How Does Spencer Greenberg Use Worry Time?

People with a lot of anxiety hold beliefs about worry that work against them. Worry feels urgent, so it has to be handled now. They believe they cannot do anything except worry, as if they are not capable of stopping. They also believe worry is valuable, because something bad would happen if they stopped.

The method Spencer Greenberg loves is worry time. Pick one time of day, for example 5 p.m., and do not pick a time before bed. Through the day, write each worry down once. The example is not knowing whether a project will go well tomorrow. When the same worry returns, leave it off the list and wait until 5 p.m. The wait is batch processing: defer the worry, and if it comes back, say it has to wait until 5 p.m. At 5 p.m., worry as much as possible about every item on the list. Chris Williamson calls the session high-intensity worry training. After 15 or 20 minutes, switch to problem solving, pick one worry, and make an action plan.

People notice they can send a returning worry back to 5 p.m., so they have more control than they thought. Sitting down to worry on purpose often feels ridiculous and not useful. Spencer Greenberg says the routine can shock someone who has worried for a whole life.