Thinking time

When you’re stressed, the same worries can come back again and again. Thinking time gives those thoughts somewhere to go. Instead of chewing on a worry the moment it shows up, you park it here and agree to think about it later, at one set time each day. A lot of worries feel smaller, or have sorted themselves out, by the time that moment comes.

1. 1Notice. When a worry shows up during the day, just notice it: “There’s a worry.”
2. 2Park it. Jot it down here, and tell yourself you’ll think about it at your thinking time.
3. 3Refocus. Gently bring your attention back to what you were doing. The worry is saved. You don’t need to hold on to it. If it comes back anyway, that’s normal, and you don’t have to push it away. Just remind yourself it’s parked.
4. 4Review, then close. At your thinking time, look over what you parked, think it through, then close it for the day.

• It breaks the loop of coming back to the same thought all day.
• It gives worries a set time and place, instead of the whole day.
• A lot of parked worries lose their urgency, or sort themselves out, before thinking time comes round.
• It gives you a sense of control. You decide when to think about it, and when to put it down.

One thing worth keeping in mind: parking a worry isn’t the same as putting off a decision. A worry you can’t do anything about tonight is exactly what this is for. Something you could act on usually gets heavier the longer it waits, not lighter. So if the same item keeps turning up at thinking time unchanged, that’s usually a sign it needs a decision rather than another think. Work it through →

This is a gentle self-help practice, not a treatment for anxiety. If worry feels constant or overwhelming, or you can’t put it down, consider talking to a qualified professional. The support resources are at the bottom of the page.

Noticed a worry? Write it down, then let it wait until your thinking time.

Thinking time is based on “scheduled worry” (stimulus control for worry), a cognitive behavioural technique introduced by Borkovec and colleagues (1983) and widely used in CBT for worry and generalised anxiety. It’s adapted here as an educational self-help practice, not a treatment.

Borkovec, T. D., Wilkinson, L., Folensbee, R., & Lerman, C. (1983). Stimulus control applications to the treatment of worry. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21(3), 247–251.