If you got a break last week, I hope your re-entry was as smooth as possible! Heading back to work or regular life after a holiday (or any weekend, if we're being honest) can be tough.
A LinkedIn survey showed that 80% of professionals and over 90% of millennial and gen Z workers experience feelings of dread about the weekend coming to an end and the beginning of the week to come.
It's a phenomenon called the "Sunday scaries," and—interestingly—it's not only experienced by people who hate their jobs. It can also come as a result of caring a great deal about your work and worrying you won't have time or bandwidth to accomplish everything you'd like to get done.
It's incredibly common. I hear about it from my clients all the time!
So, this week at Forbes Health, I was grateful for the opportunity to explore a bunch of accessible ways to ease that feeling of anticipatory anxiety.
To answer this question, I consulted two psychologists, as well as the VP of Enterprise Solutions at the Society for Human Resource Managment (SHRM).
We talked about common causes, who might be most vulnerable to these feelings, and uncovered SEVEN ways you (and your employer) can help reduce the pressure on your Sundays... because the solution to this problem shouldn't all fall on you, right?!
A few options:
➡️ Wrapping up Friday with a clean workspace and clear list of objectives for Monday morning appears to help. (If employers can offer a few meeting-free hours on Fridays, that's even better.)
➡️ Making specific plans on the weekend to do something you enjoy can help, as well, especially if those pre-existing plans prevent you from drifting into your work inbox on Sunday afternoons.
➡️ Make a Soundtrack for Your Brain. Consider the music or information you're consuming during your commute and throughout the week and weekend. How much news is too much? What music, podcasts, or audiobooks enhance different activities, such as driving, chores, or exercise?
To learn about all seven, click here!
If you didn't get time off last week, I hope you get some soon.
In the meantime, if you need a a break from the norm, see if you can find opportunities for mini-vacations over the weekends. Atypical outings, local places you haven't visited in a while, activities you've been meaning to try, gatherings with friends, or simply taking the time you need to feel confident that your home life is prepped for the week ahead might help Sundays feel like they belong to you again.
I'm grateful for you! Thank you for being part of this community, and please don't hesitate to reach out to me any time.
Sarah
How to Protect Your Memory Speaking of taking care of your brain, there's a great article in The New York Times about recommendations from neuroscientist Dr. Richard Restak about how to prevent memory loss. For those of you without a Times subscription, a few quick tips include: ➡️ Memorize your grocery list (and only pull it out at the end to check). ➡️ Only use GPS directions when absolutely necessary. ➡️ Play memory games. Restak's favorite is 20 questions (where you ask 20 yes-or-no questions to identify the person, place, or object your partner is thinking of). Or, for example, try to list U.S. Presidents (or your favorite authors or athletes) in a specific order and then in reverse. ➡️ Cook more (and try to remember the recipe). ➡️ Avoid using more than one screen at a time to protect your focus. ➡️ Train your attention when meeting someone new. For example, at a party, pause to take note of the person's name and associate it with an image in your mind. 👉 Thanks to Judy for alerting me to this article! If you have one you think this community would like to read, send me a link!
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