Hi friend,

Ever find yourself waking up in the middle of the night thinking about work?

It’s the worst.

Eyes open.
Room dark.
Your body wants sleep.
Your brain is already at work.

The email you didn’t send.
The thing you should’ve said differently.
The loose end that suddenly feels urgent at 3:06 a.m.

Nothing is happening.

But your nervous system is wide awake,
still on the clock.

We replay.
We loop.
We tell ourselves to stop thinking and toss and turn and try to fall back asleep.

And if you’re anything like me, the harder we try, the more awake we feel.

Next time, try this.

When work barges in during the night, try this:

Think about one person you care about.

Say their name quietly.

Picture their face.

You might think something as simple as:

If your mind goes back to work,

keep thinking about that person or someone else.

Keep going for as long as it takes.

If you fall asleep mid-thought, that’s your nervous system clocking out.

When you wake up at 3 a.m. thinking about work, your brain is on watch.

Counting sheep keeps it busy,
but it doesn’t tell it the watch is over.

Thinking about someone you care about sends a different signal:
nothing needs action right now.

No fixing.
No response.
No next step.

That’s what lets the alert system stand down.
And when it does, sleep can return on its own.

This works best without a screen. We made an Off the Clock Card you can print and keep by your bed, so you don’t have to reach for your phone at 3 a.m.

👉 Click HERE to download.
(It will sneak into your downloads folder.)

We just launched our Instagram channel. It would be great to see you there!

What tends to keep you up at night lately?

If you want to share, hit reply.

We read and reply to every note.