By Flavio Guzman, M.D.
Outline
- The benefits of worry postponement (or worry time)
- How to actually do it
- How does it work?
Benefits of Postponing Worry
It gives you a greater sense of control
Postponing worry is a powerful exercise. Why? Because it gives you control over when you will worry.
It doesn’t mean you will eliminate the worry. It means that you’ll gain control of your worry, not by controlling its content, but by deciding the “when” you’ll be open to letting it appear in your mind.
It allows you to see things differently
When you are able to postpone worry, or scheduling “worry time”, you’ll challenge a common belief many people have that “worry is uncontrollable”.
By saying “I’m allowed to worry, but I’m just going to hold it for later” you change from the perspective of “I should not worry” to “yes, I’ll worry, but not now”.
It improves your productivity
Worry competes for our focus and attention with work, family, and other aspects of everyday life.
When you spend less time worrying your mind can focus on other productive areas of your life.
What’s the exercise about?
Basically, the exercise is quite simple. When a worry comes to mind, you just freeze it right there.
And say, OK, I’m going to worry about this later, not just know.
It’s similar to the productivity technique of writing a task in a to-do list so you can free your mind [^1]. In this case, you give yourself the ==leeway== to worry at a specific time.
When that time of the day comes, then you worry.
Scheduling worry time sounds a bit absurd, but this absurdity is a nice demonstration that thoughts are just thoughts and not facts.
What effects am I going to notice?
The exercise will help you realize how unproductive worry is.
In many cases will reduce the frequency, intensity, and time spent worrying. This can have.
How to postpone worry: schedule worry time
These are 3 simple steps.
- Decide when and for how long
- Postpone worry
- Worry
Decide when and for how long
You decide when you are going to worry by blocking time specifically for this.
You also decide for how long you are going to worry every day.
Here’s an example:
*”Every day at 7 PM I’m going to spend 15 minutes worrying about the things I have postponed.”
Pick a time that you are less likely to be disturbed.
Worry Outside Worry Time
What can you do with worries that show up during the day?
A simple decision is this.
Can you do something about the worry right now?
- If you can do something, then take action right now.
- If you can’t do anything right now, then postpone it until worry time.
Worry Time Is Here: Now What?
Let’s say it’s 7 pm and you have 15 minutes to worry. What do you do?
Now you can write down any of the worries that you’ve had during the day.
How concerning are they to you now?
Can you identify a worry that is amenable to problem-solving skills?
Try to use all the allocated worry time, even if the worries don’t seem as pressing at this time.
If you reflect upon the worries you’ve had so far, it’s very likely they don’t give you the same emotional kick. If that’s the case.
How does this all work? If you’re into psychology, keep reading
If you’ve read so far, you are probably curious about the psychological theory behind worry time.
There are three possible ways in which worry time is effective.
- Habituation
- Emotional processing
- Realizing that thoughts are thoughts and not reality (a.k.a. cognitive defusion)
Habituation
When you practice repeatedly the exercise, you become accustomed to the anxiety and fear that comes with your worries. Over time, the frequency, intensity, and duration of the worries will decrease.
Emotional processing
By doing worry time, you engage in emotional processing, this involves recognizing your emotions, experiencing them, and expressing them in a healthy way.
Realizing that thoughts are thoughts and not reality (a.k.a. cognitive defusion)
We all have a tendency to over-identify with our thoughts, amplifying them in our minds to “facts” or “the truth”.
Worry time allows us to realize that thoughts are just thoughts, and they don’t equal facts or reality.
A couple of recommendations
As with many skills, it’s important to practice. Reading articles is the first step, but to get the benefits I challenge you to try this exercise.
After all, it would be really hard to learn to drive a car, just by reading an article, right?
Notes
- [^1]: To-do lists are a powerful productivity tool. They reduce mental load and overwhelm, and improve time management. Not to mention, checking off completed tasks feels great!
References
Below you can find books consulted for this article.
- Abel, J. (2018). The Anxiety, Worry & Depression Workbook: 65 Exercises, Worksheets & Tips to Improve Mood and Feel Better. PESI Publishing & Media.
- Seif, M. N., & Winston, S. (2014). What every therapist needs to know about anxiety disorders: Key concepts, insights, and interventions. Routledge.