How to Unwind on a Sunday Night

Does Sunday night cause you anxiety and are wondering how to unwind on a Sunday night for a great start to the week? I know it can be pretty daunting when you are overwhelmed with work, deadlines are coming due and you feel you don’t have enough time to do anything. Working in the corporate world, I have found that there are always deadlines at every corner and its a never ending cycle. This is why I love planning in advance and also leaving room for the unexpected as much as possible.

If you always find your stomach churning every Sunday night and find yourself anxious about the new work then read on. Over the last few years, I have found ways to unwind on a Sunday night and guaranteed to have a great week if I prepare in advance. The tips that I share in this post are so easy to put into practice, anyone can pick and choose which of them they need to implement in their lives and which they are already doing. Feeling depressed on a Sunday night is a real thing but there are ways to manage it.

How to Unwind on a Sunday Night for a Great Start to the Week!

Sundays are made for relaxing, I make a point of planning my days ahead and making sure I leave Sundays as open as I possibly can. The last thing you want on Sunday is to be running an endless list of things to do instead of unwinding and taking as easy. Even God rested, who are you not to take the opportunity to rest, reset and recharge your batteries for the week ahead.

When I started working in corporate I found myself always running errands on Sunday because I had to catch-up on work on Saturdays. It was tough and not long after I found myself burning the candle from both ends, it wasn’t pretty. So, how did I get to a point where I can unwind on a Sunday night for a great start to the week? Well, it’s simple, I developed new habits and stuck to them.

In this post, I share tips on how you too can unwind on a Sunday night and get a head start on your the week ahead, with a little planning and dedication, you too can enjoy the bliss of a relaxing Sunday.

Prepare for Monday on a Friday

One of the major changes I made in my life was preparing my Monday on Friday after work. What I mean by this is, every Friday after work, I sit down and write everything I need to do on Monday and most times for the rest of the week. I plan ahead, I initiate activities that need to be done on Monday on a Friday. It takes time to get into the swing of things but before you know it, you will be able to get a handle on things.

It might seem impossible for those whose Fridays are already overloaded but I tell you that it will make a different to the new week and produce an even better Friday. I am a to-do list orientated person and every evening before bed, I review my list for items I need to complete the next day, add new ones on and tick-off any that I have accomplished, it is a simple but effective process. Give it a try next Friday, write down your to-do list on Monday.

Do Everything Hectic on Saturday

Another way to get a head start on the new week is by doing everything hectic on a Saturday. By hectic I mean, the laundry, the food shop, catching up with friends and better yet batch cooking. One thing I have realised is people often want to leave everything to the last minute and Saturday they take is as the day to catch-up on sleep and do nothing. But this is actually a bad idea, don’t through your sleep pattern out of sync to your weekly sleep pattern.

As you are making your plans for Monday on Friday, make sure to plan everything hectic for Saturday too. For me Saturday is clean the house day, declutter one of the rooms, do a weekly or month shop, catch-up with family, go for long walks and everything in between including laundry. Often my Saturdays feel like an extension to my work-day but I don’t mind it because I know I will unwind completely on Sunday.

Unplug your Phone

Being a blogger, I spend more time online that I care to and this can be exhausting. I made a decision to hire someone to help me with some of the admin work to give me some time to catch-up on other things. One of the best things I have done for myself to help me unwind is to put a time limit on my favourite apps (instagram) and deleted other apps from my phone (Facebook). This way, I am able to unwind easily without the distraction of social media.

On Saturday I spend most of the time catching with friends and on Sundays I limit this to just family and close friends. But even then, I make sure to allocate the right time for each and allow myself time to do nothing but relax. I think it’s a good idea to learn how to unplug from your phone and not just on Sunday but throughout the week. I do social media detox every 2-weeks and its actually really refreshing, definitely give it a try.

Unwind with a good book in the tub

I feel for those of you with kids as I know this is not exactly easy but if you manage to find time, get the book/audible and just relax in the tub. Every Sunday I make time for a nice soak in the bath, phone is off and I grab a nice book and just take my sweet time. If you don’t wish to read you can listen to a podcast or even watch your favourite movie whilst relaxing in the bath.

I often treat my unwind time in the bath life a spa session, I have the mask on, I don my nails and go full pampering session. It doesn’t cost me much, manicures I do myself and I have built up a nice collection of gel nail polish. Face masks I have a 6-month supply because I love me a nice sheet mask. Sometimes it takes just relaxing in the tub with a nice bath bomb and done.

Maintain your Routine

It might seem weird for me to encouraging you to maintain your routine but it is so important. If you have a specific time when you go to bed, continue that even through the weekend, don’t deviate. It is important to find the right balance between sleep pattern during the week and activities you do on the weekend. The last thing you want is to disrupt your sleep which will affect the rest of your week.

Every single day, I wake at 5.30am this doesn’t change whether it’s Monday or Sunday, I wake up at the same time. If I wish to return back to sleep on a Sunday that is my choice but I wake at the same time. Every single night I go to bed at 11pm and again this doesn’t change whether its a Monday or a Sunday. I have a daily routine that I follow and by following it I don’t disrupt my sleeping patterns so I feel well rested every single day.

And that is how I unwind on a Sunday night for a great start to the week. What are some of your tips? How do you unwind?