Five Ways to Overcome the Sunday Scaries
Photo by Victoria Heath on Unsplash
It’s Sunday afternoon, and your mind is racing.
You want to enjoy the rest of your weekend, but all you can think about is the start of the work week tomorrow. You might be regretting that you weren’t more productive this weekend or thinking about your growing task list for the work week. This anticipatory anxiety could cut your relaxing, already-too-short weekend even shorter than it needs to be.
If you find yourself experiencing similar feelings on Sundays, you’re not alone. According to a recent study by LinkedIn, 80% of professionals experience something called the “Sunday Scaries”, which is a feeling of anxiety that builds up around the end of the weekend.
This doesn’t necessarily mean that you hate your job. This “low-grade, existential dread”—as one professional describes it in an article by The Atlantic—comes in anticipation of having to be “on” for five days in a row, which feels like a lot of pressure after a weekend of being “off”.
Transitioning from a weekend of freedom to the work week of responsibilities is never very pleasant, but it doesn’t have to fill you with dread. Here are some tactics that can help you overcome the Sunday Scaries.
1. Use your Fridays to make Monday more bearable.
Many professionals use Friday as a “catch-up” day to finish up any projects that need some loose ends tied up. Take it a step further and begin to plan the next work week before it even starts! Write down a list of tasks and goals for the week on Friday afternoon so that when you come in on Monday, you already have an idea of what to focus on.
Take it a step further on Fridays by asking yourself if there are any items on that task list that you can get a head start on. Don’t let your brain turn off for the weekend before starting (or even completing!) one of those tasks. You’ve won Monday morning before you’ve had your coffee!
2. Plan something (other than chores) for Sunday.
Take some time on Sunday to do something you actually enjoy. I love writing, and that’s why I write my blog posts on Sunday afternoons. It keeps my mind from worrying about the upcoming work week, and it really relaxes me.
Other things you can plan are a nice walk outside with the dog, lunch or dinner with a friend, a movie with your partner, or cooking your favorite meal. Stop freaking out about the task list that you may or may not have gotten to this weekend and spend some time actually relaxing. If you’ve spent ANY time of your weekend relaxing, you’ve already been more productive by taking care of yourself!
3. Focus more on the positives about Mondays.
Tackle Monday mornings on Sunday by practicing positive self talk. Find the things you really like about your job and put more focus on thinking about those things and creating more to look forward to. These positives can be anything from working on a fun project to enjoying the delicious (free) coffee from the office’s new coffee machine.
Make your Mondays even better by building the habit of putting on a motivational podcast for your morning commute or grabbing a bagel from your favorite coffee joint on the way. Treating yourself isn’t only reserved for the weekends!
If you struggle with finding the positives of your job, change your focus to your longer-term professional goals. If you’re trying to get promoted, focus on the tasks you will complete this week to help you get there. If you’re looking at other opportunities, think about what you are and can be doing to gain new skills needed for another role.
4. Develop a relaxing routine to help you wind down.
Find something you can do on Sunday night to help you clear your head and transition to a productive week. I’m not saying to start a yoga and meditation routine, although that is one direction you can go!
This routine should primarily focus on relaxation, and different people find different things to be relaxing. You might make some tea, take a bath, and watch YouTube videos, or you might go for a run. The important thing is that it’s some sort of structure to your night that helps you transition to more structure in your upcoming work week.
5. Get plenty of sleep on Sunday nights.
Shooting for 8 hours of sleep might seem like a no-brainer, but it can be difficult to put into practice when your mind is racing and you can’t fall asleep. Make sure to turn off the electronic devices and get to bed a little earlier than usual on Sunday night to ensure that you’re able to start Monday off well-rested and energized. Some will carve out some time before bed to write down their thoughts in a journal to help clear their mind. Either way, remember that sleep is the best medicine, so make sure to prioritize that over your to-do list.
Although there are many great benefits of having a 9-to-5 job with a regular schedule, it also has its own setbacks. The American work culture is plagued with a lot of pressure on professionals to be ultra productive during their Monday-through-Friday work week. The Sunday Scaries may trouble most professionals, but there are ways to prevent them from cutting our weekends short!
Hi! I’m Jennie.
Thank you for visiting my blog! I write about marketing tips for small businesses and how to succeed as a female professional. I write from experience about the things that I love.