Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning. This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is to avoid the Sunday scaries by giving
Speaker 1: yourself something special to look forward to at the end
Speaker 1: of the weekend. This one simple practice can change your
Speaker 1: entire day. If you hate your job, Sunday's can feel awful.
Speaker 1: But even if you love your job, or more likely
Speaker 1: or somewhere in the middle, you might have experienced the
Speaker 1: Sunday scaries, that sense of tension and anxiety that can
Speaker 1: descend on Sunday afternoons as you think about the upcoming week.
Speaker 1: Sometimes the Sunday scaries are made worse because we feel
Speaker 1: we didn't check off all the must do is from
Speaker 1: our weekend task list, or because we feel we did
Speaker 1: nothing but work over the weekend and are exhausted rather
Speaker 1: than refreshed heading into the new week. There are lots
Speaker 1: of ways you could ward off the Sunday scar ese Holistically,
Speaker 1: if you get in the habit of planning the upcoming
Speaker 1: work week on Fridays, then you won't be stressed out
Speaker 1: on Sunday night wondering what you are going to do
Speaker 1: when If you create manageable weekend task lists, you won't
Speaker 1: feel behind, and if you plan specific adventures you'll have
Speaker 1: each weekend, you won't hit Sunday night feeling like the
Speaker 1: weekend never happened. But even if you haven't developed these habits,
Speaker 1: here's one you can do anyway. Plan in a fun
Speaker 1: activity on Sunday evening so you can spend your Sunday
Speaker 1: afternoon anticipating that rather the dreading Monday. Your Sunday fund
Speaker 1: doesn't have to be elaborate. It just has to be
Speaker 1: an activity that you will truly look forward to and
Speaker 1: enjoy doing. For instance, if you are a social person,
Speaker 1: you could gather some friends for a simple supper. Ideally,
Speaker 1: this could be a regular gathering, so no one needs
Speaker 1: to plan it. You simply have an open invitation to
Speaker 1: a handful of friends to meet for separate six with
Speaker 1: you supplying something flexible as a main dish and everyone
Speaker 1: else contributing aside a stew or some other one dish meal.
Speaker 1: Conserve this main dish function nicely. New York Times food
Speaker 1: writer Sam Sifton has a cookbook called See You on Sunday,
Speaker 1: which is all about Sunday suppers with lots of great
Speaker 1: recipes and reflections on the value of easy get togethers
Speaker 1: with those we love. Who people from six to seven thirty,
Speaker 1: then send them home and bask in the glow. You
Speaker 1: won't even think about the Sunday scaries until eight pm
Speaker 1: or so, and by then the day is mostly over.
Speaker 1: If in home entertaining isn't your thing, then set up
Speaker 1: a recurring get together at a casual restaurant. Whoever comes comes,
Speaker 1: but you will be there and you're good. Friends will
Speaker 1: start wanting to come to stretch out their weekends too.
Speaker 1: If you prefer something more one on one, maybe you
Speaker 1: could set up a regular friend get together for late
Speaker 1: Sunday afternoon. Do a forty five minute run with a
Speaker 1: friend at a recurring time, maybe back to back with
Speaker 1: your spouse getting together with one of their friends so
Speaker 1: you can cover for each other. Or maybe it's a
Speaker 1: family tradition. Perhaps you always take the kids out for
Speaker 1: frozen yogurt after Sunday dinner, or you go see Grandma
Speaker 1: for dessert. If you live somewhere with reasonable year round weather,
Speaker 1: you could always take a family walk somewhere fun on
Speaker 1: Sunday evenings. Or maybe you've got a favorite children's museum
Speaker 1: that stays open until six pm on Sundays, so you
Speaker 1: can go from five to six and shut that place down.
Speaker 1: If you've had a weekend full of family activities, maybe
Speaker 1: your Sunday treat could be carving out time for just
Speaker 1: you and your partner to be together after you put
Speaker 1: the kids down, or whenever, if they're old enough to
Speaker 1: entertain themselves, you light a fire in the fireplace and
Speaker 1: have a cup of tea. The goal is to have
Speaker 1: something you can count on so you can look forward
Speaker 1: to it and that feels a little different and special.
Speaker 1: By building in something special on Sunday afternoon or evening,
Speaker 1: you create a focal point and savor one more special
Speaker 1: weekend experience instead of worrying about Monday morning before it's
Speaker 1: even there. So today, decide what you'd like to look
Speaker 1: forward to this coming Sunday afternoon or evening to ward
Speaker 1: off the Sunday scar Ese and finish your weekend with
Speaker 1: something memorable. I would love to hear what you choose.
Speaker 1: You can reach me at Laura at Laura Vanderkam dot com.
Speaker 1: In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks for listening, and
Speaker 1: here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody.
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast Pod
Speaker 1: that's B the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at iHeartMedia dot com that Before Breakfast is spelled
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, I look
Speaker 1: forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a production
Speaker 1: of I heart Radio. For more podcasts from I heart Radio,
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