The Sunday Scaries: How to Get Over That Feeling of Dread & Slay Your Week

You know that feeling — when Sunday evening rolls around, and that vague feeling of dread over the impending week sets in. But it doesn’t have to be that way! Set yourself up for success by turning your Sunday Scaries into something daring (and dare we say, fun!). Here, some ideas to start off your week right.

It’s Sunday evening, let’s say around 6 o’clock. That unsettling feeling starts creeping in. Maybe your heart starts racing with those pings of anxiety. Or maybe you start to feel those sad depression clouds coming over. Or if you’re me, maybe it’s a combination of both things. It’s the Sunday Scaries … that time of the day on Sunday when all the fun from your weekend is over and reality is starting to set in that you have to do yet another week of work. Even if you enjoy your work, it’s that feeling that all of your “fun” time is over, and you’re ready to hustle for another week.

At one point, the Sunday Scaries took over my life. Like clockwork, every Sunday, anxiety would course through my veins, rendering me completely useless. I’d end up just scrolling on my phone for hours before finally succumbing to sleep, only to be a hot mess on Monday morning because I got nothing done the day before. And so the cycle repeated, week after week.

But life doesn’t have to be this way! Combating the Sunday Scaries is my ultimate form of self-care. And I don’t mean self-care in the Instagram way — face masks, baths, and wine (although this is fine!). I mean doing the work necessary on Sunday to set yourself up for success for the rest of the week. When you know that not only have you had fun during your weekend but you also have your shit together, too?! WHEW. It’s an indescribable feeling. What do I do to tackle my Sunday Scaries so I look and feel my best for the week ahead? Read on to find out more.

Cleaning my makeup brushes

I hate cleaning my makeup brushes, but it is something that MUST be done weekly (I wash my sponges/beauty blender daily). We are all guilty of letting weeks go by without washing our brushes, but let me tell you — there is NOTHING like sitting down on Monday morning and getting ready to do your makeup and all of your brushes are clean and white and sparkling. True bad bitch status.

Food/meal prepping

Preparing food for myself is like … a never-ending task, but you can get ahead for the week by spending an hour or so prepping your food. Now I’m not the kind of person to cook whole meals all day because ain’t nobody got time for that, but I do like to make big batches of food that I can mix and match throughout the week. I make a big pot of rice, ground turkey, slice and freeze veggies and fruit for smoothies, and boil a few dozens of eggs. That’s it. Now I know that I have some healthy lunch and breakfast options for the week, and I’m also saving money by not eating out — money that I put towards my beauty stash bc priorities.

Planning my makeup looks 

Instead of aimlessly scrolling Instagram on Sundays, I have an agenda. I use my time to scroll through makeup looks so I can plan what I want to do during the week. Sometimes, this involves me looking up a particular palette I want to use (#ABHNorvinapalette for example) or sometimes I simply scroll through the Instagram explore page for ideas. I screenshot the looks I like, and put them into the makeup folder on my phone (yes, I have a makeup folder!). It’s nice to scroll for a purpose, and it helps fuel my creative side, too!

Exercise!

When people are talking about working out, you always hear them say, “Never miss a Monday!”, but I like to change Sunday to Monday. And in this case, exercise doesn’t mean you have to do some intense HIIT class or run a marathon; it can mean simply taking a longer walk than normal with your dog, going on a leisurely hike outdoors, or doing a relaxing yoga class. Getting in some sort of activity on Sunday really helps me set the tone for the rest of the week.

Plan something fun to do in the evening

We typically do all of our fun Sunday things in the morning and afternoon — brunch, lunch with friends, reading outdoors. But what if you actually planned to go out for dinner or some other fun event Sunday evening? Let me tell you, it’s a game changer. Instead of fretting all day about how your Sunday night is going to be spent indoors getting ready for the week, you can think about how much fun you’re going to have that evening. It’s like when you’re a kid and you are looking forward to that Friday field trip.

How do you combat the Sunday Scaries? Let me know in the comments!