Attention Anchors
In brief
A startup ritual turns “begin” into a short, repeatable sequence: clear the desk, start the timer, write one task, then start. Shorter and steadier beats the “just a quick scroll” bait.
The expensive part of deep work is often the first 2 minutes. Short video is built to steal those two minutes.
2-Minute Ritual Template
- Phone face-down or out of sight.
- Open focus session timer.
- On paper, write one line: “This block is only for ___.”
- Optional: one short Stroop warmup to activate inhibitory control.
When the Ritual Breaks
Interruptions are normal. Do not punish with “the day is ruined”; restart from the next anchor. Plan-level forgiveness: 7-Day Reset.