Slay Your Sunday Scaries - Win Your Week

The weekend flew by fast. It’s 6:00pm, Sunday evening. All you want to do is relax and enjoy the rest of your free time, soak up precious moments with your loved ones before returning to your work week. But...you can’t. There is so much to do before you have to be back at work on Monday.

Finish the laundry, put away the dishes, prepare everyone’s lunch needs, backpacks, briefcases, gym bags for the next day, including your own. The list goes on and on. And to add to it, you can’t actually focus on getting anything done because just the prospect of another Monday dawning within the next few hours has your anxiety levels through the roof.

You are certainly not alone in experiencing what many have dubbed the Sunday Scaries. It’s not just rainy days and Mondays that get us down. It’s getting ready the night before while simultaneously saying goodbye to the weekend that affects us as well. It’s safe to say that most Americans run through the same cycle every week.

Take a deep breath and have a look through our suggestions for winning back your Sundays. With a few proactive and peace-generating habits, you can build a Sunday routine that can replace your internal dread with calmness and serenity. This way, you can soak away your stress and live in the moment more often.

4 Tips for Setting Up a Successful Week

FRIDAY NIGHT DE-LOAD
Having a few hours to prepare yourself for an entire week all at once is undeniably overwhelming. All of your energy is sucked away by trying to rush through all of your preparations and to-do’s, leaving you mentally, physically, and emotionally zapped at the end of your Sunday. That defeats the whole purpose of having a “restful weekend”.

Instead, try knocking off a few items from your list on Friday night. Yes, you’ve just had a long week and all you want at this point is to let your hair down. But taking fifteen more minutes before you let loose to clean the dishes and at least start the washing machine will take off a big chunk of obligations from your Sunday night chores. You’ve just banked more free time that would have otherwise gone by with obligations instead of desires.

At the very least, on Fridays you could compile a to-do list to complete before Sunday night. Then cross off one thing at a time from that list as you go through your weekend. This can shorten your Sunday to-do’s and help you feel charged up, ready to take on Monday morning when it arrives - not caught off guard and unprepared.

CREATE YOUR PEACE
It’s true that no matter how much you prepare during the weekend, there are some things that can’t be done until it’s time to do them. Perhaps you even know that there’s a big, busy day at the office waiting for you on Monday. This can lead to a preoccupied, reeling mind that then leaves you with increased anxiety about everything that needs to get done.

This is where you have to take control of what you can. You might not be able to change the schedule for the following day. But you sure don’t have to anguish over it the day before. That's a huge thunderstorm all over your joy. Consider creating a distraction for yourself to ease your mind about what you can’t control.

Create a Sunday night ritual that you absolutely love and look forward to as a means to ground yourself in the present moment. This could be a number of things big or small, such as:

Read that book you’ve wanted to start for months.

Call a beloved family member or a best friend to check in.

Indulge in a luxurious, relaxing, or refreshing beauty routine.

Have an intentional Netflix date to watch the next episode in your queue.

Make yourself a relaxing, calming drink that will rock you to sleep.

Any one of these activities are phenomenal ways to keep you living your present life instead of biting your nails over the uncontrollable future.

RECLAIM YOUR BRAIN
Sunday night doesn’t have to mark the death of the weekend. It could very easily become a cherished tradition of a family dinner or a movie night with your circle of friends. With all that free time you’ve created by getting your preparation out of the way, you’ll have plenty of time to create new habits and priorities that bring you joy and peace. Rewiring your thought response to positive associations can change your whole mood as you close out the weekend.

Want to protect your quiet 'me' time? You could use Sunday night to recenter yourself with dedicated time to mediate. Align yourself and your actions with your dreams and goals. Take this time to evaluate and reflect on where you're headed and what you want to do next. Using this time as an intentional gratitude practice is a wonderful opportunity to ground yourself by acknowledging all the gifts in your life, big or small.

Either of these practices can replenish your spiritual reservoir. When you clear your mind of negativity and doubt, you create space to be with what is, and to absorb the good things that surround you.

FIND HONESTY IN YOUR FINDINGS
So, you finished all your chores on Saturday and you have a scheduled movie night with the fam before turning in. Yet, you still can't shake the sensation of dread that hangs over you, sucking away all your peace and calm.

It could be time for an honest conversation with yourself. A conversation to find out if you've created a bad habit of associating Sunday with bad feelings, trained your body to respond to the sun setting on a specific day.

Or is it something a little deeper? Is there toxicity plaguing your workspace? Who could be causing it and how can it be resolved? Do you need to prepare a tough but productive conversation?

Maybe it's not a person but a situation. Are you avoiding a task that needs to be done? Something that could have been done or close to done already? Are you happy at your workplace? Is it time for you to make a change?

Having an honest soul search for the root of your anxiety can do wonders for your mental space and clarity. Taking a single Sunday night to investigate into either a solution or a plan that you're wanting to try can bring weeks, even months of assurance that you're headed in the right direction.

The Best Change Is Gradual Change

You can't put the pressure on yourself to make any of these changes over night or expect to have all of your problems fixed by your next weekend. But you can expect yourself to experience improvement a little at a time.

This can take many different forms including failed attempts. And that’s okay. Because sometimes you have to take one step back to take two steps forward in a new, more fruitful direction. The best journeys are the ones with twists and turns.

Julie Weller

Julie is a self-made writer on a forever journey of fitness and health. As a high school music teacher, she has seen and experienced the challenges of maintaining good health while simultaneously balancing a career and healthy relationships.

Julie has always lived a healthy and active lifestyle. She loves the outdoors, hiking, and camping. Over the years she has continued to learn smarter and better ways to take care of her body while continuing to do the things that make her smile. Naturally, all of her teacher friends wanted to know how she did it - what was her secret?

Julie found herself explaining over and over everything she'd learned in her research, and sharing her experiences through trial and error. Her friends would take her advice, try some new things, and then come back to ask how to take it to the next level.

"You should charge for this kind of information!" Became a constant phrase, and so began her career of writing to share her knowledge with the world through health and wellness companies looking to spread healing and healthy habits within their communities. Now Julie gets to combine two of the things she enjoys most - writing and wellness - and use them to affect change in a real way.

When not making music with her kiddos, or writing wellness tips for a higher quality of life, you can find her reading, hiking, drumming, and fitnessing