Sunday Scaries and How I Keep Them Away

Raise your hand if you have ever been personally victimized by the Sunday Scaries. (I’ve got my hand raised really high over here, if you’re wondering.)

We all know that feeling. You’re enjoying the weekend until suddenly, usually on Sunday afternoon, your relaxation comes to a screeching halt and is replaced by anxiety about the week ahead. It’s called the Sunday Scaries.

I cringe thinking about how many times in my career I’ve fallen victim to this bout of anxiety. I hate the Sunday Scaries with a passion. They are such a waste of my headspace and energy, and an instant weekend ruiner. I work hard during the week so I can maximize my weekends and unplug. The last thing I need is to spend half of my Sunday stressing about the week ahead. Am I right?!

I used to get the Sunday Scaries so bad that I couldn’t do ANYTHING on Sundays. I could barely get out of bed, let alone do anything productive or fun. My day would be spent looking at the clock with this sense of impending doom as the hours went past, until bedtime on Sunday night. It was miserable!

5 Tips to Keep the Sunday Scaries Away

However, my Sunday Scaries are essentially nonexistent as of late. It’s not because I’m not busy at work or stressed. (I totally am, but in a good way!) I think I’ve just gotten better at managing this particular form of my anxiety. Today I’m going to share with you the things I do each week to keep the Sunday Scaries at bay. These five things are really working for me, so I hope they help you find relief as well.

1. Start making Monday’s to-do list on Friday.

Yes, this sounds very overachiever-y but I promise it works! I live by my to-do list at work and also in my personal life. If I don’t write it down, I will forget to do it. Doesn’t matter how many times you remind me. I just have to write it on my list! I use different planners to keep my lists together. One for work, one personal. So on Fridays, I’ve started going through my work emails, open docs, notes from the day, etc. and I write down anything I need to tackle next week under Monday. I think this method works so well for me because I am such a list person. I know that if I write it down, it will get done. So, by writing Mondays to-dos down on Friday, I’ve given myself permission to (temporarily) forget about those items until next week.

2. Leave the “office” with an empty inbox.

Clean out your email inbox before you shut down your work computer for the weekend. This isn’t the most fun item on the to-do list but…an empty inbox means you’ve already read any emails and added them to Mondays to-do list. No unread emails means minimal Monday surprises (that you can control). Plus, closing out Friday with a clean inbox signals the end of the work week and the beginning of a good weekend! It’s like signing your own mental permission slip to start having fun.

I dread going through my email inbox each day, especially at the end of the week to make sure I didn’t miss anything. However, the peace of mind I get from cleaning out my inbox far outweighs my dislike for email. I loathe email with a passion, so that’s saying a lot!

3. Go easy the Saturday night booze.

Yes, it’s fun to have drinks on Saturday. (It’s especially fun when you’re under 25 or 30 and you can bounce back from a hangover like a champ.) However, hangover rebound abilities aside, alcohol consumption can lead to increased anxiety. So, no matter how much fun you had Saturday night, the booze might be giving you more than just a hangover. It could be giving you the Sunday Scaries, too.

I get terrible anxiety when I’m hungover on any day of the week. But when hangover anxiety is combined with Sunday Scaries, I can’t function. I don’t mean to be a fun sponge but, when you’re looking for ways to beat the Sunday Scaries, sometimes you have to look at how Saturday night might be contributing to the problem.

4. Do something for you.

Doing something for yourself can be anything that brings you joy! My idea of “Sunday self-care” usually looks something like this:

• Low-key workout of some sort (if I’m feeling ambitious)
• Brunch/lunch
• Retail therapy (perhaps a leisurely stroll through Target, Home Goods or DSW)
• Bubble bath while reading whatever book I’m into
• Cuddle with the cats while watching John Oliver before bed

These are things I do just about every Sunday, in some form or fashion. I look forward to doing these things because they’re fun and relaxing to me. Everyone is different though. My list doesn’t have to look like yours. Whatever makes you feel happy and relaxed on Sundays…I say go for it! Lean into that list without any apologies.

5. Have something to look forward to.

This is going to sound really lame but, the “something” I look forward to each Sunday is having pasta for dinner. I look forward to pasta night all week long! Jed and I both love pasta; we’d probably eat it every single day if we could. You wouldn’t have to twist my arm! We started doing our “Pasta Sundays” earlier this year because we found it helped us make better food choices throughout the week if we knew we had something really indulgent on the horizon.

Plus it’s fun looking for new pasta recipes every Sunday! I also like to revisit old favorites like this Million Dollar Spaghetti or Angel Chicken Pasta.  I grew up in the South so I’m a big believer in the power of comfort food. (Mac and cheese is considered a vegetable where I’m from.) Pasta is hands-down the #1 comfort food on my list, which is why I think it’s the perfect Sunday night dinner to keep the Scaries away.

So Long, Sunday Scaries!

There you have it! My 5 tips for keeping the Sunday Scaries at bay. Like I mentioned earlier, my Sunday Scaries nearly disappeared once I started doing these things on a regular basis. I hope my tips work for you, or at least give you a starting point to build your unique Sunday Scaries battle plan. Either way, I am here for you! Let me know how you’re handling the Sunday Scaries in the comments below or feel free to contact me.