Overcoming the Sunday Scaries Before Your Work Week| Ep #119

Discover actionable strategies for conquering the dreaded "Sunday Scaries" with Shannon Russell on Episode #119 of the Second Act Success Career Podcast. As a seasoned television producer turned career coach, Shannon provides invaluable insights into understanding and overcoming Sunday anxiety. From creating a relaxing Sunday routine to setting achievable weekly goals, Shannon's podcast offers practical advice for reclaiming your weekends and setting the stage for a productive week ahead. Whether you're considering a career transition, launching a business, or striving for better work-life balance, Shannon's expert guidance will empower you to make your second act a success. Subscribe now for weekly episodes packed with inspiration and actionable tips to elevate your career journey.

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Transcript

Second Act Success Career Podcast
Season 1 - Overcoming the Sunday Scaries Before Your Work Week| Ep #119
Episode - #119
Host: Shannon Russell
Transcription (*created by Descript and may not be perfectly accurate)

[00:00:00] Shannon Russell: Have you been waiting for a career breakthrough? Join me for my free Breakthrough Bootcamp. It starts on February 19th. You can head over to secondactsuccess.co/bootcamp to save your seat. It's a week long free bootcamp to help you get clarity around your career and envision what you want for your future.

Do you want to change careers? Are you thinking of launching a business? Or do you just need some direction about what you want out of your work? My Breakthrough Bootcamp is for you. We will have live coaching sessions, Q& A calls, workbooks, resources, plus a free giveaway. Reserve your seat at secondactsuccess.co/bootcamo now and I'll see you on the inside.

Hey, you are you feeling stuck, desperate for a career change or thinking of starting a business, but you're just not sure how to make your first move. I'm television producer turned career coach Shannon [00:01:00] Russell, and this is the Second Act Success Career Podcast. This is where you will not only get the career advice you've been craving, but you'll get tips from career and business along with inspiration from others who have made a career transition to find second act success.

Let's get started.

Welcome back my friend. It's another episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast. Today, we are delving into a topic that many of us can relate to. 

Unfortunately, Uh, the Sunday scaries. That familiar feeling that creeps in as the weekend winds down. And we start thinking about Monday.

One moment. 

We're laughing with friends over dinner, or we're cuddled up on the couch with the family, watching a movie, and then it comes. The thought of Monday morning hits us out of nowhere 

and it's that dread. What do I need to do? Do I have this ready? Do I have that ready? Why are we thinking about Monday when it's the weekend? Yet, somehow the [00:02:00] worries of the week, sneak into our minds and start wreaking havoc. Have you been there? 

The meetings, the deadlines that you do lists. The annoying coworkers, they all start creeping in, but they're not welcome. 

We're not ready to think about it yet. And it happens all the time. I don't know about you, but sometimes I will think on Sundays about what I forgot to do on Friday. Or what I now have to do first thing on Monday morning, or I start thinking about my schedule, the kids' schedules. 

And everything is just swirling in my head when I really should. Be practicing mindfulness and be present with my family it's definitely something that I can relate to. I know a lot of my friends talk about it all the time as well. 

It's almost like we dread Sunday because we're dreading those feelings coming in. It really is something that a lot of us deal with and I thought it would be important to kind of make an episode around this and kind of give you strategies on how you can turn things around on a [00:03:00] Sunday to not be as scary. 

Back in the day when I was working in television. I loved my job. I say it here a lot. I loved being a TV producer, but that dreads still hit me. And I often just dreaded the commute. I dreaded the stress of going from a relaxing weekend at home to go, go, go. And it really isn't a sign of liking or disliking your job. It's all about just going from a place of where you have peace, where you're doing what you want to do. 

To all of a sudden being beholden to a schedule to coworkers, to clients, to customers. To working with others and trying to jam that in. With any kind of personal life that we have or family life that we have as well. And it just makes the week, the work week, a lot more stressful. 

And I think that's where. That anxiety comes from on Sundays. Just thinking about, oh, everything is out of my control [00:04:00] when I'm working during the week. Right. 

Before we dive into solutions on how you can cope with this Sunday dread. I want to acknowledge that this is a legit feeling. It's something that many, many people feel and that it's really okay to feel the sense of uneasiness it's expected really. in fact, a LinkedIn survey I was studying recently revealed that 80% of workers experience the Sunday scaries or the Sunday blues. 80%. 

That's huge. 80% of people. Wow. Um, I couldn't get that number out of my head because that's so scary to use that word again and just unfortunate. Does it mean that we are working too much? 

Does it mean that we do not like the work that we're doing? Does it mean that weekends are too short? I think there's just a much bigger conversation to be had over why there's so much anxiety on [00:05:00] Sundays leading into a new workweek. 

