There is a page on SL that I like, in which Tasmin presents a method that she calls compass for keeping focus during a game. Basically the method entails writing down a few reminders to yourself to refer to during a game. Here are my current ones, and I wonder if some other folks could share theirs as well.

1. Did my opponent just play in a corner where I have stones? READ!

2. I have sente: Stop. Look at the whole board.
a) is my candidate move sente?
b) if no, where will my opponent play?

3. My opponent is thinking...
a) Read moves around a weak group.
b) Look for ko threats.

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Patience, grasshopper.

Usually I evaluate the previous move with regards to the current board position. But my next move always takes into account where my opponent just played.

That doesn't mean I will always play in the vicinity of where they played. It means the quality of my opponents move, whether it was good or bad, orients what my next move will be.

1.) Try to fight back against what the opponent is doing.
2.) Try to live if it looks like I might die.
3.) Try to kill(?).
4.) At the end of the game, wonder, "Did I win?".

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be immersed

1) Check for life or escape routes for my groups
2) Count!
3) Look for boundary line pushes (expand my area and restrict opponent's)
4) Look for good sente threats

If I could keep those in mind all the time, I think I'd be a much better player.

Bruce "The Count" Young

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Currently reading: Plutarch, Cerebus, and D&Q 25th Anniversary

I tried for a while to come up with my guidelines, but I can't think of any besides this (slightly tongue in cheek..)

1. Fight.

2. Repeat as necessary.

1. What does my gut say.
2. Read if it's bad. Play it if it doesn't seem off.
3. Repeat.

it might surprise many but i am very defense oriented (try to find a safest way to win) :

1. try to maintain balance and not fall behind.
2. if i see a chance i will grab it. (many times i chase illusion)
3. if i am ahead i go full defense mode.
4. if i am behind i will play to make the game complicated.

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"The more we think we know about
The greater the unknown"
Words by neil peart, music by geddy lee and alex lifeson

1. Only play when you have enough energy to do the following:
2. Think before placing a move.
3. Stay calm and in control.

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Stay out of my territory! (W. White, aka Heisenberg)

For a while my mantra was:

"Play thick moves and read like the devil."

I even considered getting this translated into Chinese for a tatoo. I figured these things would balance each other out. But I'm still having trouble with the latter part of that requirement.

1. What's my feeling?
2. READ!!!
3. READ SOME MORE!!!
4. Done reading yet? OF COURSE YOU AREN'T!!!
5. Did it work? If yes, go to 6. If no, go to 1. If not sure, go to 2.
6. Profit!

My guideline at the tournament last weekend was

"play thick, don't let your groups die even if the opponent can make a big move"

That let me win five out of six matches and advance to EGF 8k. Seems good to me to stick to it for a while.

1- What is the purpose of my opponent's last move?

2- Can I ignore it locally or does it have an obvious effect on surrounding positions (reading)?

2.1- If I can ignore, play the biggest sente move (and hope it is really sente)

2.2- If no, is there a way of answering it locally but getting sente at the same time?
2.2.1- If yes, play it
2.2.2- If no, curse and defend (if opponents move removes my bad aji, cursing part may be skipped)

2.3- If I am not sure if I can ignore (time pressure or too hard to read)
2.3.1- Am I ahead -> defend
2.3.2- Am I behind -> ignore and play the biggest sente move
2.3.3- I don't know if I am ahead or behind (Which is the most likely case) : Play a surprising move that would confuse the opponent more than it confuses myself.

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If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week.

1. Look for a move that looks cool
2. Play it

This.

This is not clear. The second step should be clarified. I propose:

2.1- Take a stone from the bowl (try to avoid putting your hand into the coffee cup)
2.2- Put it on the board (try to avoid illegal board position)
2.3- Hit the clock (try to avoid hitting your coffee)

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If you say no, Elwood and I will come here for breakfast, lunch, and dinner every day of the week.

1. look for a move that feels right.
2. read 2 moves into the position.
3. ohh! shiny! must play that!

I suspect that the number of guidelines is inversely proportional to your strength. I also suspect that this is due to the fact that having guidelines is not the same as understanding them.

It seems you're missing the point. The reason that some of us weaker players have guidelines is not to say that we understand these principles or to say that these are the most important principles, but rather because we've recognized the need to focus on certain aspects of the game that we've been neglecting. Stronger players don't need to remind themselves for example to think about whether a move is sente or not, but I do.

The reason I posted this is not to show some sort of road to victory, but rather to see what sort of issues players of different levels feel they need to remind themselves of. Hopefully we will all get to the stage where our main concern is how cool our moves look.

I also doubt that it's the case that stronger players have fewer guidelines - it's just that they don't need to remind themselves of them.

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Patience, grasshopper.

Mine is "don't suck" but I should get more specific, because recently I'm doing the very opposite.

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Heretix [24k]: Anyone care to give a little bit of commentary, this game is confusing...
mattn [1d]: commentary: "oh my god"
tartrate vs. redrose game