Dealing with the Sunday Scaries in academia

The Sunday scaries are that uneasy feeling that starts to creep in sometime on Sunday afternoon or evening. You may have had a perfectly nice weekend, but suddenly your thoughts shift toward Monday: the emails waiting for you, the meeting you need to prepare for, the paper that is not quite finished, the lecture you still need to work on, or simply the long list of things that need your attention.

I think the Sunday scaries can be quite common in academia. Academic work is rarely ever truly “finished.” There is always another paper to read, another proposal to write, another analysis to run, or another task that could benefit from just a little more work. And because our work is often flexible, it can easily spill over into evenings and weekends.

A few years ago, I also suffered from the Sunday scaries. Over time, I have found a few habits that help me keep work from taking over my weekend and make the transition into a new week much easier.

Here are some of the things that help me:

• Plan your week on Friday. One of the most useful things I do is plan the coming week before I finish work on Friday. I look at my calendar, my deadlines, and the main tasks I want to accomplish. That way, I don’t need to spend Sunday evening figuring out what Monday will look like. I already know what is waiting for me and when I will work on it.
• Plan enjoyable activities for the weekend. I like to plan nice activities with my family during the weekend. Having something to look forward to helps me be present in my weekend instead of mentally wandering back to work. It does not need to be anything elaborate. Going somewhere together, exercising, eating a nice meal, or simply spending time outside can help create a clear boundary between work and rest.
• If you need to catch up, reserve a specific time for it. Sometimes, there really is something I want or need to finish during the weekend. In that case, I find it much better to decide in advance when I will work on it. Perhaps I reserve an hour on Saturday morning or a block of time on Sunday afternoon. Then I know when the task will happen. Otherwise, I can easily spend the entire weekend thinking, “I still need to finish that,” without either doing the work or fully relaxing.
• Take good care of yourself. Rest enough. Eat well. Train or move your body. Get outside if you can. All these basic things make a difference. When I am tired, have not moved enough, or have not taken proper care of myself, everything about the coming week tends to feel heavier. Taking care of yourself during the weekend is not time taken away from your work; it is part of making sure you have the energy you need for the week ahead.
• Remind yourself that not everything needs to be solved before Monday. Academia can create the feeling that we should always be doing more. But there will always be unfinished work. A weekend does not need to be the time when you catch up with everything you did not manage during the week.

For me, reducing the Sunday scaries has been mostly about creating clearer boundaries. Planning on Friday helps me trust that I have a plan for the week ahead. Planning enjoyable activities helps me actually experience my weekend as a weekend. And if I do need to work, giving that work a defined place in my schedule keeps it from occupying my thoughts for two entire days.

Of course, there may still be Sundays when Monday feels a little heavy. But the goal is not necessarily to eliminate every uncomfortable feeling. Instead, we can develop routines that help us leave work at work, enjoy our time off, and start Monday feeling more rested and prepared.

Do you experience the Sunday scaries in academia, and what helps you deal with them?