It is never enough solely to attend to what is happening at the moment. Events do not exist in a vacuum. Each one is connected not only to what has already happened but also to what is about to happen.

A good example of anticipatory scanning techniques at work is to be found in the behaviour of some of the personnel on airline check-in desks. Some time ago, it was observed that those who were rated as the best check-in clerks had a habit, as they were dealing with a customer, of glancing briefly down the queue, paying particular attention to the next person in the queue and also to people who were showing visible signs of nervousness or impatience. These clerks seemed to be able to respond more quickly and more appropriately to each customer than those who concentrated solely on whoever happened to be in front of them. They were involved in far fewer altercations with passengers and generally dealt with more people in less time. Closer observations revealed that they were using these anticipatory scannings of the line of people to acquire some information that later enabled them to respond better. They smiled encouragingly at nervous passengers and helped to put them a little more at ease even before they came to deal with them. The differences in work speed and quality of performance were such that anticipatory scanning techniques now form part of the training programme for check-in personnel of at least one major international airline.

Similar behaviour can be observed every day in any good bar, where some bar staff seem to have no trouble in serving several people at once with the use of anticipatory scanning. The rest of us can develop it with a little practice. Whatever the activity, try this. Just prior to the completion of a stage of a task, glance ahead (or think ahead if it is an activity, like problem-solving, where there might not actually be anything to see) to the next stage. Don’t look for all that can be seen, but pick out key features, the things that either common sense or experience tell you may cause you to vary your approach. The aim is not to try to deal with those aspects of a situation now, but simply to be ready for them when you do get to them. The signs that nervous or impatient people give of their state of mind are examples of what to look for. So are unfamiliar words and phrases in reading materials, obstacles that weren’t there before on a walking or driving route, and a meeting, which follows a business lunch, at which brain-taxing matters have to be discussed.

Experience, in the form of past behaviour which was successful, can be very useful in teaching you how to tackle things in the future. In other words, never neglect the lessons of history. Having said this, remember that anticipatory scanning techniques mean you have to be more concerned with what lies ahead than with what has already been dealt with. A ‘rear-view mirror’ approach to life can have its uses, but priority of attention should be given to thinking ahead and to planning ahead.

A well-planned report, for instance, makes the actual writing of it much easier. In many cases, the report will almost seem to write itself as information slots itself easily into the most appropriate place for it. Many errors and ambiguities that might otherwise intrude are avoided as a writer, having already decided how each section is to be organised, can concentrate on getting the details of written expression right.

An easy way to plan is to jot down in note form the things to be done or the items to be covered as they come to mind. They should then be studied and placed in an appropriate order of importance or the order in which they are to be tackled. In doing this, they should be grouped into stages or tasks where each one follows on logically from its predecessor. If you use an appropriate identification system (for example, lettering the parts A, B, C, D, etc. and numbering the items within each part 1, 2, 3,4, etc.), you will have a plan in which not only is every aspect covered, but you can also see clearly which are the really important points to be dealt with.

As with any method of forecasting or predicting, it is necessary to check afterwards for accuracy. This provides useful feedback, for you will discover why any mistakes were made and will be able to avoid them in future. If you concentrate on the consequences of actions whenever you are thinking things through, this, too, will help to avoid errors later. Always be prepared for things not to work out exactly as you planned and remember what is usually called Murphy’s Law: ‘If things can go wrong, they will.’ Careful planning will help to prevent Murphy’s prophecy from coming true. Seek to identify the key features in situations and use them to help you in keeping your purpose and your direction clearly in mind. Don’t let yourself be deflected from your planned course except by necessity or because a better way unexpectedly appears.

In everyday activities, a diary can help in developing anticipatory scanning techniques. You can see how a week’s or a month’s events relate to each other and thus be ready to respond better. Reading, especially against the clock or with a higher flow rate, helps. Going faster seems to force you to look ahead more.

There are also a number of specific activities you can practise which will develop your anticipatory scanning techniques:

• 1.Select a feature article from the centre pages of a newspaper. Read the first half of the article. Write down what you think the writer is going to cover in the second half. Read the second half to see how accurate your predictions were.
• 2.Practise skimming and previewing when reading. Always spend a few seconds glancing through material before you read it. Try to identify some of the main points or parts of the material that may cause you difficulty when you come to read them.
• 3.In an everyday situation such as driving a car or working through the agenda at a meeting, identify the next and the next-but-one hazard or decision to be made. Cast your mind forward briefly to them and plan how you will act. Be prepared to change if the circumstances suddenly change.
• 4.Try this mnemonic in your everyday activities: PLACE, i.e.,
  • Pause – stop what you are doing for a moment
  • Look Ahead – cast your mind forward to the next stage or task
  • Continue – work through the next stage or task
  • Evaluate – assess how useful looking ahead was to you
• 5.Question yourself about what you are going to do next and why you are going to do it in the way you are. If you can, do this aloud and record it on tape. Play it back to yourself afterwards and see if there are things which, with hindsight, you would do differently.
• 6.Observe others who you know are skilled performers in an activity and look for the use of anticipatory scanning techniques. Try to copy the way they do it and see how it feels.
• 7.Before you begin a task, write down what you are going to do and how you are going to do it. Afterwards, review your notes and see what changes you would make.
• 8.Press yourself to do things a little faster than you really find comfortable and see if this forces you to concentrate more and to look ahead.

• 9.Prepare a mental ‘map’ of a journey. Identify as many difficulties, obstacles and hazards as you can. Afterwards, review and see how many you were able to avoid or deal with more smoothly.
• 10.Take a situation in which you are not personally involved (e.g. an encounter between two people or a TV play or film). Try to ‘read’ how it is going to develop. Afterwards, review and assess how accurate your predictions were.

Practise some or all of these activities and see which ones appear to work best for you. These should then be added to your developing time creation strategy, so that you should then be using increased flow rates, deadlines, and anticipatory scanning techniques. Once you are happy that you have mastered these techniques, you will be ready to begin learning and applying the next one in the quest for laidback bear status.