Whether your Scaries are brought about by poor choices made on Friday and Saturday or fear of the impending work week, Sunday night is not always as relaxing as it should be. But, this does not have to be the case! With a few simple changes, we can help you transform Sundays from the most anxiety-inducing evening into your new favorite night of the week. (On second thought, Sundays may never be able to beat Friday night. But we sure can try!)

Highlighting Self-Care

It’s become a bit of a meme to do things in the name of self-care. However, taking care of yourself is of the utmost importance when it comes to taking care of your health–both mental and physical. Whether you view Sunday as the beginning or end of your week, prioritizing yourself and your needs sets a great intention for the days ahead: I am the center of my own universe, and no matter what happens to me at work, school, or otherwise, nothing will allow me to forget that. 

For some, self-care may mean setting aside the better part of Sunday evening and cooking a long, decadent meal for yourself and loved ones. For others, your Sunday self-care regimen could be taking an “everything” shower and reading by candlelight. My favorite way to spend a Sunday is by doing two productive “needs” and two indulgent “wants.” For example, maybe I’ll go to the gym and do my laundry in the morning, and in the evening, I’ll do a facemask and cook an involved meal. That way, you end your Sunday knowing you did all the things on your to-do list while also making sure you received some much-needed pampering. 

Six ideas For Your Own Self-Care Sunday

Create A List

Let’s start with controlling what you can. Why does Monday have to be so scary? If you set aside some time on Sunday to prepare before the coming week, it makes the start feel much less overwhelming. Creating a list can also help to organize the jumbled thoughts in your brain and allow you to address each issue, reducing the anxiety that comes with starting a new week.

Tackle The Scariest Issues First

What’s the biggest way to cause anxiety about the upcoming week? Build it up in your own head! Are you nervous or intimidated about a big work commitment? Take care of it first. Is there an inbox full of unpleasant emails that you’ll open first thing in the morning? Get it out of the way! The longer that you wait to deal with an annoying nuisance, the bigger that idea will become in your head. 

Tip: Even on days when I feel like my to-do list is a mile long, I like to start my day with one small task that I can quickly complete. Often, it’s a fairly insignificant line item, but there’s something to be said about the accomplished feeling of crossing off something on the list right away. 

Make A Plan To Look Forward To Later In The Week

When all you have to look forward to at the beginning of the week is work, of course Friday seems like a million years away. I like to make plans mid-week that I’m excited about so that I don’t have to count my life in five day increments. For example, make a reservation for a romantic date night on a Wednesday, or happy hour plans with your girlfriends on a Thursday, or buy movie tickets for a random Tuesday. Whatever it is, remember that your life does not have to stop during the weekdays! 

Tip: If you find that your work schedule does greatly impact your life after-hours during the weekdays, consider creating stronger boundaries in your work-life balance. If you get work emails on your personal phone, limit notifications to working hours only. Unless you are a literal brain surgeon, most work is not life or death. It can wait until tomorrow morning! 

Move Your Body On Monday

Okay, this may be cheating (and not technically a tip for Sunday), but the logic still applies! Sometimes, a cup of coffee or a post-lunch sweet treat isn’t enough to get you through the afternoon. Instead of heading to pour yourself another cup o’ joe, try scheduling a bit of movement to break up your day. Even if you’re just walking around the block, a bit of exercise will release endorphins. If you have a more flexible work schedule, see if you can work in an exercise class, like yoga or pilates. Something gentle and lower impact will give yourself more time to recover throughout the day and will act as a good pick-me-up. 

Invent A New Tradition 

As we’ve covered, one of the biggest reasons we dread Sunday nights is because there’s “nothing to look forward to.” But, what if you changed that? The entire basis of this article is to challenge your way of thinking and reframe your fears around Sunday nights. One of the best ways that you can accomplish this is by creating a new Sunday tradition. Maybe you can plan a standing dinner date with your bestie or cozy up with a movie that you’ve been wanting to watch recently. It doesn’t even have to be some big production, as long as you have something to be excited about. 

Cut Yourself Some Slack

When all else fails, give yourself grace. There is no perfect way to tackle a Monday. And some days? It might just not be your day. Remembering that not every day has to be perfect, but that there is perfection in every day, is a powerful way to look at your new week. 

Whatever you choose to do to make your Sundays a little less scary, I promise that there are ways to keep the dread out of a Sunday evening. If I can take the Scaries out of my Sunday, I promise you can, too.