Concept
Worry Time
Worry time is a short, fixed daily appointment, usually 15 to 30 minutes, to which you deliberately postpone the 'what ifs' that pop up during the day, teaching your brain that worries can wait instead of demanding an instant answer.
Worry always arrives stamped urgent. A 'what if' shows up mid-meeting or at the bus stop, and it feels like it must be handled before something goes wrong. David Carbonell, in The Worry Trick, argues that this urgency is part of the trick. The thought is rarely about anything you can act on in that moment, yet engaging with it feels responsible. So you argue, check, plan and reassure, and the brief relief teaches your brain that worries are emergencies. Worry time breaks that loop without fighting the thought. You don't push it away or argue it down. You acknowledge it and give it a later slot. Two things tend to happen. By the appointment, many worries look smaller or have faded, which is direct evidence they could wait. And because you stop answering every alarm instantly, the alarms gradually lose their grip. It is postponement, not suppression. The appointment is real, so you keep it.
A real-life example
Maya, a project manager, catches herself mid-meeting wondering whether the client hated yesterday's proposal. Instead of drafting a reassurance email under the table, she writes 'client reaction?' on a sticky note and turns back to the agenda. At 6:30 p.m., during her worry time, she reads the note. The client has already replied with two minor edits. Two other notes from the day no longer seem worth even a minute of the fifteen.
How to use it
- 1Pick one fixed 15–30 minute slot each day, at the same time and place, and keep it away from bedtime.
- 2When a 'what if' arrives, acknowledge it and jot two or three words in a note. Tell yourself 'later, at worry time', then return to what you were doing.
- 3At the appointment, read the list and worry on purpose until the time is up. Cross off whatever has faded, and stop when the timer ends, even mid-thought.