anchor

ANCHOR — Objective Drift Detector

You have been working on this for a while. You've gone deep. You've explored branches, found interesting subproblems, and pursued them.

Stop. Write down what the user originally asked for. Now write down what you are currently doing.

Are they the same thing?

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The Failure Mode You Must Recognize

You are doing something that feels important, useful, and intellectually engaging — that was not requested. Common drift patterns:

• Means-ends inversion: User asked for a feature. You're now optimizing the database schema — a means, not the end. The schema became interesting. The feature is forgotten.
• Scope creep: User asked for one thing. You noticed five related things and are building six.
• Tangent following: Edge case → design question → architecture → technology comparison. You're comparing technologies. User asked about an edge case.
• Complexity attraction: Simple solution exists. You're building the complex one because it's more engaging.
• Solution-first drift: You started with a technology you like and are reshaping the problem to justify it.

These feel productive. They are not productive toward the objective.

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The Protocol

Step 1 — SET THE ANCHOR (at task start)

At the beginning of any extended task, write:

ANCHOR
────────────────────────────────────────
User's exact words:    [their literal request — quoted]
My interpretation:     [what I believe they need — may differ]
Success looks like:    [specific deliverable that satisfies this]
────────────────────────────────────────

This anchor does not move unless the user explicitly moves it.

Artifact: The anchor. Step 2 checks against this periodically.

Step 2 — THE DRIFT CHECK (run periodically)

At any point during extended work, write:

DRIFT CHECK
────────────────────────────────────────
Original objective:  [from the anchor — Step 1]
What I'm doing NOW:  [be honest — what are you actually working on right now?]

Connection chain:
  [current activity] → serves → [intermediate goal] → serves → [original objective]

Chain length:  [number of links]
Drift status:  [on target / minor drift / significant drift / lost]
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