I typically do a daily plan each morning as a part of my morning routine. I review my calendar, task manager, and project list and answer three questions in my journaling app. What are my three main tasks today? What is my number one priority today? And what is my plan for today?
Based on those questions, I decide what I want to work on that day.
I Time-Block My Mornings
I take what I’ve decided I want to work on and translate that into blocks of time on my calendar. For instance, I might block 8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. for breakfast and a shower, then 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. to work on the first draft of an upcoming blog post. From 10:30 a.m. to noon, I’ll work on preparing and posting ads on eBay to sell some books.
I hyper-schedule or time-block the morning to do my most high-energy work because mornings are when I have the most energy. I follow this plan and finish my intended work.
I Resist Time-Blocking the Afternoons
However, I resist time-blocking out my afternoons. My afternoons are typically the time I have the least energy. When I make my plan in the mornings, I don’t know how low that energy will be in the afternoon, and I don’t know how I’ll feel. In the afternoons, I want more flexibility in choosing what I want to do and when to do it.
I tried just leaving afternoons as discretionary time, but that often resulted in me wandering, doing nothing of any value, puttering around here and there and everywhere. I needed more structure, but not as much structure as time-blocking.
Discovering the Anchor Technique
A few weeks ago, I stumbled across a video describing the Anchor Technique by Kourosh Dini. In a short six-minute video, he explains how his technique works.
The steps of the Anchor Technique are quite simple:
1. Pause. Take a breath and relax.
2. Grab a pen and paper. You don’t need any fancy apps to do this process. A piece of paper and a pen is sufficient.
3. Write different options of what you might do now. If you had some tasks or projects you considered working on, you might list those. Or, anything else you might like to do, like play a game, walk, take a nap, or meditate. It doesn’t have to be something “productive.”
4. Decide on one of them and circle it. Consider your list and make an intentional decision about what you want to do right now.
5. Visit your choice. Go to what you’ve chosen and visit it. The word “visit” implies a more relaxed, unpressured approach to work.
6. When you find yourself wandering off, which we all do, gently return to the option. Don’t beat yourself up because you wander; we all do this. Instead, gently bring yourself back to the option you’ve chosen to visit.
7. Consider adding to your list where you wandered to. If you’ve wandered to another option, perhaps you should add it to your list of options.
8. Whenever you feel like you’ve done enough, cross it out. Either return to step three and update it, or discard the list. You’re free to end your visit to the option you’ve chosen at any time. Cross it off the list and pick another option. Or, if you’re done, throw out the entire list.
Benefits in Using the Anchor Technique
There are several benefits to using the Anchor Technique:
1. Flexibility. I can decide what I’m going to do and when I’m going to do it. Because I have a list of options and can choose between them, I have flexibility but still have some structure.
2. Encourages intentional decisions. The Anchor Technique encourages conscious choices instead of just wandering around like I did when I had completely unstructured discretionary time. I list my options, then intentionally pick one, and then intentionally pick another one when I’m done with the one that I was doing.
3. Freedom to stop working when I choose. The Anchor Technique allows me to work on something until I feel I’m done. I don’t have to complete the whole thing before I can stop. I can visit it, and when I’m done visiting it, I can say, “I’m done for today,” and move on.
4. Freedom to consider my energy, feelings, and desires. Because I’m not time-blocking my tasks in advance, I can decide what I want to do at that time I do it, considering my energy level and emotional state. I’m free to follow my desires, including doing nothing. If I’m feeling especially low energy, I can choose something uncomplicated or opt for a nap to recharge.
5. It removes the sense of being forced. Finally, it removes the sense of being forced to work on something I don’t want to work on. Even though I am the one who may have set up something to work on and designated a particular time in the afternoon to work on it, I still feel like I’m taking orders from someone else.
“More succinctly, a Visit means: “Show up, then decide.”
Kourosh Dini
Using the Anchor Technique removes that sense of force and makes it my choice now. I like that. Instead of “past me” making the decisions, “present me” gets to do so.
Try the Anchor Technique
The Anchor Technique offers a flexible and intentional approach to productivity. By listing options, choosing one, and gently returning to it when wandering off, you gain flexibility, make intentional decisions, and have the freedom to stop working when you choose.
I’ve been experimenting with the Anchor Technique on the weekends and weekday afternoons for several weeks. It will take some time to see if it sticks for me.
But so far, I’m enjoying the process. It gives me a middle ground between highly structured time blocking and no structure. I have the flexibility I wanted for my low-energy afternoons, but it provides me the structure to make intentional decisions.
This technique is a part of Kourosh Dini’s “Waves of Focus” course. If you appreciate his basic approach of no-pressure productivity, you might be interested in checking out his course. You can download a free copy of a five-page introduction to the Anchor Technique when you subscribe to his weekly newsletter.