But, yeah, that is just a question for another time, I guess, but for here, I really want to talk about solutions and how we can turn those Sunday scaries into something that doesn't have to be so frightening. 

As with any challenge, that we might face in the workplace or at home, really understanding and addressing why we have the problem and what is causing it is really the best way to maintain our sanity, to maintain our mental health and to go forward being a little bit more positive, a little bit more excited about the start of the workweek. 

We want to preserve our mental health and, and be a little bit more positive on a Monday morning because no one wants to be sad and stress while they're getting dressed on Monday, get to the office or get to the computer and all of a sudden feel. Exhausted. 

Alrighty. Right. We want to feel rested and ready for the start to a new week. The more I thought [00:06:00] about this. I realized that a lot of us. Can feel this panic or anxiety when we're doing various different events in our life. 

You know, routine events like going to the doctors. Going for an interview. Packing for vacation. These are different things that can bring about stress and anxiety. 

It's really about knowing that you have something that may not be fun or that might be a little bit uncomfortable ahead, and this way you dread having to do it. 

Plus we may have feelings of, oh, I didn't relax enough over the weekend or I wasn't productive enough on my days off. 

Don't you just wish that we could be happy that we had a day off. There are some people who don't have that. And really to shift it a little bit. What about individuals who work from home? Or who have hybrid work options. 

They oftentimes feel they can't turn things off on a Friday at five o'clock they're working odd hours and their computer is right there at home and they're checking in when they shouldn't be. And so it is hard to turn things off and fully [00:07:00] relax. When you do work from home. And I really have to mention, because I am one of them, an entrepreneur. Business owners, entrepreneurs. Work around the clock. 

There really is not a set schedule for a business owner, so it's nearly impossible to turn work off. And so a Sunday can feel like just any other day to a business owner, because there's always work to be done. I think people like that need to work even harder to turn off their brain and really get into that. Personal relaxation resting. 

What do I need? To keep myself healthy and mentally sane over this, so-called day off. 

Okay. So how do we navigate these Sunday scaries and how do we turn them into a positive force? We're going to discuss some practical strategies right now.



The first strategy I wanted to mention is to create a Sunday routine that is rooted in relaxation.

I try not to make big [00:08:00] plans on Sundays. I leave it as a day to clean a little at my house to run errands, to lounge around at home. Just taking some time for me, even if it's just reading a chapter or two in a book. Or sneaking away to watch a show while I fold laundry. 

When I am able to make Sunday a day of rest at home and purposely unwind, it just sets a positive tone for the week ahead. Nope. I'm not going anywhere. If you want to see me, you can come over. 

But otherwise this is where I'm going to be on a Sunday. not all Sundays. Again, work that way. I'm sitting here right now on a Sunday recording about four different podcasts episodes for you. I am working as an entrepreneur throughout the weekend, but you know what. My kids are off at a movie with my husband. I have a few hours and this is what I chose to do. 

For me, this is fun and this is creative and this is what I'm doing on this particular Sunday. Whereas maybe next Sunday, [00:09:00] the microphone will be away. The laptop will be closed and I will be focusing on. Walking my dog cleaning the house and hanging out with my kids, it's just a matter of getting into that routine. Of making Sunday a day of what you want to do. This way, you're in a more positive frame of mine as you head into the workweek. So if you have tried it, I'd love to know if that works for you as well. 

Now, this is the plan that I try to go by, but plans are definitely made to be broken as we know. 

So I try not to get upset at myself when it does. So I urge you to try to make a Sunday routine that fits your lifestyle. And maybe for you, it is going out to brunch with friends or taking a walk with a family or having solo time at the gym, whatever it is, try to find the joy in the small Sunday rituals that you can create. That will help to make that shift in your mindset towards a Monday, a little bit better. 



Okay. Tip number two is [00:10:00] making a to-do list for your upcoming week. It might sound simple, but it really does help when you get down and get organized. You can make a list for the entire week of what's happening on every day. You can make a list of priorities that you want to tackle and achieve throughout the week. Or you can make a list of your top three items that you want to complete only on Monday. Personally, I'm a big fan of that. I do the top three to dues every single day of the week. Before I go to sleep before I actually unwind and leave my home office, I write down three things that I need to do tomorrow. for me, it just helps me clear my head and I know what I need to prioritize the next morning. I feel productive when I do it. 

I love crossing things off my to-do list, which I'm sure, you know, if you've listened to this podcast at all before, because I talk about a list quite often. I just like kind of writing out my to-do list for the week ahead. I'm getting organized on Sunday. So I'm ready for the week [00:11:00] ahead and I'm not starting Monday morning off feeling like I am already behind. 

everyone has to figure out what they need to do to get organized in their two dues for the week. 

