Overcoming Sunday Scaries

Sunday Scaries is when you start having a form of anxiety and contemplate your life as you are closer to the working week, aka. Monday (or whenever you start your “working week”). Feeling stressed about work and school is normal, but you shouldn’t dread what takes up most of your week. It’s about resetting perspectives or working towards moving past your current situation. It’s about having little milestones and having something to look forward to short-term.

finding the root cause

Recently, I learned about having to differentiate between the root cause and the symptom. Having anxiety on Sundays because you don’t like work is not a root cause; it is a symptom of something deeper. Why do you not like work? Maybe you have bad management because they’re unfit for their role, you’re set up for failure because you don’t have the adequate resources to complete your tasks, or you’re just not in the right field you’re passionate about. There could be many root causes leading to why you have the Sunday Scaries. There may be solutions to remediate the root cause, whether it is communicating with management, stepping up your game, or even finding a new job.

setting up micro milestones

Have things to look forward to throughout the week. It doesn’t need to be grand things, it can be something as simple as looking forward to a TV show. Even if it’s a delivery, that works too! It’s a mental game more than anything. Set up a different routine than what you usually do during the weekends. Thursdays would be something I’d look forward to if I go to the driving range after work. Have things to be excited about. It’s about the micro milestones in life. Do what gets you that 6 seconds of serotonin.

achieving a sense of accomplishment during weekends

Quite a mouthful, right? Have a list of things you want to accomplish during the weekend. This can include errands, chores, or even showing up somewhere. I feel a sense of accomplishment on Sundays when I go to SoulCycle at 8:30 AM and go grocery shopping. Add House of the Dragons as the cherry on top, and that’s a perfect Sunday for me. If it means meal prep for you, power to you. If it also means making progress on that book, it’s positive progress. Achieving that sense of accomplishment will hype you for the week.

take care of yourself

Taking care of yourself can mean many things. You want that Sunday night spa? Get the necessities you need to create the energy you need. Do what works for you, but definitely do not binge on alcohol. The last thing you want is to wake up on Monday morning with a massive hangover.

Sometimes, you are in a situation where you can’t do anything to change your situation until some time in the future. If you’re still in school, sometimes you have to tough it out. That’s probably not the most empowering thing to say, even with an evolving society today. There are times when we have to do things we’re not too fond of to get to the next level. Investments can include hard work. There are people who rather work smarter, not harder. Figure it out. Have fun. Don’t let Sunday Scaries dictate your mood.

Then when you look back, you’ll be thinking – wow, look at all of that growth.