Ah, Sunday, a day that’s meant for rest and relaxation but that’s usually spent with bouts of stress in preparation for the week ahead.

Many of us have a hard time with Sundays, due to a little phenomenon known as the Sunday Scaries, which you may experience to some degree.

You might recognize it as you’re sitting by the pool and the sun starts going down, and a little nagging feeling in the pit of your stomach reminds you that the weekend is almost over and it’s back to the Monday-Friday grind in a matter of hours.

“Transitioning from a weekend into what’s happening during the week often comes with a little bit of anxiety,” Regine Galanti, Ph.D., licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Long Island Behavioral.

If you’re finding it hard to navigate the routine shift from Sunday to Monday, here are a few ways you can help manage the anxieties of the week to come, and make the transition easier.

1. Stick to your sleep schedule
Experts recommend that you stick to your normal Mon-Fri sleep routine on weekends to help ease you into Monday. If you switch up your sleep schedule on the weekends, it can exacerbate the Sunday scaries, and make the transition to the work week that much harder.

2. Make a to-do list
Write down a list of tasks or chores you need to accomplish for the week, and prioritize by importance or break up the to-do list over several days so it doesn’t look as overwhelming.

3. Prepare for the week ahead
It might seem counterproductive to plan for the week ahead when you’re stressing about it, but experts say that preparing for the week gives you a feeling of control and preparedness, which helps calm anxieties that rear their head on Sunday.

You can plan out your meals for the week, your cleaning schedule, tasks, goals, chores, or anything that will help you feel more organized and less anxious about the upcoming week.

Try using planners and charts or lists to stay organized. Rose Cleaning has a free cleaning chart that you can download here, to help break down daily cleaning tasks for the week.

4. Schedule something to look forward to during the week
Manage the uncertainty of the upcoming week by scheduling something you enjoy. The fear of uncertainty that comes with the work week can be managed with a planned activity or event, giving you something to look forward to and giving you the feeling of having some control over your time.

5. Practice self-care
Taking care of yourself might end up on the back burner during the hustle of the hectic work week, which makes Sunday the perfect opportunity to indulge in a self-care routine that will help you focus your attention on your health and well-being.

This will help you feel your best for the upcoming week, as experts maintain that self-care has been linked to reducing stress as well as increasing focus and productivity.

6. Focus on the present
It might seem contradictory to writing lists and preparing for the upcoming week, but once you make your lists and check them twice, the goal should be staying focused on the present and on enjoying the moment.

Engage in activities that you enjoy to keep your brain focused on the moment so you don’t spend as much of your day worrying about Monday.

Remember, Sunday Scaries are Normal
Patia Braithwaithe, from Self magazine says, “Sunday scaries are uncomfortable, but they aren’t necessarily something you need to overcome or a sign that you need to make drastic changes in your life. Lots of people deal with them. You’re not alone.”


Written by: Stacey Wood