The tips to follow to stop dreading Mondays on Sundays

While most are familiar with “Monday blues,” there’s an even more feared sibling in the week — Sunday.

The “Sunday scaries” isn’t anything new — if you’ve ever felt a sense of dread when the day rolls around, you’ve experienced the Sunday scaries.

It’s easy to wind up frazzled against the sands of time, making it all the more important to solidify a Sunday reset routine that sets you up for success. 

This is a routine where you dedicate the day — and it doesn’t have to be a Sunday — to prepare and plan for the week ahead. 

“I like to think of the Sunday reset as the few hours each week that you spend being the custodian and secretary of your life so that you can be the CEO the rest of the time,” a Reddit user says.

It’s essentially your time to reassess and recuperate. 

And while the Internet has swept the self-care regimen up within the whirlwind of trends, the Sunday reset routine isn’t — or doesn’t have to be — as glamorous as the camera captures.

The Sunday reset routine, one of the easiest forms of self-care you can try this weekend itself, should simply leave you feeling restored and ready. It’s a Sunday you can look forward to, starting the week on a series of highs.

There’s no right to how it’s done, but can it go wrong?

No, self-care doesn’t have to be expensive

Even though many content creators filming their Sunday reset routine show a barrage of products like it’s the cure to all things gone awry, you don’t need all ten of the latest beauty products at Sephora to take care of yourself and feel fulfilled.

The Science Survey writes, “This phenomenon is simply a repackaging of an idea that has existed since the dawn of advertising, the idea that without this new product, we will never be happy or satisfied.”

It’s a glaring waste of money for a student who doesn’t have much of it in the first place, and the environment takes the brunt of its use.

Every year, the beauty industry produces at least 120 billion pieces of packaging. It’s estimated that 114 billion pieces of single-use packaging aren’t recycled and are just thrown away. The more plastic drowning the landfills, the more the world spirals into “planet-warming” gas pollution.

If that doesn’t mean much to you — which is a problem because it should — let’s look at the overconsumption of self-care products from a different angle.

Self-care isn’t about what you have — it’s about what you do. 

The reality of being a student is that while you’re completely valid to a treat every once in a while, you need to maintain a sense of self-deprivation that comes with living within your means.

It’s unrealistic to jet-set around Europe twice yearly, but that doesn’t mean you can’t take a cheap travel break. Therapy services can be expensive, but you can still turn to free resources at school and other less conventional forms of therapy. If you can’t afford an ice cream, there’s always the next best treat.

You may not have everyone’s favourite sunscreen, but the act of taking care of yourself anyway is a luxury of self-compassion and kindness that anyone under the sun can afford. 

Why being kind to yourself is the biggest act of self-care there is

Social media doesn’t tend to reflect real life, so it’s important to cut yourself some slack when your mind isn’t vis-a-vis with your body, and vice versa. 

If a Sunday hits and you can’t muster up the courage to get out of bed after a draining week at school, then don’t. You can be proud of yourself for taking a mere shower.

This Reddit user says, “My latest thing for the Sunday reset, when I’m feeling unmotivated or unable to get myself to get anything done, has been to pop on a movie on Tubi, and when it comes to a commercial break, then I’ll pause and do a chore real quick and then go back and watch more of the movie.”

The act of forgiving yourself on those hard days is a form of self-care within itself. If you find yourself getting tired of your daily self-care habits, then don’t panic. Simply re-evaluate and take the time to find a regimen that suits you.

With that said, remember to be flexible.

You ought to think about how much time you have on a Sunday to check off a to-do list and what you’d realistically be able to handle. You’re not trying to exhaust yourself thin on the weekend, so it may be helpful to start chipping away at bigger tasks throughout the week during your downtime.

“Used to do a 10-minute tidy every evening — put on some energising music, set a timer, and cleaned as much as we could in 10 minutes,” another Reddit user writes. “Made it way easier to do the bigger resets once a week.”

So, with all those declarations out of the way, we’ve given you nine suggestions for what you, as a student, can implement into your Sunday reset routine.

And remember, you don’t have to do everything.

8 things to do for a Sunday reset routine

Do some journaling 

Journaling is a great way to express yourself honestly because nobody will judge you. Whether on paper or digital, you can be transparent and clear about what’s plaguing your head.

You can ramble about the things making you happy or causing you stress. You can follow many prompts online to reflect on what went right and wrong within the last week or month and what could improve moving forward.

Get a workout in

Exercise is as nurturing for the mind and soul as it is for the body. It’s another method to clear the mind and stress by releasing brain chemicals like dopamine.

As a student, you probably have free access to the campus gym. But getting a workout in doesn’t necessarily mean going to the gym if that’s not your thing. It could look like going on a hike, dancing, doing some yoga, and more.

Address your weekly budget

Self-care means doing the not-so-fun things that benefit your future self, such as sorting out your budget.

Budgeting is a key ingredient to the recipe of adulthood, as is learning how to spend your money wisely to meet your financial goals.

There are temptations to purchase at every corner, so a weekly budget helps track your finances to ensure you’re not overspending. You’ve got important things to cover — rent, food, utilities, on top of hefty weights like tuition fees, student loans, and savings.

Luckily, technology has advanced far enough that you’ve got multiple apps and features to help you make this difficult part of life a little easier. Check some of them out here. 

Grocery shop and meal prep

In the chaos of university life, meal times may fall a little tight on your schedule. Food fuels the body, and without enough of it, you might find yourself crashing on low energy and zero brain juice.

If you know that you’re not going to have time to cook a decent meal for yourself throughout the week in between classes, then you’ll want to get your grocery shopping and meal prepping out of the way.

This could look like making lunch for the weekdays in advance or cooking certain portions of a meal (like a protein) first, so you don’t have to start from scratch later. If you need some inspiration, we’ve got just the place for you to start here.

Get those insignificant tasks out of the way

Getting those menial tasks that you always wind up pushing for later can free up some extra time for yourself during the week to do something more fruitful.

You’re more likely to complete these tasks if you group them and do it in bulk over a set time. This could be sending an annoying email or booking your appointments online for the week. 

“Sort out your supplements and medications if you take them,” this Reddit user says. “Use one of those 7-day pill organisers. Open all of the bottles just one day a week.”

 

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Deep clean the house, or a part of it

A clear space equals a clear mind.

It’s overstimulating when you have too much clutter in your personal space, making it harder to stay trained on work because your brain doesn’t know what the exact focal point is.

If you don’t have time for a full-on deep clean of your dorm or apartment, focus on decluttering what’s out of place. If you do, start from the top at items harder to reach and make your way down. Knock out what’s hardest to clean and finish off with those mindless bits.

Plan the week ahead

Planning looks different for everyone — some may prefer not to plan at all, and some break down their to-do lists into microtasks to chip away at bigger to-dos. Either way, time management is an important skill to cultivate as a student.

It’s helpful to know what time of the day your brain is the most laser-focused, whether that’s day or night.

Have a calendar or an agenda clearly marked with all your deadlines, and break down bigger projects into smaller tasks to make them seem more manageable.

Have a self-care night

The key component of a Sunday reset routine is relaxing.

You need to have balance within your routine; it can’t just be a stream of productivity with every ticking minute. Otherwise, you’ll crash from the burnout.

After a long, productive day, you deserve a night to wind down. Self-care looks different for everyone — whether that’s pampering yourself with some fancy skincare or cooking a comfort meal and dining in with a feel-good movie.

Of course, you’ll want to set at least seven hours aside from some quality sleep, too, since it’s been proven to affect your academic performance.

The options for self-care are endless, so do what makes you feel good.