. Thanks to David’s crystal-clear explanations, I was finally able to unlock its potential. This guide didn’t just teach me how to use Alfred—it led me down a productive path of expanding its capabilities with additional workflows and companion applications. I don’t think I’ve ever gone through all the videos in a field guide this quickly. It wasn’t due to a lack of content; rather, the material was so engaging and well-presented that it made me want to keep going. It will absolutely be an important addition to my daily workflow. Next, I plan to revisit and complete a few other MacSparky Field Guides I started in the past. They cover tools I’ve used for years but know I can use more effectively. I’m confident that, just like with Alfred, I’ll discover valuable tips and workflows that will enhance how I work. I also intend to revisit parts of the Alfred guide itself to deepen my understanding and make the most of its powerful features.

I estimate my Alfred usage was about 2%. Your Alfred FG is like drinking a health food smoothie through a fire hose—so much goodness. It's worth every penny and more.