THE ANCHORING SERIES
1. Olfactory anchors (smell)
This is the first of five posts that will help you create a routine in your writing and the environment for your writing.
Anchoring means associating something that you can detect with one of your senses with the idea and act of something you want to do (in this case, writing).
Today, let’s look at the sense of smell.
Whenever I sit down to write, or to edit or proofread, I set up my oil diffuser (as picture below) and turn it on. With each season, I use a different essential oil. All my oils are made by doTERRA and I have chosen these specifically for their purity (100% pure) and delightful scent, as well as for the ethical standards behind their production. For the autumn, partly because there is much less light and sun and I tend to suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), I have selected the blend called ‘Cheer’, that contains mostly vanilla and lemon. It is energising and calming all at once, and vanilla definitely is one of my favourite scents. I have always warn vanilla-based perfumes!
If coffee or hot chocolate is more your thing, and you can easily make it at home or go to and write in a café, then by all means use that anchor.
Once you have chosen your ‘writing’ smell, stick to it for at least 3 months, the length of each season. The more you use the same anchor (in this case olfactory), the more effective it will be in getting you into gear to write, because anchors are built by repetition.
In my next post, I will write about auditory anchors.
In the meantime, choose your olfactory anchor and geeeet writing!