Would you believe I took this photo off of two hours of sleep?
This is (almost) the summit of Koko Head Crater on the island of Oahu. 1,207 feet up. 1,048 abandoned railway ties straight to the sky. They call it the Stairs of Doom, which feels about right.
Let me set the scene.
I was in college, in Hawaii with a group of friends, on what was supposed to be the trip of a lifetime. And it was. But the first night, we did what young, sun-drunk college students do on the first night of any trip:
We celebrated. Loudly. Late.
And we had the audacity to schedule a sunrise hike for the next morning. To one of the most physically demanding trails in Hawaii. We woke up before dawn on something between adrenaline and denial, hauled ourselves up the mountain on autopilot, and only 4 of us made it to the top.
The view was unreal. The hike, on the way down, was a different story.
There's a section of the trail where the railway ties form a bridge with nothing underneath them. Just air, sky, and a long way down. I crawled most of that part on my hands and knees. Not because I was tired, although I was. But because I was looking at open space through the gaps in the wood and trying to remember how to breathe.
I made it down. I had the most beautiful, hardest hike of my life. And I learned something I've carried with me ever since.
Sometimes the only thing standing between you and the summit is your willingness to keep moving when everything in you wants to stop.
This is exactly how my sunday scaries feel.
Let me say this plainly so nobody has to gaslight themselves about it: the Sunday scaries are real.
That tight feeling in your chest around 4pm on a Sunday. The way your stomach starts twisting before you've even thought about Monday. The mental scroll through every open email, every unfinished task, every meeting on your calendar that you haven't prepped for.
That's not a personal failing. That's not weakness. That's not a sign you hate your job (although, sometimes, it can be).
It's your nervous system bracing for the climb.
The bad news is that you can't outrun them entirely. They show up. Even in jobs you love. Even on weekends that were genuinely restful. Even when you have nothing on your plate.
The good news is you can absolutely make them smaller. And you can get to the bottom of the railway-tie bridge a lot less terrified than I did.
Here's my survival guide.
I used to do the thing where I'd plan an elaborate self-care Sunday designed to set me up for a magical Monday. Yoga. Meal prep. A face mask. Eight hours of sleep. Inbox zero by 6pm.
The result was always the same: more pressure, more anxiety, and a Sunday that felt like a full workday in a robe.
The Sunday scaries get worse when you treat Sunday like the warmup for Monday.
Now I treat Sunday like Sunday. Slow morning. Long walk with my dog. A good lunch. A book I'm actually reading for fun (currently deep in a romantic fantasy novel, unapologetically). Sometimes a podcast. Sometimes a nap.
If something productive happens, great. If it doesn't, also great. The point is rest, not preparation.
If you genuinely have something hanging over you for Monday, deal with it on Saturday morning. Not Sunday afternoon.
Hear me out...
Sunday afternoon work feels like work. It eats your day. Saturday morning work, weirdly, doesn't carry the same weight. You feel productive, you get it off your plate, and your Sunday stays sacred.
Pick the one task that's haunting you the most. Knock it out Saturday. Then close the laptop until Monday.
I'm not telling you to go to the gym. I'm not telling you to hit your steps.
I'm telling you to get outside for fifteen minutes, walk around the block, stretch on the floor while you scroll, dance to one song while you cook dinner. Anything.
Sunday scaries feed on stillness. Movement, even sloppy movement, makes them quieter.
I do a slow greenway walk with my dog almost every Sunday. No agenda. No pace goal. Just walking, breathing, and letting my nervous system remember that I'm not actually being chased by anything.
This one is small, but it works.
Make Monday have a thing. Not a work thing. A you thing.
A good coffee from your favorite place. A workout class you actually enjoy. Lunch with a friend. A new restaurant for dinner. A new episode of a show you love.
The Sunday scaries get smaller when Monday isn't just an inbox.
If your only relationship with Monday is the work waiting on the other side of it, of course you're going to dread it. Build a little personal life into the front or back of the day. You'll be amazed how much it shifts.
The single best Sunday scaries hack I know is making Future-You's Monday easier from Friday-Afternoon-You.
Before you close your laptop on Friday, take fifteen minutes to:
When Monday morning rolls around, you walk into a workspace and a brain that already know what's happening. The fog lifts. The dread shrinks.
Sometimes you do everything right and the Sunday scaries still show up.
That's okay.
The goal isn't to eliminate them entirely. The goal is to stop letting them ruin your Sunday. Notice them, name them, let them ride along, and keep doing the things you love.
The Scaries are like the railway-tie bridge. You can see through to the open air below, and your brain is convinced you're going to fall. But you're not. You're just walking across some wood.
Keep moving. Don't look down too long. The view at the summit is always worth it.
If I'm being honest, the real Sunday scaries survival guide is this:
Build a life and a job you don't dread. Build relationships at work that make Monday feel a little less heavy. Build rest into your weekends that actually counts as rest. Build a Monday that has things to look forward to. Build space between you and the work when you need it.
That's the whole strategy.
And on the Sundays when none of it works and the scaries are loud anyway? Pour the wine. Light the candle. Open the book. Be gentle with yourself.
Monday will come whether you're ready or not. And like every hard hike I've ever done, you'll get to the top. Even on two hours of sleep.
Until next time, Nina
📚 Currently reading: Onyx Storm (yes, still)
🎧 Currently listening to: Morbid
🍷 Currently sipping: A glass of Sunday red