You know the feeling: the dread that starts to creep in on Sundays as the realization hits that, yes, you have to go to work tomorrow.

Your weekend could have been amazing—filled with meaningful conversations, relaxing moments, a few hobbies, FUN, and maybe even a little productivity. But then the Sunday Scaries—that sense of impending dread and anxiety about the workweek—start to come back around.

There are many reasons why we may react this way, from feeling like we didn’t max out our weekend enough and stressing about chores left unfinished, to worrying about an upcoming project, deadline, or just dreading our job in general.

So how can we face our Sunday Scaries? We can:

Reprioritize. We put a lot of pressure on Monday to be highly productive. What if we eased into the week instead of racing into it? What if we took Monday to reflect, plan, schedule, and organize our work for the week instead of using it to kick off, launch, and start new projects? Sometimes we put too much value on our careers and not our life. What if, we focused more on what we can control vs what we can’t? And that starts with how we approach Monday.
Get it all out. When you start to feel the anxiety build, take a moment to write down everything that’s bothering you. Write down every single worry and fear, no matter how small or inconsequential. Then, be like Elsa and let it go. Rip it up, burn it, or just toss in the recycling bin. Whatever it takes.
Create a new narrative. What does your ideal job look like? If that’s too much, what would an amazing week look like? And if thinking about the entire week, what would a good day look like? What does a win look like? Try and be intentional about what you want to experience and then build opportunities for that to happen throughout the day.

For most people, taking back Sunday won’t require enormous effort or a plethora of lifestyle changes—just a few tweaks here and there. Reclaiming your weekend, and the enjoyment of your life, is well worth the effort.

We have more control than we realize over our jobs, schedules, and lives—if we choose to take it. This is your call to action to start thinking about what you want to change and what would work better.