5 to 10 minutes
- Use the morning or midday routine.
- Do a body check, paced breathing, and one skill.
- Success: you used one DBT action on purpose.
First Move
Start with the next action for today. If you are not sure what to do, use the shortest tool that fits the moment and return to the wake, 2-hour, 4-hour, 6-hour, or evening scaffold.
Decision Ladder
10 to 20 minutes
- Use the diary card or daily practice sheet.
- Record emotions, triggers, skills, and urges.
- Success: you captured enough data to review later.
20 to 40 minutes
- Use the chain analysis or weekly review sheet.
- Work through one difficult moment carefully.
- Success: you identified one place to do something differently.
Idle / scrolling urge
- Open one YouTube skill video or read one workbook section.
- Choose one topic only: mindfulness, TIPP, DEAR MAN, or opposite action.
- Success: the screen time moved you toward practice, not away from it.
Tool Matching
If you feel flooded
Use STOP, paced breathing, TIPP, or the crisis plan.
If you cannot name emotions
Use the diary card first. If that still does not fit, use the selector sheet as the fallback.
If something went wrong
Use chain analysis, then write one different step for next time.
If you need to speak up
Use the DEAR request planner or the interpersonal effectiveness section.
If you want to review
Use the weekly review sheet and the progress calendar together.
If you have extra time
Use the workbook PDFs or one focused YouTube skill lesson. Do not turn it into random browsing.
Diary Card vs Chain Analysis
Diary card
Use this every day. It is the main daily record, not a place to write a long narrative or spiral into rumination. Keep it brief, factual, and specific.
Chain analysis
Use this after a rough event, a target behavior, or a moment you want to understand better. It is the deeper breakdown.
Simple Rule
Start with the smallest tool that matches the moment. If that does not solve it, move one step deeper: daily routine, diary card, chain analysis, weekly review, workbook, then a single reinforcement video.
Sleep Reset
Before bed
Finish the last meaningful task, lower stimulation, and keep the room cool enough that sleep is easier to start.
What to record
Note whether you completed the wind-down and whether the temperature was comfortable enough for sleep.
Success looks like
You got into bed on time, the room was calm, and you gave sleep enough room to happen instead of fighting it. Night is complete when the diary card is done and lights-out begins.
If tomorrow matters
Use the morning body check to notice whether sleep helped, and adjust the evening wind-down if it did not.