Sundays are the best day of the week, right?
The day of rest and relaxation to spend with friends and family, enjoying hearty meals, sport games or even quiet reflection.
The thing is, over time we’ve come to see that Sunday has become a day of increasing anxiety instead for many people.
It starts off great when you wake up and think “ahhhh Sunday” maybe I’ll have breakfast in bed or “maybe I’ll have brunch with the girls” or “I can’t wait for an afternoon watching the game with the boys”. As the day moves on you start getting a nagging feeling in your head and you start feeling anxious, not about Sunday but about Monday.
I mean it’s not even here yet and you’re already starting to panic over what’s to come.
So why are you feeling anxious about returning to work in your leadership position?
Isn’t this what you wanted? A role in management, an executive position or you may even be running your very own business.
It’s what you worked hard for all those years so why are you now anxious about going into work on a Monday?
Sunday should be the end of a great weekend, not a day where the increasing dread of the week ahead clouds your mind.
So how do you combat those Sunday Blues and start really enjoying your downtime?
- Preparation
- Organisation
- Routine
Now that doesn’t sound too exciting but these are three of the principals to stick to when you’re a busy leader striving for success whilst juggling a busy home and social life. That’s if you want to keep your stress at bay!
Let me explain a bit more using these handy tips for a happier weekend:
Stick to your routines even on the weekends.
During the week many of us stick to routines when it comes to the time we wake up, when we leave the house for work, keeping the household running, making sure the kids are fed, watered and attend their activities, when we workout and even when and what type of foods we eat.
What happens on the weekend is we may feel that since we’ve been good all week it’s absolutely justified for us to sleep in longer, drink more alcohol and eat “treat foods” or junk foods etc etc.
On the weekend we feel like we deserve to do what we want because we’ve been good all week.
The thing is that our body, in a physiological sense, does not know that it is the weekend. For our body every day is the same and so breaking our routines can leave us feeling fatigued and out of sync. This has a direct correlation with your mental state and so where possible it’s best to stick to your routines every single day, even on a Sunday.
Now I’m not saying you don’t deserve a treat and to sleep a little more, what I’m saying is do things in moderation through the week and the weekend so that you keep yourself balanced physically and mentally.
Keeping your eating and sleeping routine on the weekend will also help with those sleepless Sunday nights.
Keep away from alcohol if you’re suffering with the blues
If you’re struggling with your Sunday blues then grabbing a beer or a glass of wine might feel like the right thing to do to take the edge off, but since alcohol is a depressant this is the complete opposite of what you should do.
By all means have a glass with dinner but if you’re particularly anxious it might be worth checking in with yourself and asking do I want to feel worse?
Do all the chores you’re avoiding on a Saturday
A great productivity and stress management tip I give to my clients when it comes to their work routines is to get the difficult tasks done first because once you’ve done the difficult tasks the rest will flow easily and your day will flow with ease. It’s a great success tip for anyone in any position but for leaders it’s imperative that things are done in this order as it opens up the day for you to concentrate on building your business.
The same applies to managing your stress and the overall success of your weekend. If you have things to do on the weekend that you just don’t want to do but have to do, the trick is to do them first. Don’t leave them til Sunday when all you want to be doing is relaxing, socializing or spending time with your children because you’ll be worrying about them until they’re done.
Get your chores done on a Saturday, get the kids to do their weekend homework on a Friday evening or Saturday so you don’t have to sit with them on a Sunday. This also helps them grow a more positive mindset and a good weekend routine and they also won’t have that nagging feeling that they have to do something on Sunday before going back to school on a Monday.
Bedtime routine or Sunday night ritual
I’m a big believer in a bedtime routine and if you’ve read some of my sleep articles you’ll know that sleep is one of the most important factors when it comes to stress management and your energy levels. It’s even more important for you to end your weekend with a refreshing sleep so that you start your week full of energy and positivity.
This is why I love the idea of having a Sunday evening ritual. Creating a regular activity or sequence of events on a Sunday evening is a great way of winding down your weekend.
It can be anything from going to the movies with your partner or friends then coming home to a relaxing bath, reading a good book or meditating before sleep to having a special meal that you cook with the kids and watching a movie in your pajamas before bed.
It’s totally your choice, do something that will make you feel happy and relaxed that ends with you preparing yourself for a great night’s sleep.
Check in with your mindset – sometimes we worry unnecessarily
Are you worrying over nothing?
When we are consistently anxious or stressed out at work during the week we might fall into the trap of finding things to worry about that just don’t need to be worried about.
Being in a state of anxiety can sometimes become a habit, it becomes the “normal” way for you to feel, so even if you haven’t got anything to worry about you’ll look for things to worry about, because feeling relaxed makes you feel lost!
If this is you, then I recommend you take a broader look at what’s happening in your life to get a sense of why you’re constantly anxious. You can start putting in some good practices into place every day to help you change your mindset and pull you physically out of the state of anxiety. I recommend my free eBook Leadership With Less Stress as a great starting point to understanding the basics and to start taking baby steps each day towards a happier and calmer life. And yes, it will even help you with the Sunday blues.
Don’t try and cram too much in
We often try and cram in so much that our weekend becomes one big whirlwind of chores and activities with absolutely no down time to enjoy ourselves, relax and rejuvenate our mind and body.
This is no way to spend the weekend and while I appreciate that sometimes things can get a bit crazy, especially if you have a young family, there has to come a time when you say NO to certain things.
Keeping your weekends organised with must do and want to do activities is a must for ANYONE.
Saying NO to things that will stop you from getting the most out of your weekend will only benefit you and your family in the long run.
Ask yourself: “How do I want to feel at the end of my weekend, and what do I need to do to make that happen!”
Adjust your schedule or delegate tasks. You’ll be thankful for it come Sunday night.
Friday & Sunday Check Ins
We all get excited on a Friday evening, thankful that the week has ended and longing for the weekend to begin, but before this happens schedule in an hour at the end of your Friday to review what happened at work that week and what will be needed on Monday.
This gives you the right perspective to go into your weekend and puts to bed any nagging thoughts that you forgot to do something or any unknown of what will be required from you come Monday morning.
Check your schedule and your to do list, delegate the tasks to your team and set deadlines for the following week. This way you leave on a Friday evening with full knowledge of what is coming next week and right at that moment you have nothing to worry about because you’ve already taken care of the scheduling and tasks list.
On a Sunday morning, make it part of your routine (get up a little earlier if you need to) to sit with a cup of coffee or tea and start looking at your personal goals.
What have you achieved in the last week and what do you want to achieve moving forward. Write in a journal your thoughts, hopes and dreams and don’t forget to list the steps it will take to get there.
Checking in with this weekly journal will help keep your dreams alive and it pulls them into reality when you start implementing the steps you’ve written down.
It’s 10 minutes per week well spent.
I hope you’ve enjoyed my tips to combat the Sunday blues. I’d love to hear your thoughts and recommendations of how you overcome your blues. Comment below or join me over on Instagram or Linked In for more content on becoming a calmer leader for your workforce.
