Beat the Sunday Scaries with These 5 Tips: Make Your Sunday Suck Less and Your Week Better Organized
The Sunday Scaries… we’ve all been there, amirite?
I remember, in my first two years of teaching, I had the worst Sunday Scaries. I would be an anxious mess and it, overall, wasn’t a great day because I was too focused on Monday. On one hand, I knew I didn’t want to do much work because, y’know, boundaries, but on the other hand - I felt like I had to do some sort of work because I wasn’t super duper prepared. I was at an impasse and my Sunday suffered because of it. I eventually developed some strategies to help me through these feelings and my week started off on a much better foot.
Keep reading to learn more about some things I personally did to help.
Disclaimer: before you start reading, just know that I’m aware every situation is different, and some of these things may seem like they are easier said than done. Just know, these solutions may not be necessarily a one-size-fits all. Rather, you may want to take some inspiration from these tips and form them into something that works for you, your personality, and your circumstances.
Tip #1: Mindset Matters
First of all, it’s important to remember to stay positive. Can’t never could. Surround yourself with people who exude positivity (but aren’t disillusioned). Also, stay positive YOURSELF! If you go into the week thinking it’s going to be an awful week, odds are, it will be. A self-fulfilling prophecy, if you will.
Do what you need to do to recharge your battery so you’re not going into the week with a negative mindset. Go on some walks. Spend time with your family. Binge watch your fave TV show. Sleep in. The possibilities are endless.
Tip #2: Maintain a Calendar and Set a Schedule for Yourself
I was the worst at this and still sometimes am, but making sure your calendar is updated with tasks to do, as well as deadlines, can truly help you stay organized. This way, you can focus on what’s important and work on preparing for the upcoming week when you have the time. Find what works best for you - I tried the whole paper calendar thing and it never really worked that well because I would forget I had it and would never look at it. However, there are online options, such as with Google Calendar, that can even give you notifications when something is coming up that needs your attention.
Along these same lines, set a schedule for yourself - something to work on each day of the week so you don’t have to spend your weekends doing things when you should be recharging and/or spending time with your family.
An example schedule:
Monday - clear out emails
Tuesday - plan for the upcoming week
Wednesday - parent communication day (positive messages through text/email, for example - always good to build relationships)
Thursday - fill out/update any paperwork
Friday - make copies for the upcoming week and organize them by day
What worked for me is I came to school 30 minutes before my contract hours began to prepare for the day and/or work on my schedule, spent my 30ish minutes of planning/conference time working on these things, and I stayed for no more than 30 minutes after contract hours. That was my personal preference, as I felt that 30 minutes before and after wasn’t that much of a stretch and, overall, didn’t affect my personal life. (Like I’ve said in previous posts, decide what your boundaries are and stick to them.) If you would like to not do that, however, and only work on school stuff at school DURING conference hours, then more power to you. I only stayed 30 minutes after if I didn’t have anything to catch up on, so it wasn’t every day I did this. BUT, you’re going to have to find time throughout the week to work on things.
Which brings me to my next 2 tips…
Tip #3: Prioritize
If you are unable to prioritize what’s important enough to need your immediate attention and things that can wait for a later time, then your week will be stressful and it will be hard to get things done. Refer to your calendar to decide what is of greater importance. Clearly, planning for next week should be high up on that priority list, as you don’t want to get behind. Likewise, making copies - you need those to teach. Something else that may be of higher priority is paperwork that you need to fill out that is due in a few days. Stuff like organizing papers or sharpening pencils can either wait, or be assigned to your students to do as a classroom job.
Tip #4: Find Time Throughout the Week
As stated, you need to find times throughout the week to work on things or it will all pile up and eventually you’re going to be SO stressed when the weekend is almost over because you didn’t do anything to prepare for the upcoming week. Then, you’re playing catch-up and the vicious cycle continues.
Obviously, you have your planning time. Hopefully. Personally, I had about 45 minutes of conference time a day to work on what I needed to. You may have an off-period or another time you don’t mind working during contract hours. Maybe your students have an assembly you don’t have to go to, or you don’t have recess duty. Think about any opportunity you get.
Sometimes I would work on grades while my students were completing independent work. Or, I would pop out for a few minutes to make some copies and ask my partner teacher to watch my class for 5 minutes.
To be completely honest, if you need to have your students work on silent reading or an independent learning activity on their Chromebook or whatever while you catch up on something, that is totally fine. Do what you need to do to get it done.
Tip #5: Beg, Borrow, Steal
The easiest way to get through the week and prepare for the upcoming week is to beg, borrow, and steal. If you don’t plan with your grade level team, see what they’re doing. Ask if you can make copies of what they’re working on, and get the links to any videos they may be watching to supplement their learning. Lean on the people around you. More often than not, they are more than happy to help. Just don’t forget to return the favor when you are able and share things that you’re doing with them, also.
You can also find some resources online that are low or no-prep so you can get a head start on the week. Low or no-prep activities and lessons can give you ample time to prepare for the rest of the week or the next, if necessary. I have some low- to no-prep lessons available here if you’re interested. These are for ELAR, but these community builders, which you can find by clicking here, are a great way to give your students something to do while you catch up if you need to. Plus, they’re fun!
