Schedule your worries

It’s pretty common for clients to tell me that they try, but sometimes they really struggle to leave their work-worries at work.?Maybe you have experienced this too- something happens at work and you end up thinking about it even after you get home. You act like you are focused on your family or friends or other activities, but you keep playing the situation over and over in your mind.?The longer you think about the situation the more upset you become and the harder it is stop thinking about it.??Not only does this rob you of the opportunity to unwind and enjoy your time away from work, it makes you less productive when you get back to work because your haven’t had any recuperation time.

When this situation arises, I encourage clients to schedule their worry time.?Literally, open your calendar and physically block out the 30, 45, or 60 minutes that you will use to worry about, brainstorm options, or strategize your approach to problems that plague you.??Then when your mind starts to wander or the concerns creep up as you lie in bed, gently remind yourself that you have time on the calendar to think about that and now is the time to do something else.

Give this positive psychology trick a try and let me know how it works for you.?