6 Tips to Ease the "Sunday Scaries"

02/05/2023

If you’re a teacher, you 100% understand what the term “Sunday scaries” means. For those who don’t… Basically, Friday evenings and Saturdays are our true days off because we spend Sunday anxiously thinking about our approaching Monday.

Why the "scaries"?

The weekend gives us a brief moment of relaxation and mental ease from the high demands of our week: lesson plans, observations, meetings, classroom management, conferences, running records, testing, deadlines, and more. As we approach the start of a new week we remember everything we have to complete during the week, and tasks we may not have completed from the previous week.

Here are 6 tips that ease those dreaded “Sunday scaries”:

1. Have copies for Monday done prior to the weekend. 

Okay, so this is easier said than done. But let’s be honest; if you have ever gotten your copies done prior to the weekend (and extra points if you organized them) you have probably been so happy to show up Monday morning to that stack of completed copies. Nothing wreaks more anxiety then remembering on Sunday that you don’t have copies for Monday morning and need to beat the morning rush to the beloved copier. (If it isn’t jammed, am I right???) This means, getting to work earlier than normal and this means less sleep and now… the scaries have been triggered. See what I mean? It definitely helps to have the copies done. 

2. Lesson plan before the weekend (or at least have an idea for Monday). 

Lesson planning is one of the hardest things to fit into the work hours of a teacher. The day is spent busily teaching, and during our “planning period,” we’re spending time: making copies, grading papers, reviewing data, making copies, or at a meeting. Sometimes this means lesson planning keeps getting pushed until you make it to the end of the week and now it’s the weekend. (Yes, during non-paid contract hours) But making time during the weekday, even if it is squeezing it in before the students come in or after students go home, it will be significantly helpful. You won’t be stressing on a Sunday what the week will look like and it will also free up more of YOUR time.

3. Try not to schedule too much for Monday. 

This is easier said than done, and sometimes it is beyond your control when administration automatically schedules you for a meeting on Monday morning. But any scheduling that is within YOUR control… do not (I repeat, DO NOT) schedule yourself for Monday. Let alone on a Monday morning. This makes Sunday all the more daunting as you prep to return back to work while also knowing you are expected to also be prepared to do something extra. 

4. Have a “Monday” activity for bell work. 

ALWAYS have a Monday bell work routine of some sort. Have them read, get on a learning site or even complete work from the prior week that they did not finish. Having the students readily come in on a Monday morning and have something to do. Monday’s prepares the students for the week and having them start off rambunctious and off task can set the wrong tone for the remainder of the week. Knowing that you will come in to the classroom ready for the beginning of the week will also lift a weight off your shoulders on Sunday because you know that the following morning should go smoothly. (And if you weren’t planned out, while the students on on task during their bell work time, you could be using that time for you to prep and plan.) 

5. If possible, don’t test on Mondays. 

Again, this one is also easier said than done because test administrators are the ones that schedule state-mandated tests. But if the scheduling for unit tests or quizzes is up to you… don’t schedule for a Monday. More than likely both you and your students aren’t really mentally prepared for successful test-taking. This can also weigh on your mind for Sunday as you know that the students will be testing after a weekend off. 

6. Prepare your Monday morning things, Sunday night. 

That’s it! That’s the tip. Get your outfit, lunch, and bags ready for the morning so that you aren’t having to get it ready first thing Monday morning. It may give you a free extra minutes to sleep in Monday morning and allow for some less worrisome sleep. 

Remember that Sunday is YOUR weekend and that it is okay to enjoy it, it’s okay to feel those Sunday scaries but don’t make it take away from your free time. 

~a.h.~