The Rules

The Problem

Your thoughts are like a demon that won't stop — rearing their head every few minutes. This is priority above everything else right now.

Three physical culprits making it worse: caffeine, lack of exercise, poor sleep. Fix the first two and sleep follows.

Non-Negotiable Rules

Caffeine

No caffeine before arriving at work.

Building toward none after lunch. Kill the morning one first — that's the goal right now.

Body

Lift weights (or exercise) 5 times per week.

Get back into protein, have a schedule. Become a gym junkie. This one changes everything.

Mind

Zero work or money thoughts outside one designated 1-hour block on weekends.

None allowed after leaving the office during the week. Park it. Schedule it. Then ruthlessly ban it everywhere else.

Input

Absolutely limit news. Zero is optimal.

You will not miss anything that matters. Zero news is not ignorance — it's protection.

Phone

Reduce scrolling. Put your phone in another room at home.

Go on your computer if you like. Do anything else. Target: under 3 hours screen time per day.

Remember This

Don't engage.

This isn't about positive thinking. It's about refusing to let negative thoughts run.

You're always over-worrying.

Even at zero, you'd still be worrying more than needed. So aim for zero.

Park it.

Leave work at work. There is a time for it. That time is not now.

Build slowly.

These rules compound. Each one makes the next easier. Start here.

When It Gets Loud

Decatastrophise

Write out the absolute worst possible outcome. Play it all the way through. See it clearly. Then ask: could you survive that? Usually yes. The thing you're dreading almost never matches the reality you'd actually face.

The demon only wins
if you engage with it.

The
Rules.

Decatastrophise

Daily
Tracker.

TheRules.

Decatastrophise

DailyTracker.

The
Rules.

Daily
Tracker.