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Your Guide to Winning @Work: Decoding the Sunday Scaries

You know the feeling. It’s Sunday and the start of the work week is only a few hours away. For some, it's time for a new chance to chase your goals, but for many of you, worries about the week ahead are making their way front and center. It’s called... the Sunday Scaries. If this sounds familiar, you’re in good company. According to new LinkedIn research, 80% of professionals experience the Sunday Scaries, with over 90% of Millennials and Generation Z reporting they feel it.

sunday scaries

So what causes the Sunday Scaries? Professionals say worrying about your workload (60%), balancing your professionaland personal to-do’s (44%), and thinking about the tasks you didn't finish last week (39%) as the top causes. More than 1 in 3 professionals feel the Sunday Scaries each week, but you don’t have to - and we have tips to help tune them out and make the most of the week ahead:

Remind yourself what you’re in it for

Sunday is a good time to take a step back and reflect on all things, including your career. What have you accomplished recently that you’re proud of? What’s something you learned last week that will help you grow? And where do you want this journey to take you? What inspires and motivates you? What are you in it for? Give yourself some space to be proud of your accomplishments and look at your journey to success with perspective so you stop sweating the smaller tasks and keep dreaming big.

Start a conversation

Now that you know the Sunday Scaries are common, turn to your professional community on LinkedIn for help. Share a post or video with tips on what helps you conquer the Sunday Scaries and ask for advice from others as well - there’s no right or wrong answer. Make sure to call out who has helped you along your journey to find success and encourage your community to do so as well.

Shift your scaries to actions

As soon as the typical Sunday thoughts start playing in your head, it might be time to grab a pen and paper. Whether it’s unfinished work you completely forgot about, or a to do list of tomorrow’s priorities, jotting down even the littlest reminders can help you focus on the here and now. Spend some time thinking through what is a priority and start there. As a bonus, it’ll give you an action plan to hit the ground running on Monday.

Many professionals experience the Sunday Scaries and it’s safe to say you’re not alone. Share how you conquer the Sunday Scaries on LinkedIn with #SundayScaries. And remember, whatever you’re in it for, we’re in it together. #inittogether

Methodology

The survey was conducted online within the United States by The Harris Poll on behalf of LinkedIn between August 8 and 22, 2018 among 1,017 adults 18+ across the U.S. who are employed full-time, part-time, or self-employed.