Worry Containment
Worksheet

ADHD Executive Function Tools

A structured practice for containing anxious thoughts
to a specific time and place.

Where This Tool Helps

Worry with ADHD does not behave the way most people describe it. It does not arrive, get processed, and leave. It arrives and stays resident - cycling through working memory on repeat because the brain cannot file it and move on. A worry that a neurotypical colleague resolves in five minutes of thought can loop for hours, interrupting focus, derailing meetings, and following you home.

The technique behind this worksheet is scheduled worry time. You designate a specific window - 15 to 20 minutes - when worries get your full attention. Outside that window, when a worry surfaces, you write it down and defer it. You are not ignoring the worry. You are giving it an appointment.

What makes this work for ADHD specifically: the act of writing the worry down offloads it from working memory. The scheduled time gives the brain permission to let go for now, because "later" is concrete - a time, a place, a duration. Vague promises to deal with it later do not work. Specificity does.

How to Use This Worksheet

Start with the worry inventory on the next page. Write down the worries currently taking up space - not an exhaustive list, just the ones that keep returning.
Rate each worry's grip strength from 1 to 10. This is not about severity. It is about how often the worry pulls your attention back to it during a normal day.
Mark which worries are within your control. Many of the highest-grip worries are not - and naming that changes how you relate to them.
Set up your daily worry ritual on the second page. The specifics matter: a vague plan ("I'll think about my worries tonight") will not hold. A concrete one (6:15 PM, kitchen table, 15 minutes, alone with coffee) will.
Use this daily for at least two weeks before judging whether it works. The first few days feel strange. The effect builds with repetition.

Worry Inventory

Name:

Date:

Review Period:

Current Worries

List the worries that keep cycling through your mind. Focus on the ones that return uninvited - during work, before sleep, in the middle of something unrelated.

#	Worry	Grip (1–10)	Within My Control?
1			Yes No Partly
2			Yes No Partly
3			Yes No Partly
4			Yes No Partly
5			Yes No Partly
6			Yes No Partly
7			Yes No Partly

Patterns

Look at your grip ratings. What do you notice?

Which worry has the highest grip?

Is that worry within your control?

How many of your high-grip worries (7+) are outside your control?

What does that tell you about where your mental energy is going?

Daily Worry Ritual

The ritual works because it is specific. Fill in every field.

When

What time of day will you open your worry list?

How long will you spend with it? (15–20 minutes recommended)

Where

Where will you do this?

A consistent location helps the brain treat it as a distinct activity, separate from the rest of your day.

How

Will you be alone or with someone? If with someone, who?

What will you do with the worries during your scheduled time?

Read them, talk through them, sort them into "act on" and "release," journal about them - pick one approach to start.

Daily Worry Ritual (continued)

The Deferral Practice

During the day, when a worry surfaces outside your scheduled time:

Write it down (phone, notebook, sticky note - whatever is fastest)

Tell yourself: "This has an appointment at [your scheduled time]"

Return to what you were doing

What will you use to capture worries during the day?

I will practice this daily worry ritual for ______ weeks, starting ____________.

Signature

Date

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Worry ContainmentWorksheet