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Write It Down: Get a Worry Out of Your Head

Learn how to put a worry on paper in its exact words, write three possible endings, and plan unfinished tasks, plus what writing can and can't do.

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THE WRITTEN LESSONFollow along at your pace

A worry is often easier to deal with once it is on paper. In this lesson you will learn to get a worry out of your head and onto a page, and you will be told honestly what writing can and cannot do.

Use the exact words

Start by writing the thought in the exact words your mind used. “I’m going to be fired” is easier to examine on paper than inside your head. In your head it is loud and vague. On the page it is a sentence you can read, question and check.

An open notebook with the words I'm going to be fired in quote marks, and a magnifying glass over them. Labels read Use the exact words and Easier to see on paper.(opens the full-size picture)
Write the exact words, then look at them.

Three endings

Then write at least two other endings: the best case and the most likely case. Add one fact you could check. The aim is a fair test, not a cheerful spin. If the most likely case is a small fix and a quick chat, write that down, even if it feels less dramatic than the worst case.

Three cards. Worst case, in red: I get fired. Best case, in green: It goes well. Most likely, in blue: A small fix and a quick chat. Below, labels read One fact to check and A fair test, not a cheerful spin.(opens the full-size picture)
Worst, best and most likely. The most likely one is often the plainest.

Unfinished tasks

Some loops are about unfinished tasks. For each one, write where, when and how you will pick it up. Not just “report”, but “8:30 tomorrow, at my desk, check the last two tabs”. In small experiments with students, a specific plan like this stopped tasks from intruding on people’s thoughts.

A yellow note reading Report, Too vague, with an arrow to a card reading 8:30 tomorrow, at my desk, check the last two tabs, marked When, Where and How. A label says Specific plans quieted the nagging.(opens the full-size picture)
A vague note becomes a plan with a when, a where and a how.

Before bed

If you worry in bed, try listing tomorrow’s tasks before you sleep. In one sleep lab study, people who wrote a five-minute to-do list fell asleep about nine minutes faster than people who wrote about tasks they had already done. That was one study, measuring one night.

A notepad headed Tomorrow with three unticked items: Send report, Book dentist and Pack the bag, and a pencil. Beside it a sleeping person, a moon, and the labels One study, one night and About 9 minutes faster to sleep.(opens the full-size picture)
A short list for tomorrow, written before bed.

How much does writing help?

Be honest about what writing can do. Writing about something that matters to you had a small positive effect on average, across many studies. And one famous trick, writing out your worries just before an exam, did not hold up in larger studies. So treat writing as a modest aid, not a cure.

Two panels. The first, Writing about what matters, shows a small green bar labeled Small positive effect. The second, Exam paper, shows Worry writing crossed out, before an exam, with the label Didn't hold up in larger studies. A note says A modest aid, not a cure.(opens the full-size picture)
Writing helps a little. The exam worry trick did not hold up.

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Read the full lesson script

In this lesson, you'll learn to get a worry out of your head and onto paper, and what writing can and can't do.

Start by writing the thought in the exact words your mind used. I'm going to be fired is easier to examine on paper than inside your head.

Then write at least two other endings: the best case and the most likely case. Add one fact you could check. The aim is a fair test, not a cheerful spin.

Some loops are about unfinished tasks. For each one, write where, when and how you'll pick it up. Not just report, but eight thirty tomorrow, at my desk, check the last two tabs. In small experiments, a specific plan like this stopped tasks intruding on people's thoughts.

If you worry in bed, try listing tomorrow's tasks before you sleep. In one sleep lab study, people who wrote a five-minute to-do list fell asleep about nine minutes faster than people who wrote about tasks they'd already done.

How much does writing help? Writing about something that matters to you had a small positive effect on average, across many studies. And one famous trick, writing out your worries just before an exam, didn't hold up in larger studies. So treat writing as a modest aid, not a cure.

So remember: exact words, three endings, and a where, when and how for unfinished tasks. Before the next lesson, write tonight's loudest worry in its exact words, then its most likely ending. Next, you'll learn to set up worry time.