Whether you’re familiar with them or not, we all tend to have some version of the Sunday Scaries.

The Sunday Scaries are a popularized term for the dread and anxiety we often feel at the end of the weekend in anticipation of the week ahead. No matter what your Monday looks like, it’s important to address the jitters or gloom that may pop up on Sunday so you can get your mindset right!

The Sunday Scaries look a little different for everyone, as we all have different levels of anxiety and ways of coping with our stress. However you notice them manifesting in your life, try to look at them as a cause-and-effect situation. Once you identify the cause of your Sunday Scaries, you can create a plan to combat them.

Understanding the Sunday Scaries (and Combating Them)

1. Saturday Fun Day? Move your body!

Okay, I know its Sunday Fun Day. I made that up.

But Saturday Fun Day can ultimately lead to a decrease in your productivity on Sunday, making you so much more susceptible to that down-in-the-dumps feeling. Drink a little too much Prosecco or stay up a teensy bit too late? Not only will the hangovers start to kick in (yikes), but the impending responsibility of the week ahead seems much more real and much more overwhelming in the midst of recovering from Saturday Too-Much-Fun Day.

If you feel like going overboard on Saturday is the cause of your Sunday Scaries, make movement a priority in your Sunday routine. Exercise, go for a walk, get your muscles moving and the blood pumping. Not only is this great for your mindset, it can help decrease the level of overwhelm you may feel. If you’re constantly saying ‘my diet starts on Monday’ or ‘my new exercise routine starts on Monday,’ it can make Monday feel like a way bigger deal than it should. Get some exercise in on Sunday and knock out a task ahead of time!

2. Planning Paralysis? Try the 1 Thing Task List.

A major cause of the Sunday Scaries is the feeling that you’ve fallen behind. Maybe you don’t feel caught up on the work from last week, making planning your work for the upcoming week an even more impossible task. Or maybe the week ahead feels too intense on its own, leaving you stuck in a state of Planning Paralysis where you just don’t know where to begin.

To get out of your paralysis, try making a list of one single item that you will accomplish tomorrow. Not three, not six, just one. Block it on your calendar and commit to it. If you can narrow it down to one, that single thing is likely the most important task of your day.

We pack on so much guilt, telling ourselves constantly that we ‘should’ be getting this or that done, and it all has to get done on Monday so we can start off the week strong. Get rid of the unnecessary stress that only contributes to your Sunday Scaries, and focus on accomplishing one important thing.

3. Nothing to look forward to? Make something!

It’s not a great feeling when you’re so stressed about having the perfect Sunday that you ruin your own perfect Sunday. If you find yourself putting a lot of pressure on yourself to enjoy the weekend, it may be because you feel like there’s nothing else on your calendar to look forward to.

Give yourself something to look forward to during the week. Schedule a catch-up phone call with a friend, cook your favorite dinner, or just have some calendar-blocked me-time on the horizon.

4. Too much pressure on Sunday? Focus on self-care instead.

Sometimes Sundays make us feel like they’re the only time we have to get ahead. We end up in a cycle of guilt, feeling like we should do the work that will keep us ahead of the game, but feeling overwhelmed by the week ahead at the same time.

If you’ve been overthinking your Sundays, dedicate them to self-care instead. Rather than telling yourself all the things you ‘should’ be doing, only do the things you want to do. Allow your Sundays to be a complete recovery from the week that just passed, so you can take on the week ahead with a clear mind and a positive outlook.

Psst: struggling to stay positive? Need a community that will lift you up and help you go after the life you want? Check out Shine Squad!

5. Miserable job? Get a new one!

The reality is that many people spend their days at a job they don’t actually enjoy. Maybe they’re not exactly surrounded by the kind of people that make them feel like a better version of themselves. If this sounds familiar to you, evaluate the situation. Examine your role in it, and see what you can do to shift your perspective.

But if all else fails, find a new job!

I’ll never forget when someone once told me: ‘you are never stuck. Ever.’

That phrase has lived in my memory for so long because it’s true. You may not be able to move quickly and immediately into a better situation, but you can shift a little. You can move at your own pace. You are never, ever stuck.

If you feel like your coworkers, your superiors, or even the work itself is not good for you, there’s always another option. Use your Sunday to start the job hunt, and make moves towards a better future.

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QOTD: What are you excited to try to combat the Sunday Scaries?