Be Less Anxious by Scheduling Your Worry Time
We rarely notice how much of our time is being robbed by constantly worrying, and this is how you can fix it.
Constantly worrying
I met a girl at a coffee shop while traveling around Southeast Asia a few months ago. We decided to spend the day together and visit famous temples nearby. We took a couple of photos like the typical tourists did. We were both blown away by the intricate details and beauty of the temples.
Afterward, we hung out and had lunch at a nearby restaurant. By the afternoon, we went to a park with a view of green tea plants stretched out as far as our eyes could see. It was an amazing view to end the day.
We sat in the park to rest as we felt tired from the long hours of walking as tourists. The sun shone brightly that day, emitting warm feelings upon the skin. But, when I looked at her face, she looked worried. I asked why. She then told me that she planned to go to Southern Thailand to enjoy some beaches but was worried that the place would rain every day after checking a weather app.
She was afraid she couldn't feel the whole experience of the beach. She was worried she would be stuck in her hotel, unable to explore all the magical things the beach could offer. She was worried that the plan was going to be doomed. That's what she had been thinking all day long.
In writing this post, I am reflecting on that past, thinking about how much of our enjoyment is sometimes being robbed by the feeling of anxiety and worrying about things that can or won't happen in the future without realizing it. It feels like someone is following and robbing your happiness slowly but surely from behind.
We often find ourselves drowning in the pool of worrying about a series of "what if" scenarios that never end. This constant state of worry is known as a low level of ambient anxiety that happens at all times, which can make us feel uneasy and anxious. It's when our physical body is in the present moment but not our mind.
Scheduling worry time
So, how will we fight against the silent robbery of enjoyment that we don't even notice that it is creeping out in our minds?
There's a remedy to it.
What if we set a schedule to worry at a specific time of the day, week, and even month instead of worrying all the time? It will help us not think things we shouldn't have thought in the first place. It will help us to be free.
We all have specific tasks that we need to complete in a given time block. These tasks may include doing laundry, cooking, exercising, writing, responding to emails, picking up kids, having dinner, etc. However, it's equally important to have a time block for worrying. Without a clear plan to tackle our worries, we end up wasting our time because we keep thinking about them without realizing it.
Therefore, having a scheduled time to worry can help us be more intentional and manage our worries more effectively through clear plans.
For example, let's say you are worrying about your financial condition. You come to your friend's party, but your mind wonders if you can pay rent for the next three months. You are having dinner with your spouse, but you worry that you could get a new job next month. You are traveling, but you can only think about how to save money for more.
Scheduling your worry time will take away the feeling of burden that you carry all day long into every Sunday at 11 AM for about an hour until noon. During this time, you get the time you need to worry and start to manage it properly, such as making your spending report to find which one you can save, applying for jobs to more companies that you'd like to work for, and asking yourself if you've been spending too much.
You now have permission to worry once a week for about an hour. By scheduling your worry time, you can think and function more clearly because you are not constantly worrying. Instead of silently being robbed of your peace of mind, you confront your worries head-on for an hour every Sunday at 11 AM. This gives you more control and enables you to identify the source of your worry so that you can face it with a clear and level head.
Low ambient worry leaves us feeling powerless and at the mercy of time. Scheduling a worry time makes us the master of time. This way, you become the master of your time and prevent it from robbing you of peace of mind. Instead of feeling like time is slipping away, you'll have more control over how you spend it.
Back to the earlier post, my friend's trip went way better than she expected. And she would have been happier if she had worried about it on Thursday at 11 AM.