It’s no secret that Mondays are kind of yucky. Even Sunday afternoons can become dreary as workweeks approach. A recent poll revealed that more than three-quarters of people suffer from the pre-work ‘Sunday blues’. Being sad, anxious, and unorganized on your first Monday is not the best way to start the week.
What is the solution? Women’s health expert Marsha Hudnall, MS, RD, president and co-owner of the Green Mountain at Fox Run in Ludlow, Vermont, recommends setting aside some time on Sunday to prepare for the five days ahead. Simply starting your week with these simple ways will help you make the most of the next week and make it a habit.
Plan your meals
On weeknights, choosing dinner can be a major hassle. You will eat better if you plan your menu on Sunday (and purchase grocery items), avoiding last-minute drive-thrus. Take it a step further by chopping and cooking veggies and a protein (like roasted chicken or scrambled eggs). When you get home from work Monday evening, all you have to do is heat and plate. Or finally give in to your long-held desire to try meal-kit subscriptions. Dinner planning has never been easier: Just order, and you have the raw materials for a week’s worth of tasty and healthy meals.
Make Sunday a ‘stress-relieving day’
Hudnall says, ‘to be healthy, we must take care of our body and mind’. We must start the week off feeling strong and focused as stress affects our health and ability to concentrate. Here are four things you can do to unwind:
- Try guided meditation with an app
- Take a walk
- play with your pet
- Shinrin-yoku, also known as forest bathing, is a Japanese practice of taking long walks or hikes in wooded areas.
Keep your bedtime Sunday shouldn’t be spent binge-watching your favorite shows. An academic review found it is possible to perform worse on memory and reaction-time tests if you lose two or more hours of sleep in a row. Sleeping for 7 to 9 hours on Sunday night will put you in a better mood and get you ready for the week.
Prepare a quick ‘looking forward to’ list.
Make a list of three things you are looking forward to in the week ahead. How about meeting an old friend for lunch? Is your ongoing project coming to a close? No matter how mundane your schedule, mid-afternoon coffee runs are always comforting! Even noticing the good things can make you feel happier and more alert. Researchers in Psychological Science found that anticipating a good future event, such as taking a vacation, makes people happy in the present moment as well.
Plan your week
Just take a look at what’s coming up for Monday and Tuesday to plan your week. You can feel better prepared to attack your to-do list when you know what’s going to happen next, even if the days are filled with chaos.
Organize three exercise sessions
Make time for three workouts while you’ve got your calendar app open. The regular sweat sessions help you sleep better, feel better, and think better all week long, but you also know how easily other responsibilities can eat up your gym time. ‘Get to know yourself: Are you a morning workout person or a night workout person? Make your schedule according to that’, says Hudnall.
Come outside!
It’s no secret that some of the most beautiful Sundays of your life are spent under blankets with Netflix and takeout. But walking in nature (like in a park or arboretum) improved memory and attention by 20% compared to strolling typical city or suburban streets, according to University of Michigan researchers.
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Simply looking at pictures of nature for 10 minutes had a positive effect on cognition. So if you can’t bring yourself to go out, at least take a look at National Geographic or watch an episode of Blue Planet. Spending the next five days in an office building under the harsh lights and airless environment will prove beneficial once you’ve experienced the beauty and wonder of nature.
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