PSA: If you are dealing with message limits, and usually only have a few hours a day to use Claude after work, like I do, I have a tip that will help.

The message limit is relatively simple - it resets in 5 hour blocks from your first prompt. If you log on at 2:15pm, you're in the 2pm block, so 5 hours after 2pm would be 7pm. So whenever you run into the limit, your message limits will reset at 7pm. Whether you use them all up in the first hour, or slowly use them over the course of 4 hours, it doesn't matter - your total limit will reset at the same time. This is why sometimes when you run out, it only takes 1 or 2 hours to reset, but if you use them very quickly, it could take 3 or 4 hours to reset.

I take advantage of this if I know I'm going to have a short time in the evening to work on a project. For example, if I plan to use Claude for a few hours after dinner (6-9pm, for example), I might log on earlier in the day, around 2pm, to "start the clock" by sending 1 prompt to both Sonnet and Opus (they have separate prompt limits but they each reset in 5h blocks). That way, when I begin the project at 6pm with a good momentum, I can run through all of my available prompts for both Sonnet and Opus in that first hour, knowing that my limits will be reset at 7pm and I can use that second 5h block's worth of prompts. I then have the option of staying up until midnight if I want to use another 5h block's worth of prompts.

This tip can essentially double the available prompts you have to use each day, if you usually only have one 5-hour block to work in consistently. Start the clock and control the reset to your advantage.