Back to Work Scaries — Here are 4 Ways to Transition Fearlessly Into the New Year

We’ve all experienced the Sunday dread — because of the potential stress Monday brings

Friday calls for a celebration — after all, it’s the end of the week, and we have a couple of days to rest, unwind or do the things we want.

Then, as Sunday inevitably rolls around, we find ourselves surrounded by a feeling of dread — the weekend somehow slipped between our fingers.

Some refer to this as “The end of freedom.”

You don’t even have to dislike your job to feel this way; many people believe that a part of them shrinks to fit the mould of a job description.

It usually calls for sacrificing who we are and what we want to say for the sake of professionalism (and workplace laws, of course).

School children may experience the same phenomena.

The thought of returning to endless homework assignment’s and expectations from teachers and parents sends them into a stressful pool of anxiety.

In a 2018 survey, LinkedIn found that 80 per cent of hard-working American adults worry about the upcoming week ahead on Sunday’s.

What time does the scary feeling start to wash over you?

A home goods brand survey found that the time roughly shows itself at about 3.58 pm. However, this is not entirely accurate for some people.

It can creep into your sleep hour, increasing insomnia and adding stress.

The holiday season is yet another time that can increase our dread factor.

Returning from vacation can also produce the same anxiously filled first day back blues.

I must admit to you all; I researched this subject further as these feelings increased inside me.

With one week left of my leave carefully slotted away, the dread of going back to the usual stress, overwork and long hours leaves me feeling exhausted.

Sunday scaries can induce an overwhelming sense of pressure to perform well at work (due to job insecurity) and continually pursue and maintain financial stability.

It’s also about the pressures of caring for small children, your home, cooking and finding a spare moment to give yourself some care and kindness.

I admit this can all get too much for me — and I’m not alone.

Although I’ve been working through the “First day back blues” for a very long time, it’s never an easy thing to do.

But, as a week of leisure will eventually come to an end, I feel I must share some of the ways to welcome back the beginning of a new working year with enthusiasm, drive and a sense of peace (despite the storms that will inevitably result)

One: Find your stress-relieving strategy

For some people, it’s exercise, yoga, adventure, or being near water for meditation.

Whatever your bliss happens to be, do it as often as possible.

Including exercise into the working week is essential too.

Although this is not ideal for many people, I sacrifice some of my sleep to exercise during the morning hours.

Mornings are the best time for sweating, lifting weights and stretching.

If I don’t schedule exercise into my day, every single day, I do not perform at my best mentally, physically or emotionally.

When you deal with many strong characters and need to perform optimally, you need to reflect strength and resilience to the outside world.

Always schedule a pocket of time for activity. It will change your life.

Two: Plan your week by writing down your goals

I always write down my personal and work goals. It allows me to laser in with extreme focus, and I almost always hit my targets.

Without a clear direction, I find myself going back and forth due to being thrown in different directions.

If you work full time and have a side business, you must carefully make the best use of your time. If not, you will never gain the freedom from working the dreaded 9–5 pm.

We have the responsibility to set our work path, determining what’s urgent, when and what we could delegate to someone else.

You don’t have to do absolutely everything.

Scheduling your goals gives you back control of your time.

A sense of control increases our confidence in our abilities and helps us cope better when things fall below the sidelines.

Three: Tackle the scariest thing first

Most people immediately start to work on the most straightforward task first.

Smaller and less impactful tasks can fill you up with more dread when it’s time to tackle the bigger one.

It’s the perfect way to build upon the dreaded procrastination bug!

From my own experience, I highly recommend you do the big, scary thing first. Remember, one small chunk at a time until it’s finished.

Procrastination has no place in your work schedule when you work this way.

When you start training your brain to aim for this scariest thing, that’s when the confidence in your ability and use of creative problem-solving skills will give you that winning edge over all colleagues.

So many people don’t even attempt the big fish first — but I guarantee you, once you raise the bar for yourself, nothing will be scary or too challenging for you.

Four: Talk to yourself on the inside.

You can choose to talk to yourself in the mirror. Napoleon Hill recommends doing this several times a day.

Unfortunately, my family is always around me, so taking some spare time in the bathroom to talk to myself out loud might class me as a crazy nut by my family (I kind of already am crazy in one way)

Why not build your enthusiasm by speaking to yourself on the inside?

I usually do this during my morning walks alone.

I feed myself empowering simple affirmations, and I say them repeatedly until I feel them.

For instance:

• You can do this — it’s yours

• You know you can, do it

• Face it fearless — you’re strong enough

• Come on — You have to, and you will

You can make up your empowering affirmations. This might trigger some inspiration for you.

Remember, the brain constantly seeks what you tell it, so tell it good things!

Repetition is critical so that when the feelings of dread come up, you can easily drown its power over you with positive affirmations.

Repeating affirmations and believing them will need a bit of work.

Every morning and afternoon, repeating these affirmations is essential.

Missing even one day can set you back, and the negative self-doubt will start to build and magnify.

Five: Self-care — what about you?

After Christmas, I used some of my award vouchers from work to indulge in a spa treatment.

The treatment was a 3 hour, glorious pampering session.

I have never experienced something so wonderful — and I sure needed it after the turbulent year I’ve had!

But, I had to wait for some award cash to accumulate to pay for it. Otherwise, I would not have allowed myself the gift.

Why did I do that?

Well, on the inside, I believed it was way too indulgent, and I have far too many other expenses that take priority.

We all have many other expenses that take priority, but what about you?

Why do you work so hard for?

It’s not just for your family — it should have some benefit to you as well. If not, you might start becoming resentful.

You are well deserving of the nice things in life — and more frequently than once a year!

Mothers have a habit of putting themselves last, but I’m scheduling this pampering several times a year.

Sure, it’s expensive, but so is everything else. It might call for sacrifices in other areas — but it’s worth it. You and I are worth it!

Don’t be alarmed if you’re feeling the blues as I am.

It’s normal, and we all feel that little bit of dread going back to the mundane workforce.

However, what keeps me going is knowing that I’m working on my passion and building it up step by step on the sidelines.

Eventually, I will be one of the lucky people who wake up in the morning ready to tackle my own business, doing the things that I love and enjoying my time on the planet a lot more.

If you know what I’m talking about, please feel free to submit your tactics for making the transition back to work a lot easier.

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