THE PRACTICE

Every business owner worries. Cash flow, a slow pipeline, a client who’s gone quiet, a deadline that looks tight. That’s normal, and some of it is useful. The problem is timing. Worries rarely arrive when you’re ready to deal with them. They show up in the shower, in the middle of a conversation with a friend, or at 2 a.m. when you can’t do anything about them except lie there.

When you work for yourself, there’s no one to share them with at the end of the day and no one else who’s responsible. So they follow you everywhere, and they interrupt everything.

Why it works

Setting a specific time for worrying is a technique counselors have recommended for years, and it suits business owners well. The idea is simple: you’re not trying to stop worrying, you’re giving it a time and place. When a worry shows up at the wrong moment, you don’t have to wrestle with it. You note it down and tell yourself you’ll deal with it at the appointed time. Knowing there’s a set time for it makes it much easier to let go in the meantime.

There’s a practical benefit too. Worrying on paper, at a desk, in daylight, tends to turn vague dread into specific problems. “Money’s tight” becomes “I need $3,000 more by the 30th, and here are three invoices I can chase.” Many worries look smaller when they’re written down, and the ones that don’t now have a next step.

How to run it

Pick the time. Fifteen minutes, the same time each day, during working hours. Late afternoon works well for many people. Avoid right before bed.

Keep a worry list. A note on your phone or a small notebook. When something worrying comes up outside the appointment, write a few words and move on: “Henderson hasn’t replied,” “Q4 slow?” That’s all. You’re not solving it, just parking it.

Use the time to sort, not spin. In the appointment, go through the list. For each item, ask: is there something I can do about this? If yes, write the next step and when you’ll take it. If no, write “nothing to do right now” and cross it off.

Stop when the time is up. Set a timer. When it ends, close the notebook. Anything unresolved waits for tomorrow’s slot.

The mistake most people make

Skipping the appointment on good days. If you only do it when things feel bad, the habit never forms, and when real pressure arrives, you won’t trust it. Do it every day, even if the list is short.

The other mistake is letting the slot expand into an hour of anxious planning. Fifteen minutes is enough to sort through a list. If a worry needs real work, schedule that work separately, like any other task. And if worries start affecting your sleep or health for weeks at a time, that’s a good reason to talk to a doctor or counselor, not just a notebook.