I have friends who meal prep for the week. 

I have friends who organize their school lunches and their school homework, 

I had a client mentioned to me once that they make a list of family to dues for the week and then Alyssa personal to do's for the week. So that might sound like too many lists for you, but for this person, it really worked. However it works best for you is the way you should roll. 

It just helps to get all of that mess in your head. Out on paper so that you can start the week fresh and organized.



All right next. I want to say, take it easy on yourself. That is my tip. It's okay. To feel a bit uneasy about the week ahead. But remember that you're capable and you're resilient. I want you to reflect on your achievements and not just what you've accomplished over the weekend, [00:12:00] but in general, think about all that you have and all that you've accomplished both professionally and personally. Use those accomplishments, things that you've done, even those small things you've crossed off of your to-do list. 

Use those as a source of motivation. That you've accomplished a great deal on the Saturday and Sunday. And now you're heading into a new week to accomplish even more. Try to reflect on who you are. And what you have built, what you have created in your life, in your work. Be grateful for what you have think about that every weekend as you are in that more restful state of mind. Think about that, be grateful. And if you take in that positivity and that self-assurance over the weekend. You're going to step into Monday, feeling better about yourself, feeling lighter and feeling more confident to take on whatever the week ahead has in store.

[00:13:00] 

Now the Sunday scaries or the Sunday blues, whatever you want to call them. Are obviously created and stemmed from societal pressures and we feel the pressure. As women as moms. The pressures are real. Everything that we have to deal with and society really, really packs it on. We constantly feel like we have to do, do, do and succeed every day. Well, I hate to break it to you, but this is not the norm. And we really should try to redefine what success means. To us as individuals. And that's what I hope you can get out of this chat that we're having right now. 

yes, I know that my podcast and my business has success in the title. 

Second Act Success. But success is not just about career accomplishments. 

I hope that that comes across in what we're discussing right now, because. 

It really also is personal growth and wellbeing. When we're feeling that anxiety on a Sunday about what's happening the next day. [00:14:00] There's definitely. Something off that we can try and mold and switch and. Bend into something that can be more inspiring. So maybe it's just the way that we change our mindset and think a little bit differently on a Sunday, about the day tomorrow, about the week ahead, that congest change things a little bit. 

So we're not feeling the pressures that everyone else is putting on us. And the only pressure we're feeling. Is the three things on our to-do list for tomorrow morning or the couple of things that we have to do this coming week. So If we can try to hush the rest of the world out and really focus on ourselves and what we are doing, I think it's important for all of us to try to shut out those external pressures. Anytime we can and really try to focus more on ourselves.



I am constantly telling my coaching clients that they are not just working towards a change professionally. But [00:15:00] they're working towards change personally as well, because as much as we like to separate them, Into two different categories. They really do go hand in hand, especially when it comes to judging success overall. So please remember to view your success by all aspects of your life. And this means how you spend your time on days off, like the weekends. And how you go into your work week on Monday mornings.



All right. As I wrap things up on this episode, the main point I really wanted to get across is that you strive to find a better balance between work and your home life. So fight those Sunday, scaries as best as you can. And you can do that by embracing the idea that rest and relaxation. Are essential you really do deserve downtime. 

We all do. We deserve to step away. From the work that we do to earn a paycheck. And to be with. Ourselves and the people that we love doing what we [00:16:00] love. On these days off. And so I hate the idea of you dreading. The Monday, I hate the idea of wasting your Sunday, thinking about tomorrow, 

because we only are guaranteed right now in this moment. 

So it's important to make the most of today. Just because your downtime might be coming to an end at some point over the weekend, it doesn't mean that your world and your mood has to come crashing down. Right. Tried to balance both worlds and you will be happier and find success in your career and within yourself. ''

All right there, you have it. My friend, this is our deep dive into those Sunday scaries, and I hope that the strategies I've shared with you will help you overcome them this coming weekend. Remember, it's okay. To feel a little uneasy as the weekend ends, but with these mindful practices that we discussed, and a slight shift in perspective. 

We can turn those weekend ending blues. Into a [00:17:00] positive, more balanced and fulfilling week. At least we can try. Right. Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Second Act Success Career Podcast. 

If you found this discussion helpful, please share it with a friend and don't forget to subscribe to the podcast. So you don't miss a single episode. Make it a great day. My friend I'll talk to you soon.

[00:17:20] Shannon Russell: Thank you for joining us. I hope you found some gems of inspiration and some takeaways to help you on your path to Second Act Success. To view show notes from this episode, visit secondactsuccess.co. Before you go, don't forget to subscribe to the podcast so you don't miss a single episode. Reviews only take a few moments and they really do mean so much.

Thank you again for listening. I'm Shannon Russell and this is Second Act Success.