Every weekend , it happens : The clock hits 3 p.m. on Sunday and the world give a corporate moan , both mourn the end of a weekend and dreading the week forward . The so - called “ Sunday Night Blues”—a.k.a . the “ Sunday Scaries”—aren’t just pervasive , they ’re muscular : A2023 surveyfrom LinkedIn of2000 U.S. workersfound that around 75 percent of American workers get the Sunday Scaries ( some even report experiencing them on more Day than just Sunday ) . Thankfully , it is possible to shake the Casimir Funk .

“ Start by reminding yourself how much time you have left , ” Laura Vanderkam , author ofI Know How She Does It : How Successful Women Make the Most of Their Time , distinguish Mental Floss in 2015 . She studied 1001 days of hour - by - 60 minutes clip logs from women gain at least $ 100,000 a year and analyze how they spend the 168 minute that make up each hebdomad . One finding : They do n’t go limp on Sundays .

“ When 3 p.m. rolls around , you still have 15 hours before you need to waken up Monday dayspring and face the workweek , and seven hours allow before bedtime , ” Vanderkam say . “ So , why not decide to assume that time ? ”

There are some powerful tools in your arsenal that will help keep the Sunday Scaries at bay.

programming or planning something ahead of time radically increases your betting odds of following through with an action ( and not turn a loss those hours to a stupor of television and nap sentence ) . Vanderkam set about hosting low - Francis Scott Key get - togethers on Sunday afternoons , and find that most of her friends were available and also relished the misdirection from their Monday dread . But if you ’re not find societal , make it a manicure or a long campaign — anything you savor that furbish up you .

What if you typically default to laundry and market shopping on Sundays ? Well , you ’re in all likelihood dreading Sunday afternoons even more . Vanderkam suggested trying to spread your chores into the workweek rather than bank on a Sunday marathon of scrubbing and categorization . A grocery run on Tuesday night , when the store is empty , will take less time and relieve up part of your precious weekend . And that ’s something to smile about .

It ’s also a good recitation to nullify check your workplace email on your days off : Interviews done as part of a 2023 cogitation by the UK ’s University of Exeter and Channel 4revealedthat one major initiation of the Sunday Scaries was getting piece of work - interrelate electronic mail over the weekend . “ Our research has shown that the blurring of edge between house and work can make the experience of Sunday Night Blues worse , ” Ilke Inceoglu , professor of organizational conduct and hour direction at the University of Exeter Business School , said in a closet handout . “ The erosion of boundaries is an issue we have all experienced since lockdown and is something that impacts our eudaimonia . ”

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A version of this chronicle ran in 2015 ; it has been updated for 2024 .