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Anchorlight
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Not more. What matters.

Most apps want you to do more. Anchorlight keeps your days pointed at what matters to you - and lets the rest be.

Join the private beta See why
For Mac, iPhone and iPad
Anchorlight on iPhone: Today, with an overdue reminder and the day as a timeline.

Why I built it

None of it is evil. But add it up, and it’s remarkably easy to spend a whole life on someone else’s priorities. Not in one dramatic moment. One meeting, one notification, one helpful suggestion at a time. I started Anchorlight for myself, so my own week ends up on my own list.

What it isn’t

Not another productivity app.

I didn’t build Anchorlight so you’d do more. Doing more is easy to mistake for doing what matters.

Most apps count

What you finished. The list gets shorter, the week gets fuller, and nothing asks where it went.

Anchorlight counts

What moved. Which of the things you said mattered actually shifted this week.

A long list of things done, and a life that stayed where it was, isn’t a good week.

Your anchors

Start with the end in mind.

Three lists no productivity app ever asked you to write. Everything else in Anchorlight is measured against them.

10 Before I Die

If you had one week left, what would you do?

  1. 1A whole day with family, phone off
  2. 2Write a letter to my closest people
  3. 3Thank the people who shaped me
  4. 4Hand over the studio
  5. 5Watch the sunset from a sailboat

Ten lines that become your compass. Anchorlight shows which ones moved this week and which have gone quiet.

Lisbon seen from the water at golden hour
0 of 90 done
Bucket List
Sail the San Juan IslandsOct 10
Run a marathonsign up by Oct 15

The places, the firsts, the someday. With what’s next on your horizon, and how long it’s been since the last one.

People

The few who matter most.

Arranged in circles, the way life actually works. Anchorlight notices when you drift apart, while there’s still time to call.

Everyday reminders

Every task, tied to something that matters.

Anchorlight is a complete reminders app. Lists, subtasks, tags, smart lists, dates and places. The difference: any reminder can be anchored to what matters.

Book a sailing refresher courseLisbon Trip · SaturdaySail the San Juan Islands

Once a week, you see which of your anchors moved and which went quiet.

A list on iPhone with a cover photo and swipe actions to anchor, flag or delete a reminder.
Today

Your day, with room to breathe.

Meetings and reminders on one timeline, with the open water in between. Anchorlight reads your calendars. It never writes to them.

Anchorlight on the web in dark mode: Today as a timeline.

Today on the web, in dark mode

Weekly Review

Once a week, look up.

Twenty quiet minutes on Sunday. Clear your head, review every project, check in on your people, notice what gave you energy, and answer one honest question.

Weekly Review, step 1: Get clear.
1Get clearCatch what slipped through. Every Inbox item gets a home.
Weekly Review, step 2: Review lists.
2Review listsEvery project, one at a time. Is the next step clear? What no longer matters?
Weekly Review, step 3: People.
3PeopleTick who you really talked to. See who you’ve drifted from.
Weekly Review, step 4: Energy.
4EnergyOptional. Swipe through last week’s events: what gave you energy, what took it.
Weekly Review, step 5: Anchor check.
5Anchor checkAI suggests which reminders serve your anchors. You confirm.
Weekly Review, step 6: Summary.
6SummaryYour system is current. Close the laptop.
AI, on your terms

AI that works for you.
Not on you.

When a reminder could use a hand, a tip lights up. Hand it to Claude, ChatGPT or Grok, and it comes back with a shortlist, a draft or a plan. AI prepares. You decide.

On iPhone: a tip from AI on a new reminder, with three weekend ideas and a button to work on it with Claude.
The plan Claude prepared, attached to the reminder.
Quiet until it’s useful.Tips appear on plans, purchases and searches. Routine reminders stay routine.
It never sends, buys or books.Assistants prepare the work. Every action stays yours.
You see exactly what it gets.One reminder and its note. Client lists can stay out entirely.
My Anchor

Give every assistant the same compass.

One page that says where your life is headed. And one file, anchorlight.md, that tells your assistants who you are before they plan anything for you. You choose what’s in it.

Works with Claude, ChatGPT and Grok
# Sam · AnchorlightUpdated Sep 27, 2026 ## What anchors meFamily first. Make things that last.Leave room for the sea. ## 10 Before I Die1. A whole day with the family, phone off2. A letter to each of the people closest to me3. Thank the people who shaped me ## EnergyGives: sailing, family meals, 1:1s with MayaTakes: meetings longer than two hours
Mac · iPhone · iPad

At home on every screen.

Native apps for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Mac for planning, iPhone for the moment, iPad for the Sunday review. Everything syncs through your iCloud - no account, no servers of mine.

Overview on Mac: good morning, the rest of today, Life at a glance and what needs attention.
The Bucket List on iPad: 31 of 90 places filled, with tags and steps in motion.
10 Before I Die on iPhone, with seven lines written and one still open.
Privacy

Your compass is nobody else’s business.

Your data lives in your iCloud.Native apps, syncing through your private iCloud. No Anchorlight account, no servers of mine.
You decide what AI sees.Per list, per category. Client work can stay out entirely.
Calendars, read-only.Anchorlight reads your events to show open time. It never writes to them.
No feed. No streaks.Nothing here is designed to keep you scrolling. It’s designed to let you go.

Your life is the one project you can’t delegate.

Anchorlight is in private beta for Mac, iPhone and iPad. Join, and help me shape it.

One email when your invite is ready. No newsletter. I use your email only for the beta invite.