The infamous “Sunday Scaries” often get a bad rap. After all, if you’re spending the latter half of your Sundays with a looming sense of anxiety and stress overtaking your relaxation time, you must be in the wrong profession, right? But here’s the catch: having the Sunday Scaries often doesn’t mean you hate your job – it more likely signifies that you care about succeeding and performing well in your place of work and that you ultimately care about your job title. Still, guarding your weekends for yourself as much as you can is crucial, so here’s a checklist to help keep your weekend terrors at bay.
Combatting the Sunday Scaries
Take our quick quiz to identify which strategies will help you most, and if the anxious feelings persist, consider exploring deeper causes like burnout or misalignment with your role.
1. Craft a Sunday Reset Routine
Allow yourself a set amount of time to get all of the obligatory preparations for the week out of your system, even if you have to set a timer to ensure you don’t spend your whole day on your list. Gather your work items, iron your clothes, meal prep, and then come to a hard stop. Feel no shame beyond that point for giving yourself permission to clock out and enjoy the rest of your weekend.
2. Reclaim Your Sunday Evenings
Avoiding the temptation to fret over your week may be challenge enough, but try to take it a step further by making Sunday evenings a time you look forward to. Create special habits and plans that do the opposite of overwhelming you – make a special dinner, watch one of your old favorite movies, or finally crack open that library book that’s almost due back. Do what you need to do to find enjoyment and a sense of peace on your Sunday evening.
3. Stop Checking Work “Just For a Sec”
Mindlessly scrolling through work notifications during your off time can be just as toxic as doom scrolling on social media. One work notification can pull you straight into work mode when you should be relaxing, so force yourself to accept a hard cutoff time heading into the weekend and put your work phone out of sight.
Incorporating these tips into your weekend is sure to lessen your familiar Sunday Scaries, but if they have become a chronic issue, consider that there may be something deeper at play – getting at the root cause of your weekend anxieties is the ultimate fix.
