A Think Piece on Sunday #1: Focus Less on Monday When It’s Still Sunday

If you work Monday through Friday from 8am to 5pm then we may have something in common…clocking out of work on a Friday. It’s the start of THE WEEKEND, BABY! Whatever unfinished work can “Wait for Monday!” Running out the building before the manager sees you, walking through the parking lot to your car, getting into your car, starting up the engine, and playing your favorite tunes and/or radio station on the way home! What’s not to love about it? Rewind for a second. Maybe you ran into your favorite coworker to chat and pass time before leaving for the weekend. While at work on a Friday, you mentally go into Weekend Mode daydreaming about 5 pm and the weekend.

Now it’s Saturday and all is well with the world you live in. Waking up by your natural circadian rhythm instead of an annoying alarm clock makes the body feel well-rested. (I’m sorry fellow parents if this does not apply to your type of weekends. Just hang in there, a break is coming). No sitting in the office looking at a computer screen or making telephone calls for the business. No scrolling through work emails for hours. It’s just you and the people you love. You got plans to perfect your craft, but catching up on TV shows takes precedence. You can eat a lunch made by Chef You or someone in the house with no 30-minute break forcing you to eat within its timeframe. For the college and grade level students, there are no educational restraints holding you back from freedom because class is dismissed on the weekend. You ask yourself why can’t I get paid to do nothing like this everyday?

And then there’s Sunday. Whether you are waking up from a night of partying or from the hours of sleep you missed from the weekdays (once again, fellow parents, I do apologize), Sunday is here! You get up for worship service and meet up with friends for Sunday brunch shortly thereafter. Or, you skipped/don’t attend service and go to Sunday brunch instead. For others, Sunday is a lounge around day or a day of doing laundry. Then comes the Sunday afternoon naps a.k.a. the best naps of the week! Your bed turns into a cloud that massages you while sleeping. Those two hours pass by just in time for Sunday dinner. All is well in the world you live in…until reality sets in.

The thoughts of that dreaded Monday takes you off your weekend bliss. You don’t know what Monday has in store, but it isn’t going to be like the weekend…Let’s picture Monday like a large, dark thunderstorm cloud spotted afar off heading in your direction. You are at some park having a weekend getaway picnic, and all is well in the world you live in. The Sun is shining bright, and the weather is just right. Suddenly, you feel an unusually cool wind blowing. The smell of ground kicked up from heavy rain (in the country, we use the term, “I smell rain”) fills the air, and the echo of thunder sounds from a distance. You look to the sky to see flashes of lightning from the dark cloud, its light sporadic flashes in spots. As the cloud slowly approaches, it begins to cast a shadow on the park and everything else in its path. The sunlight begins to dim as the dark cloud covers the sun. The last ray of sunshine is phased out by the dark cloud. In your mind this storm is unavoidable. A sprinkle of rain hits your head, while the smell of ground becomes stronger. It’s time to pack up the picnic and get back home as soon as possible because there is no telling what this thunderstorm is capable of doing.

And that is how anticipating a Monday on a Sunday can feel like. The party is over! School is back in session, and work reopens first thing Monday morning. Suddenly, the enjoyment of the weekend is over. You began to anticipate waking up to that annoying alarm clock, and the commute just to get to work. What about the children? Are they prepared for school? That work you left unfinished on Friday has been sitting there waiting. You can take a quick PTO day but decline because you may need it later. Call in sick, maybe? What if karma gets you back? You are nowhere near retirement, so don’t go looking at your 401K and/or Roth to see if you and your family can live off it until you become eligible for social security. And even if you start a get rich quick scheme, that money does not hit your bank account overnight.

So, what do you do? I have an answer. Focus less on Monday when it’s still Sunday.

How come? You are missing the beauty of the remaining hours of Sunday by anticipating Monday. Monday is unavoidable. It cycles around like every other day of the week. Now is not the time to start stressing over Monday when you are still living in Sunday. Worry about that day when that day is here. Then do the same for Tuesday and so on.

Make the most out of your Sunday. Relax and enjoy Sunday. A quick tip that eases some of Monday’s stress for me is to start preparing early on a Sunday rather than before bed or the morning of. By making this one change, I am not scrambling to get ready for Monday at the last minute. I can get decent hours of sleep and scratched a few task of my mental Monday list. It makes Monday flow a little more smoothly. Overall, don’t lose a joyous Sunday because you’re too stressed and worried about Monday. If you tried everything to relax on a Sunday and nothing helps you not stress about Monday, then maybe it’s time to identify the stressor and make some changes so it doesn’t become a repeated cycle. The weekend will return, but in the meantime manage each day on its day.