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Why is it that Sundays seem so much shorter than every other day of the week? We have just as many hours in the day, yet it seems like by 4 p.m., the day is pretty much over. I used to blame the fact that so many stores closed early, effectively ending the opportunity to run out to the store at 6 instead of 9, but as more big box stores shift to 24-hour schedules, it seems that the fog hasn’t lifted.
And it’s not just the shorter day. Even people who love their jobs talk about how they feel a sense of dread loom over them as the weekend winds down. That very pit-of-the-stomach feeling I’d heard referenced so many times before is what inspired Life Between Weekends, and it’s tackled marvelously in the March issue of Real Simple. The article, called “Take Back Your Sundays,” offers some bedrock advice on bringing the joy back to the end of the week — tackle the chores and errands you typically save for Sunday first thing Saturday morning, don’t leave the office on Friday without tidying your desk and creating a Monday to-do list, so you’re not dreading a waltz into chaos that morning — but one concept really stood out:
Make over your Sunday night plans to include “active leisure” over “passive leisure.” Many of us settle into a semi-comatose state of binge-watching our favorite shows when we’d be better off doing something that engages us in the world around us, be it an evening walk, yoga, a book club or going to the movies.
“If you’re engaged in an activity that keeps you moving, you’re absorbed in the moment and your mind has much less room to allow workweek worries to sneak in and take hold,” happiness researcher Cassie Mogilner, PhD, told Real Simple.
In effect, we’re ending the week early on ourselves, choosing to view 7 p.m. as the end of the day, when any other day we’re just getting off work or making dinner plans. It may sound too simple to be true, but it’s definitely worth testing for yourself.
What are some tactics you use to defeat the Sunday blues?
This post is part of Life Between Weekends’ Tuesday Takeaway series. Every Tuesday, we’ll share the most compelling insight we’ve gleaned from a book, movie, tour, documentary or article to inspire you during the workday.
Photo (above): Dustin Scarpitti/Unsplash
Magazine Cover: Amazon