Mentis1. Park the worry. 2. Come back at your window.
- When a worry comes, write one line and say "not now, at my window".
- Once a day, at a fixed time, spend 15 minutes on the list. Many will have gone small.
- For the ones still big, write one next step. Then close the window.
How to use the worry timer
- Choose your window. Same time every day, 15 minutes, not in bed, at least two hours before you sleep. 6:30pm after work is a good default.
- Park worries as they come. One line each, above. Then bring your attention back to what you were doing. You haven't ignored the worry; you've scheduled it.
- Open the window. Press start and go through the list. For each one ask: is there a step I can take? If yes, write it. If it's gone small, tap "Gone small".
- Close it on time. When the timer ends, stop. Anything left can wait for tomorrow's window.
Why postponing worry works
Worry feels urgent, so we try to solve it the moment it arrives, in the shower, on the metro, at 2am. But most worry isn't problem-solving. It's the same loop, round and round. Psychologist Thomas Borkovec noticed that worry had become attached to every place and time of day, so he tried confining it to one place and one time. In his 1983 study, four weeks of worry postponement reduced how much of the day people spent worrying (Borkovec et al., 1983). A 2013 study found the same technique reduced anxiety and helped with sleep problems too (McGowan & Behar, 2013).
Two things happen. You learn you can put a worry down without anything terrible happening. And when you come back to it hours later, it's often smaller than it felt. The Mentis app even has a journaling step for exactly this moment, "What Came To The Slot", asking which worries still felt big at your window and which had gone small on their own.
Making worry time stick
- Be strict about the place. Not your bed. A chair, the balcony, the dining table.
- Write, don't just think. Writing makes a vague dread concrete, and concrete problems are easier to act on.
- Turn worries into "how" questions. "Why does this always happen to me?" goes nowhere. "How could I handle Monday's meeting?" gets a next step. This is the idea behind the "How, not why" chapter of the plan.
- Expect it to feel odd for a week. Postponing gets easier with practice, like any skill.
Worry time in the Mentis Overthinking plan
"Not now" is chapter two of the Mentis Overthinking plan. You pick your slot, catch the loops as they start, and check what came to the slot, with Mimi nudging you at your time. Later chapters build on it: "What if, checked" for the catastrophising kind of worry, "The replay" for conversations you can't stop re-running, and "The inner critic" for the voice that turns every slip into a verdict. Read our full guide on how to stop overthinking, or try journal prompts for overthinking.
Frequently asked questions
What is worry time?
Worry time, or worry postponement, is a technique where you set aside one short, fixed window each day to worry on purpose. When a worry comes up outside that window, you note it and tell yourself, 'not now, at six'. During the window you go through the list.
Does postponing worry really work?
In the first controlled study, people who practised worry postponement for four weeks spent less time worrying than people who didn't (Borkovec et al., 1983). Later work found it also reduced anxiety and helped with sleep (McGowan & Behar, 2013).
When is the best time for a worry window?
Pick a time you can keep every day, at least two to three hours before bed, somewhere other than your bed. Early evening after work suits most people.
What if a worry is urgent?
If it truly needs action today, act on it. Worry time is for the loops that go round without getting anywhere, not for real problems that need a step now.
Is my worry list saved?
Only in this browser, on this device, so it's still there at your window. Nothing is sent anywhere. Clear it any time.
- Borkovec TD, Wilkinson L, Folensbee R, Lerman C. (1983). Stimulus control applications to the treatment of worry. Behaviour Research and Therapy 21(3):247–251.
- McGowan SK, Behar E. (2013). A preliminary investigation of stimulus control training for worry: effects on anxiety and insomnia. Behavior Modification 37(1):90–112.
- Watkins ER. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin 134(2):163–206.