Sunday nights suck.
That’s a fact: I mean, the weekend is over, your work week looms large, and you didn’t even try to get through the five piles of laundry you were meant to do on Saturday morning.
But rather than sticking your head underneath the couch and yelling ‘no no no no no’ to anyone who tries to approach, why not grab the Sunday night bull by its horns, and own it?
A Sunday well spent will mean a Monday morning of contentedness. (Or, at the very least, a Sunday well spent will mean a Monday with an ironed shirt and your gym bag packed, which is almost as good.)
Here are five ways to bust the Sunday blues once and for all.
Sweat it out.
Tradition states that Sunday evenings are specially reserved for slothing on the couch, preparing carb-heavy, complex recipes, and marathon watching Netflix. However, if you are struggling to put on your happy hat for the week ahead, try doing some exercise.
Whether it’s yoga, running, or kicking the ball around the park with your dog; working up a sweat will release those delicious endorphins on free flow. Meaning you’ll be so happy that even highly irritating phrases such as ‘happy hat’ won’t touch the sides.
Clean your house.
So, what was on YOUR list of things to do this weekend? Mine included cleaning out the three boxes of forks I have stored in the garage (don’t ask) and heading to Kmart for new bathmats. Do you think I did either of those things? Nope. I did, however, finish watching Outlander…so there’s always that.
Nothing gets you in a funk more than knowing your house is a mess and there’s work the next day. Kick yourself a goal, and give the house a clean. It will give you something to cross off the ‘to do’ list, and put your mind in an organised space for the week ahead.
Prepare your day.
Much of the ill feeling towards Sundays can come from anxiety about work. Whether it’s concern about banked up emails or a presentation you have the next day, it can actually help to do a *shallow* dive into your work for the week ahead.
It can help to take ‘proactive action’ in easing your work worries on a Sunday night.
“It can be helpful to do a little work and it can alleviate some of those worries about feeling underprepared if you can knock some tasks off,” says psychologist Dr Simon Rego in Time.
Laugh a little. (Or a lot!)
Very rarely do we organise ‘fun’ social events for Sunday afternoon and evening.
It’s designated down time, winding down slowly into the boredom of the week ahead until you reach a grinding halt at 9pm Sunday night, collapsing on the couch in a catatonic state of deep sadness. (Post continues after gallery.)
A beautiful space = a beautiful sleep.
But wait! Sunday night is still the weekend! Organise a dinner with friends. Have a BBQ. Go see a movie. Have a picnic with your pals. Make it booze-free to avoid the risk of a Monday morning hangover (ouch) and finish up early so you get a good rest.
Spending Sunday evening moping about that won’t do you any good.
Count your blessings.
While it sounds trite, a little perspective never goes astray. Sunday nights are a black hole of mindless social media scrolling, and it can really bum you out when you're faced with thousands of curated photo essays of your online friend's 'perfect weekends'.
Stop. Don't drink the Kool Aid.
“We generally only compare up, meaning we hardly even consider what the people who have less accessibility than us or are less fortunate than us are doing,” Dr Rego told Time. “Do you ever think about how the homeless spend their weekend?”
Although it sounds trite, it's worthwhile to consider what exactly it is you're comparing yourself with... and Instagram shots of #SundayFunday with their #BestFriendsAndCampari isn't reality. It's not.
Play the grateful game: think of three things you're really, genuinely grateful for. Number one? Having a job to moan about tomorrow...
Cook up a feast.
Use your Sunday night to food prep your week ahead. Make up a giant pot of soup, a lasagne, or even individual meals for your lunch during the week.
Do a food shop, and divvy up certain products into lunch-sized servings. Figure out what you're doing for breakfast. Figure out what you're making for dinner on gym nights. Soak them oats. Chop them carrot sticks. Wrap up them almonds.
And besides, cooking is the best therapy - particularly when you pretend to be Beyonce.
Whether that's cleaning your house from top to bottom, or just locating your bus card for the morning, give yourself a few hours of 'me time', and kick those Sunday blues in the butt once and for all.
Until next week, anyway.
