By Victoria Q

Sunday, one-half of the weekend. One of the two days off that most of us can rest, relax and recharge before going back to workweek. A day that shouldn’t be spent worrying about Monday.

It’s normal to have some anxiety and fear about the upcoming workweek. Perhaps you feel overwhelmed with responsibilities, or you don’t enjoy your current career path, or you’re not taking good care of yourself and your stress, or you don’t have a work-life balance. No matter what reasons you have, you still deserved to enjoy Sunday like nobody else.

Here are five ways to help beat the Sunday scaries so you don’t feel that bad returning back to work.

1. Plan Some Fun

Planning something fun on Sunday can help take your mind off back to work on Monday. Before the weekend begins, take a moment to schedule a fun activity. That can be a long hike, a gathering dinner with friends, a café-hopping, or doing some volunteer work. You don’t want to plan an adventure that will leave you exhausted on Monday, so something as simple as reading a book, painting a drawing, catch up with an old friend or drink a cup of hot chocolate while watching your favourite show will be great too. It doesn’t have to be fancy as long as you enjoy doing it. By scheduling a fun activity that you’re looking forward to on Sunday, you’ll enjoy the weekend instead of focusing on the fact that you’re returning to work the next day.

2. Schedule Self-Care

It’s important to maximize your alone time and pay attention to yourself. Self-care is crucial for our physical, emotional and mental health. It has been proven to not only improve concentration and energy but also reduce anxiety, depression and stress. No matter what you pick, make sure it is relaxing and distracting your mind from the upcoming workweek. Choose something you truly enjoy and will make you happy such as taking a long hot bath, dance along with music, watch a horror movie with mates, get a body massage, or even just take a nap beside the pool. Find whatever methods that make you feel better about your anxiety and fear beat the Sunday scaries.

3. Log Off

Weekends are for you to spend on doing what makes you happy instead of spending half a day checking and replying to the email. I understand the urge to check email to stay on top of any issues for the upcoming work, but this will only leave you feeling drained, stressed out, and not a very fun thing to do over the weekend. Ignore any work-related texts and emails. Turn off your phone if possible. If you can’t leave your weekend without checking texts or emails, set boundaries on how often you check them. Perhaps you allow yourself to check your email for 10 minutes twice on Sunday. It’s totally up to you to set how often and for how long you check them, try to limit below 20 minutes because you wouldn’t want them to take control over your weekend.

4. Make Monday Better

When you feel that anxiety and fear, think of what you can look forward to on Monday – whether it’s Monday morning or evening after work. Don’t go back into the office Monday morning to ruin the rest of your workweek, instead schedule something fun every Monday. Maybe Mondays are the day you get to take yourself out for lunch at your favourite deli, a delivery for dinner from a newly opened restaurant, read a new book you’ve been wanting to read or get a cup of your favourite coffee on the way to work. Pick something you look forward to, no matter how simple and small it is, and make it your Monday thing.

5. Create A Weekly Goals

Sunday evening can be the worst, especially if you’re having a really bad case of the Sunday scaries. Instead of being anxious and fearful counting down the hours left till Monday morning, create your weekly personal goals to stay focus throughout the week. What do you want to do this week aside from working? Maybe you want to hit the gym at least 2 times, brisk walk after dinner on Monday, Thursday and Friday, get dinner with a friend you haven’t seen for long, or buy a small gift to someone to show how much you care about them. Instead of worrying about all the works you may have to do, start your week by carving out “me time” and organizing your personal goals – no matter how big or small they may seem.