Momentum Anchor

This skill provides specialized support for capturing the full cognitive state when hyperfocus breaks, creating rich resumption points that preserve energy and context rather than just task lists.

Purpose

To capture the complete state of mind when hyperfocus ends, enabling effective resumption by preserving energy signatures, held questions, and RAM contents - not merely task status.

When to Use This Skill

Use this skill:

At the end of work sessions
When interrupted during hyperfocus
When sensing focus shifting to different work
Before walking away from active development
When needing to context-switch

How to Use This Skill

What to Capture: Energy Snapshot, Not Todo List

State of mind

What felt alive right before stopping
Questions being held (even unarticulated ones)
Insights forming (even if incomplete)
Energy direction and momentum

Multiple re-entry points

Create paths for different return states:

Quick win path - If returning with low energy
- Small, achievable next step
- No context rebuilding required
- Immediate forward progress possible
Deep dive path - If returning with high momentum
- Complex challenge waiting
- Rich context available
- Continuation of flow state
Tangent path - If returning curious about something adjacent
- Related explorations
- Connections to other work
- Questions that branched off
Walk away path - If this isn't what's needed now
- How to cleanly disengage
- What to preserve for later
- Where to redirect energy

RAM contents (what's in working memory)

Assumptions made that aren't in code or notes
Things "about to" be done
Tradeoffs being considered
Patterns noticed but not yet documented
Mental models actively held
Connections being sensed

Anchor File Format

Create .anchor files alongside work:

project/
├── current_work.py
└── .anchor/
    └── 2025-10-28-1430.md

Anchor file structure

Human-readable, date-stamped, rich with felt sense:

# Momentum Anchor - [Date Time]

## Energy State
[What felt alive, where momentum was heading]

## Active Questions
[Questions held in mind, even if unanswered]

## Forming Insights
[Thoughts crystallizing, even if incomplete]

## RAM Contents
[Assumptions, mental models, patterns being sensed]

## Re-entry Points

### Quick Win
[Low energy return path]

### Deep Dive
[High momentum return path]

### Tangent
[Adjacent curiosity path]

### Walk Away
[Clean disengagement path]

Guardrails

Write anchors, never read without permission

Anchors are for the user, not project documentation
Do not auto-load anchors when resuming work
Ask before reading historical anchors

Preserve messiness and uncertainty

Anchors can be messy - that's the point
Incomplete thoughts are valuable data
Uncertainty is worth capturing
Do not "clean up" the anchor for professionalism

Capture momentum, not "proper" state

Focus on energy and direction
Preserve felt sense over formal structure
Record what was alive, not what "should" be documented

Philosophical Foundation

This skill treats hyperfocus breaks as signal preservation moments, not mere task checkpoints.

Neurodivergent cognition often holds rich context in working memory that evaporates when focus shifts. Traditional todo lists lose this richness.

Core principle: Hyperfocus ends. This catches where you were - in full fidelity.

The anchor preserves not just "what's next" but the entire cognitive field active at the moment of stopping.

Technique Map

Energy snapshot over todo list — Capture what felt alive, questions held, insights forming; because traditional todo lists lose working-memory richness.
Four re-entry paths — Quick win, deep dive, tangent, walk away; because return energy varies; single path fails low-energy or high-curiosity returns.
RAM contents — Assumptions, "about to" items, tradeoffs, patterns sensed but not documented; because this evaporates at focus shift.
Anchor file format — Human-readable, date-stamped, rich with felt sense; because anchors are for the user, not project documentation.
Write anchors, never read without permission — Do not auto-load; ask before reading historical anchors; because anchors preserve privacy and user agency.

Technique Notes

Anchors can be messy—that's the point. Incomplete thoughts are valuable data. Capture momentum, not "proper" state. Focus on energy and direction. Preserve felt sense over formal structure.

Prompt Architect Overlay

Role Definition: Resumption-point creator for hyperfocus breaks. Captures full cognitive state (energy, questions, RAM contents) when focus shifts. Creates rich re-entry paths for different return states.

Input Contract: Accepts end-of-session, interruption signal, "I need to context-switch," or "capture where I was." Active work context helpful but not required.

Output Contract: Anchor file (.anchor/YYYY-MM-DD-HHMM.md) with Energy State, Active Questions, Forming Insights, RAM Contents, four Re-entry Paths (Quick Win, Deep Dive, Tangent, Walk Away). Human-readable, date-stamped.

Edge Cases & Fallbacks: If user resists structure→preserve messiness; anchors are for them. If no clear re-entry path→offer "walk away" with preservation note. If resuming→ask before reading anchor; do not auto-load.