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 ? ”

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 .