How to stop worrying all day: the worry time method

3 min read · 7 steps · Updated 3 October 2026

Worry feels useful, as if thinking about a problem long enough would solve it. Mostly it just repeats. The method below comes from the self-help programme of the UK's National Health Service and is used in cognitive behavioural therapy. It does not ask you to stop worrying, which nobody can do on command. It asks you to postpone it, and to sort it.

This is general information, not medical advice. If worry or low mood lasts for more than two weeks or affects your daily life, speak to a doctor.

Step by step

1. Write the worries down

   Get them out of your head and onto paper or into a notes app, one line each. A written worry has edges. You can see how many there really are, and which ones keep returning.

   Done

2. Set a daily worry time

   Choose 10 to 15 minutes at the same time every day. The NHS suggests the evening, before bed, so the worries are dealt with before you try to sleep. This is the only time of day in which you work on worries.

   Done

3. Postpone worries during the day

   When a worry turns up at any other time, write down a keyword and tell yourself: not now, I will look at this in my worry time. Then bring your attention back to what you were doing. This is hard at first and becomes a habit within a week or two.

   Done

4. Sort each worry with one question

   In worry time, take the first item and ask: is this a problem I can do something about? This is the first branch of what therapists call the worry tree.

   Done

5. If yes: make a plan

   Answer three questions in writing. What exactly would I do? How would I do it? When will I do it? If it can be done now, do it. If not, put it in the calendar. The worry now has a plan, and you can remind yourself of that when it returns.

   Done

6. If no: let it go

   Worries about things you cannot influence, the what ifs, cannot be solved by thinking. Say so to yourself: I cannot control this, and worrying does not change it. Accepting that some uncertainty is part of life takes the force out of these thoughts over time.

   Done

7. End the session

   When the time is up, stop, even in the middle of the list. Do something that brings you into the present: a walk, a shower, slow breathing, cooking, a conversation.

   Done

Good to know

Many worries from the morning look small or have vanished by the evening. Noticing that again and again is part of how the method works.

Caffeine, too little sleep and endless news feeds all feed worry. Cut them down while you practise.

See a doctor if you worry most days about many different things and cannot control it, if it comes with physical symptoms such as a racing heart or sleeplessness, or if you feel low. Talking therapy is effective for this.

Related: how to stop overthinking, a breathing exercise to calm down in 5 minutes and how to fall asleep faster and sleep better.

If you are in immediate danger or thinking of harming yourself, call the emergency number now (112 in the EU). In Germany the Telefonseelsorge is free and open around the clock on 0800 111 0 111.

In short: Write worries down, fix 10 to 15 minutes of worry time a day, postpone worries until then, ask whether you can act: if yes plan what, how and when, if no let it go. Finish with something in the present.