Five ways to beat the ‘Sunday scaries’

Wave goodbye to those ‘Sunday scaries’ using mindfulness and meditation basics, and learn better ways to feel less worried off the clock with these five tips

CREDIT: This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared on Headspace

No matter how fun or relaxing Friday evening and Saturday were, the so-called ‘Sunday scaries’ tend to creep up while we’re enjoying the last hours of the weekend. 

For an increasing number of us, this mental worry and prep don’t only happen on rare, high-stress occasions. They happen every single week.

What causes the ‘Sunday scaries’?

The ‘Sunday scaries’ are feelings of anxiety or dread that happen the day before heading back to work, According to a LinkedIn survey, 80% of professionals say they experience this phenomena.

With hybrid and remote roles more popular than ever, it’s hard to leave that stress at the workplace. Participants in that same survey also said they get the ‘Sunday scaries’ about how to find better work-life balance.

Even if we don’t have a particularly stressful work week coming up, we can still get hit with the ‘Sunday scaries’ if we frequently associate work with stress. The more we think that, the easier it gets for our brains to identify any work thought as a sign of tension or anxiety.

Then we think a work thought and our fight or flight response gets triggered. We experience a real stress reaction to a threat that is only perceived. 

How can I beat the ‘Sunday scaries’?

Try meditation

A regular meditation practice helps us build awareness and resilience, so we don’t get so stuck in thoughts. We can choose to acknowledge the thought clearly, calmly, and compassionately and get back to ‘weekend-ing’.

Get a clearer sense of perspective

As we get better at letting go of Sunday work thoughts, we free up space in our mind that was spent worrying for something practical and beneficial: seeing our options more clearly.

With this new perspective, we realise we can change certain things that contribute to the ‘Sunday scaries’, right now. Maybe we delete work-related apps off our personal devices or schedule “no meeting” times throughout the work week.

Stop negative self-talk

Research shows how we speak to ourselves has a powerful impact on our mental and physical health, including managing stress. You could turn ‘I hate my commute,’ into: ‘I have a long commute, but it’s my podcast catch-up time.’

We can also rewire associations of ‘Sundays = anxiety’ by doing things that make us feel good at the end of the weekend. This way, Sundays become a day we start to cherish or look forward to.

Set an intention

Creating a practical intention on Sundays for the week ahead can help us navigate workplace stressors more effectively. 

For example: ‘This week, I want to listen to others more.’ ‘Starting Monday, I’ll practice patience.’ ‘My aim for this week is to try to take feedback less personally.’

Unlearn multitasking

Plenty of research shows that our productivity tanks when we multitask. As little as a three-second distraction can produce significantly worse results.

The next time we have work that needs to be done or downtime that deserves to be enjoyed, try approaching the task mindfully, giving full focus to that one thing for a specific amount of time, with as little distraction as possible.