We all know that looming Sunday night anxiety when we can’t seem to enjoy the present moment because the weekend is coming to a close, and we need to go back to our busy lives. We’ve all been there, and it has a name – the Sunday scaries.
But Sunday blues or Sunday scaries are only as bad as you allow them to be. After all, you have free time and, with enough mental power, the power to turn your Sunday anxiety into a productive day that’ll prepare you for the upcoming workweek will be in your hands.
But how can you go about that? That’s what we’re here for. Let’s go over 15 tips to beat the Sunday scaries, enjoy the weekend fully, and prepare for a good work week.
1. Know What’s Causing Sunday Blues/Sunday Scaries
The first step to solving any problem is awareness – you need to acknowledge the core of the problem. Is it the fear of your ringing alarm and having to get up early that’s causing your Sunday scaries? Do you maybe hate the commute the most and aren’t looking forward to your 30-minute drive in traffic? Perhaps you’re just not excited to spend eight hours at the office.
Either way, you can add some tone to each part of the work week to improve it as much as possible. Go to bed early so you can wake up on time, find some new podcasts or music to listen to on your commute and during work, and so on.
2. Change How You Think
Perhaps you’re dealing with anticipatory anxiety, the negative anticipation of the week ahead that’s causing you to stress and panic. It’s important to know that panicking over your weekend’s end isn’t going to improve anything.
Negativity breeds more negativity, so you must recognize and control your negative emotions if you don’t want to be miserable every week.
3. Plan the Upcoming Week
A hectic week means stress, and one of the main things that cause a hectic week is poor time management with racing thoughts as you’re constantly unsure of what to do and having to come up with your daily plans on the fly. It’s one of the worst feelings.
However, with proper time management, you’ll have a much easier time at the office and the rest of the day. Try it on a Saturday morning.
4. Take Some Time off to Clean on a Sunday Afternoon
You may not think of it often, but a messy home can make unpleasant feelings much worse. The messier a place is, the faster it keeps racking up dirt, and you don’t want your house to turn into a dumpster. It’s terrible for your physical and mental health!
Our advice is to take some time off your Sunday afternoon to clean your house. You don’t need much time – just 45 minutes will be enough for you to clean the floor, arrange your items, take out the trash, and do your dishes. If you can develop a habit out of cleaning, then that’s even better! If not, then at least do it once a week for yourself and your health.
5. Plan Some Fun for Sunday Evening
No matter what, don’t let your thoughts prevent you from enjoying the rest of your weekend! Find an activity that begins earlier than your average night at the bar, preferably around the evening after you’ve had spent a productive afternoon with Sunday “logistics.”
Relaxation is what you’re going for here. You can walk your dog, go somewhere with your friends, visit a museum, or treat yourself to a movie or game. See what you like to do and give yourself some time to do it before Sunday night, which should be your time to prepare for Monday.
6. Prepare for Monday Mornings on Sunday Nights
So it’s Monday morning, and your third alarm is ringing after you turned off the first two and went back for a few more minutes of shut-eye. You struggle to wake up with dark eyes that no amount of coffee can restore to normal and go down to your job in a rush.
Weekday mornings don’t have to be that stressful, and it’s up to you to change it. It all starts with Monday since it’s the first workday, so give yourself a few Sunday nights to prepare for the next day and make it a habit.
On Sunday nights, have a light dinner and go to bed early. Also, remember to stay hydrated, but don’t drink right before bed, so you don’t need to get up at 2 am to use the bathroom.
7. Exercise
Of course, you need to exercise regularly, midweek and weekend, but if you’re dealing with Sunday scaries, then exercise is terrific for your well-being. Not only is it good for the body, but also the mind. Overall, it’s one of the best ways to get rid of stress and anxiety.
8. Self-Care
What can we say about self-care that hasn’t been said? It’s a great way to relax in the evenings, and you can incorporate it into your Sundays as a form of Sunday scaries treatment. Get yourself some products and even go with your friends to the spa – it’ll improve your mood tremendously.
9. Have Some Non-Digital Fun
There are so many reasons to do a digital detox. You can reconnect with the people around you, discover new hobbies, and generally enjoy life a bit more away from those pesky blue light screens.
We’re not saying that phones are bad, but too much time in front of a monitor is terrible for your attention span, posture, and sleep – all of which will give you a horrible time at the office if mismanaged. So if you’re spending too much time on your phone or laptop, try to decrease your screen time gradually.
10. Take a Yoga Class
If you have some free time, consider trying yoga! It’s one of these things we hear a lot about, but many still find it too mysterious or foreign, but it’s a fantastic way of getting in shape and fixing your posture in an anxiety-relieving way. It’s great for beating the Sunday scaries too!
11. Give Time to Mental Health
Mental health is just as important as physical health. No amount of weekend fun and no good of a job can make up for neglected mental health. Without proper care and time management, it’s easy to get depression, anxiety, or other symptoms of health mismanagement in life.
If you’re feeling lost or overwhelmed on Sundays, know that no short-term solution will solve your problems, and it’s okay not to be able to deal with these problems on your own – that’s why therapy exists, so head to a therapist!
12. Take a Warm Bath to Unwind
Sometimes when dread ensues and the entire world feels like it’s in shambles, the best thing to do is to set up your tub with some warm water and enjoy a nice bubble bath to unwind from all the chaos, including Sunday scaries.
13. Consider Your Current Career Path & Separate Your Personal and Professional Lives
Many workers get Sunday sadness simply because they struggle to set the boundaries between their personal and professional lives. But many hate their job and feel like they didn’t take full advantage of their time away from them. If the latter describes you, it’s time to reconsider your current path.
If you’re struggling with your career path and don’t know what to do, try seeing a career coach to get you in the right direction. We guarantee it’s at least better than suffering from anxiety every Sunday for the rest of your life.
14. Avoid Alcohol
No matter what you choose to do on Sunday, avoid alcohol. We repeat, avoid alcohol! Even indulging in a little bit of liquor can lead to late-night drinking when you need to be up at 7 am. Even worse, a Monday morning hangover is one of the most miserable ways to start your week. Just avoid alcohol altogether on Sunday.
15. Try CBD
When in doubt, you always have CBD to fall back on.
CBD has been a rising star in self-care during the past half-decade. For those who don’t know, CBD is a compound in the Cannabis sativa plant with many tempting benefits.
The way CBD interacts with your system has a relaxing effect that soothes the mind and relieves the body from pain, worry, and irritability, giving you the capacity to focus more on the things you enjoy. No wonder many doctors have been recommending it to their patients lately!
And the great thing about CBD is that you can incorporate it into your self-care routine in pretty much any way you like. You can find topical creams, oils, edibles, or even vape juice containing CBD. So why not give it a shot?
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