Raise your hand if you suffer from the Sunday Scaries. Are you waving your hand as you read this? Lately the Sunday Scaries have hit me hard, probably because all I want to do is hang out and relax with my family over the holiday season instead of working during one of the busiest times of the year at my editing job. I’ve been thinking about ways to beat those worries on the weekend and I’ve come up some ideas to help myself and others reset and recharge for the new week. Let’s go into Monday with motivation and excitement rather than dread, shall we?
Ways to beat the Sunday Scaries:
- Change your perception. You are never really done with your to-do list, so why worry excessively about it? There will always be more work to do. But you can’t get back time you’ve spent worrying or ignoring your basic needs. Worry about tomorrow robs today of its joy.
- Spend part of the day or the whole day with nothing planned. Give yourself a break, if you can. I try to limit myself to only one set of plans per weekend. Doing something each day of the weekend only makes me feel more exhausted come Sunday night vs. well rested.
- Do something that brings you joy. Ideas: Painting, yoga, running, walking around a garden, watching a movie, etc.
- Make fun plans for Monday. Examples: Set up dinner or happy hour plans with a friend or treat yourself to your favorite dessert. Make time to do something you love on Monday after work to give yourself something to look forward to.
- Laugh. Watch a funny movie or TV show.
- Use a journal or planner to jot down a “brain dump” of thoughts, goals and to-dos for the week. Do this on a weekend so that you go into the week with a plan and it doesn’t seem so intimidating. I create a to-do list, but I limit what I designate for each day. I never want to overwhelm myself. I try to stick to just one errand per day, if possible. For blogging, for example, I will schedule time to start a blog post, and then finish that post on another day. I try to take photos for posts all at once so I’m not trying to squeeze in shooting and editing in one day.
- Perform a self-care task like getting a massage, repainting your nails, taking a long bath, etc. Also make sure you are drinking enough water and eating well.
- Stay off social media. Stop comparing what you are doing with what you are seeing on your Instagram feed.
- Spend time with people you love and who will uplift you.
- Make time for church, meditation or self-reflection.
- If it’s job dissatisfaction that is causing your Sunday Scaries, make a plan to change your situation. Research education, other jobs, mentors or other ways to improve your career satisfaction.
Do you ever feel the Sunday Scaries? What do you do about them?
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