We've all been doing Sundays wrong.

Confession time: The Sunday Scaries have got me good.

Deep in a productivity-induced fever dream, I was trying to push the dread of Monday morning out of my head while simultaneously mentally categorising my 'Sunday reset' chores, when I stumbled upon the French Sunday — and thank God I did.

In France, the day is basically an act of anti-hustle.

Most shops close, businesses shut, and the entire country collectively decides to do absolutely nothing. It's about flâner, the art of wandering without a destination and protecting your pleasure over your productivity.

It's not a day to catch up on the things you should've done last week or to do things to help set up your next week. We're not doing our washing, we're not doing our meal prep, we're doing nothing.

Watch: How to have a 'French Sunday.' Post continues below.

As I was reading this, I had a sudden, slightly humbling realisation: technically, all my days are already French Sundays. My apartment is a permanent 'unplanned' zone, and my focus is often just me 'wandering' through my (usually empty) fridge. I've mastered the 'doing nothing' part; I just haven't been doing it 'purposefully'.

So, I decided to have an 'intentional' French Sunday. I wanted to see if leaning into the void could actually make me feel good or if I'd just end up bored and twitchy without my haunted to-do list. Here is exactly what happened:

I woke up at 7am, saw the sun hitting my mountain of unfolded laundry, and went straight back to sleep. I woke up again at 8.30am feeling lethargic, confused, and dehydrated af. Instead of reaching for my phone to 'just check one thing,' I dragged myself to the kitchen, made breakfast and a coffee, and then immediately went back to bed.

I spent the next few hours reading my book. I eventually got out of my pyjamas and ventured out to a cafe for lunch. I came home, watched a movie, made dinner, and did my skincare before passing out. There was no deep-cleaning the oven, no grocery haul, and zero 'inbox zero' attempts.

I expected to wake up bright and fresh on Monday morning, which tbh, I did. But I also woke up with absolutely nothing to wear because I didn't do my washing — whoops.

Listen to the author of this article explain what a 'French Sunday' is on the Mamamia Out Loud podcast. Post continues below.

It's important to point out that many countries and cultures have a version of the slow Sunday, and historically, it was the norm before we moved into this high-functioning, 'hustle' lifestyle.

We rebranded a day of rest into an 'admin day,' which is exactly why the 'Sunday Scaries' exist. We've become so obsessed with preparing for Monday that we've completely forgotten that for a lot of people, Sundays are meant to be a day free from work.

According to The Zoe Report, if you want to properly French-ify your day, there are a few rules to live by:

Wake up late and maybe buy a croissant.

Ditch the to-do list entirely.

Enjoy some gentle self-care — brush your hair slowly, moisturise, and stretch.

Take off the pyjamas and leggings (unless they're fancy).

Have a proper Sunday chicken roast and forget brunch exists.

Flânez — wander aimlessly, on purpose.

Pretend all establishments are closed.

Read a book.

Make love.

Just pause.

Now, I'll admit I probably need to re-work my French Sundays to be a little more purposeful and looking at the list above… I'm not complaining.

But even with my pathetic excuse of a French Sunday, I didn't get the Sunday Scaries once.

For the first time in years, I wasn't mourning the weekend while it was still happening. I'm actually looking forward to my next Sunday more than any other day of the week. Does that make me weird? Don't answer that.

Feature image: Supplied.

If you want more from Emily Vernem, you can follow her on Instagram @emilyvernem.