Your Sunday Anxiety Is a Message

Are you doing what you love?

How you feel on Sunday evening is incredibly telling. Are you excited about tomorrow, fueled by the idea of getting back to meaningful work? Or is your stomach doing flips—anxiety and dread growing with each passing hour?

If you’re feeling the latter, pause and ask yourself:

What’s the culprit?

An overloaded week ahead?

Look at your calendar on Friday, not Sunday. Adjust early. Reorganize, communicate, and prepare so you don’t start Monday feeling ten steps behind. A bit of preplanning will have an amazing ROI.

Strained relationships?

Is there a specific person who triggers anxiety? If so, lean in rather than pull away. What is one thing you can do to improve that connection? Awareness of where the disconnect begins is your first step toward repair.

A conditioned response?

Sometimes we dread Monday simply because we always have. Ask yourself: Am I truly dreading the day, or am I repeating an old pattern? Challenge the thought and reshape the narrative.

A disempowered mindset?

Feeling “at the effect” of work or people is demoralizing. What role are you playing in the dynamic? And what shift—large or small—can you initiate to change it?

Unfortunately, Forbes notes that 80% of professionals suffer from the “Sunday scaries.” You’re not alone, yet you’re also the only one who can change how you respond to it.

Get it out of your head

Write down your concerns. The act of naming your fears is grounding and disarming. You may discover that many worries are unfounded—or entirely manageable with a bit of structure.

Reach out

If 80% feel this, your colleagues likely do too. Connect, normalize the experience, and support one another in finding healthier ways to navigate the week.

Start the search (if needed)

If the dread is constant and unchanging, it might be time to consider a new role. You deserve to work in an environment that energizes you—one that challenges you at times but ultimately brings more joy than stress.

My Challenge to You:

• Identify what specifically is creating this feeling.

• Commit to one small shift you can make to disrupt the pattern of thinking or acting.

• Reply and tell me how it is going!