How do I ditch the Sunday Spookies ๐ป?
In honor of Halloween, I want to share how my family addresses the Sunday Scaries.
Before we get into the details, it's important to share a bit of background.
Sunday Scaries are this overwhelming sense of doom or dread, typically happening early Sunday morning and leading into Monday morning as you prepare for your week.
Your 1st Checkpoint:
Are you experiencing Sunday Scaries? How long has it been happening?
This happens because this is the day we typically experience an intersection between all of our needs, all at once. We are exhausted and ready to relax on Friday...we like to save something fun for Saturday (or Duck/Beaver football if you're at my house), and by Sunday it's like...Oh...
We have to get ready for the week at work...but we also have to...
-clean the house
-prepare our food
-plan for other appointments/meetings
-get kids/pets ready for the week
-follow up on personal tasks
-spend time with our loved ones
But what if we practiced more of this ^^^ in an integrated way?
What does that mean?
Long story short: Don't wait until Sunday to do all the things.
In our home, we practice an integrated approach to work and life. One of us works outside the home, and one of us works remotely, but outside of that, we try to do a lot of what most will save on Sundays throughout the week.
Why? Because we NEED Sundays to fill our buckets, not drain them.
Your 2nd Checkpoint:
What do you need your Sunday to be for you?
What does this weekly integration look like for us?
-
Cleaning
- Do dishes immediately after use (nothing piles up, and easier to clean because it's not stuck on there IMO)
- Save time Saturday morning (after coffee don't @ me) for sheets, laundry, and deeper cleaning
- Quick tidy every night before bed so downstairs feels fresh
-
Food
- Use grocery pickup from Walmart/Sams and plan out our meals every Thursday.
- Meal prep on Sunday afternoon (more on this below)
- Communicate about food prep/needs based on schedules after school and work
- Save more time-intensive or fun meals for the weekends (my spouse is a ๐ฅ cook, so we don't go out much)
-
Appointments/Other
- Collaborative communication via a family calendar/whiteboard in our main living area
- Sunday check-in for the week ahead
- Weekly wellbeing reflection
-
Community/Family/Friends
- Saturday connect/facetime with our families
- Thursday small groups
- Sister calls during the week
- Friday/Saturday invite friends over/go places with them
-
Wellbeing
- Workout throughout the week, save weekends for hiking, outdoors, rest days
- Daily reflection and planning
- Boundaries between work and home after work
- Limit phones/screens after work (we prefer music over here)
Your 3rd Checkpoint:
What does your list look like?
THE RECIPE?
Alright, before I share my recipe for the perfect Sunday...I felt like I needed to share what goes into this to MAKE our Sundays restorative. I know it can feel like oh, that's easy for YOU to do, but I have ALL of this stuff I have to do.
But this can't happen by accident - we all have life things that still need our attention.
I get it. And of course, we have weeks where this stuff just doesn't happen, and that's okay. But when it does - it really does help.
Your 4th Checkpoint:
Where do you need more support in your life?
SO HERE IS YOUR RECIPE TO DEFEAT THE SUNDAY SPOOKIES ๐ป:
- Identify how you want your SUNDAY to feel
- Create a system to dump your frustrations
- Add in one point of community/connection
- Do something that brings you meaning and purpose
- Engage in an activity for creative flow
- Do one (or a few) tasks that set you up for success this week
- Close your day with gratitude and intention
AND HERE IS A TYPICAL SUNDAY FOR US:
- Identify how you want your SUNDAY to feel: PEACEFUL
- Create a system to dump your frustrations: slow morning with coffee, music, and talking about our week
- Add in one point of community/connection: Went to the store for some supplies
- Do something that brings you meaning and purpose: Attended Church
- Engage in an activity for creative flow: Spent hours coloring and painting with music (we've made this a fun habit)
- Get outside! Take a walk on the Greenway
- Do one (or a few) tasks that set you up for success this week: Meal prep, Calendar Updates
- Close your day with gratitude and intention: Nightly connect/Reflection
Your Last Checkpoint:
What changes could you make this week to help set up your Sundays for wellbeing?
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