Problems

My mind races at night.

Racing mind at night

A racing mind often needs a landing place. Instead of debating every thought in bed, give worries, tasks, and reminders a short shutdown ritual before sleep.

Start with day 1 See recommendations

Time to start

15 minutes

First step

Empty the tabs

Do this first

Write every task, worry, and reminder in your head for five minutes before bed.

Choose what to do next

Start here

Game

Mind Garden

Practice a gentle transition from rumination to rest.

Reading shortlist

Best books for this problem

Why We Sleep

Explains why protecting sleep changes everything else.

10% Happier

Helps relate differently to thoughts without chasing each one.

Getting Things Done

Uses capture to stop tasks from living in your head.

Editorial guide

Go deeper with book guides

One week of action

7-day action sequence

  1. 1

    Empty the tabs

    Write every task, worry, and reminder in your head for five minutes before bed.

  2. 2

    Pick tomorrow's first move

    Choose one item from the list and write the first action for tomorrow.

  3. 3

    Create a cutoff

    Set a time when planning stops and only shutdown actions are allowed.

  4. 4

    Lower the input

    Remove news, work messages, and feeds from the final 30 minutes before bed.

  5. 5

    Use a worry container

    If a thought returns in bed, write one keyword and tell yourself it is captured.

  6. 6

    Repeat one cue

    Use the same small cue each night: dim lights, tea, stretch, or one page of reading.

  7. 7

    Keep the ritual short

    Choose the smallest shutdown routine you can repeat on tired nights.

Keep going

Related problems

Calm and recovery

Overthinking

Interrupt the loop and return to the next physical action.

Calm and recovery

Burnout

Stop treating exhaustion like a motivation problem.

Calm and recovery

Anxiety spiral

Lower the state before solving the story.