207: How to Get Past Dreading Sunday Nights & Own Them Instead

Welcome to the She Thinks Big! Podcast. Get ready to level up your thinking and expand your horizons. I’m your host, Andrea Liebross, your guide on this journey of big ideas and bold moves. I am the best-selling author of She Thinks Big: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and Into the Extraordinary.

I support women like you with the insights and mindset you need to think bigger and the strategies and systems you need to turn that thinking into action and make it all a reality. Are you ready to stop thinking small and start thinking big? Let’s dive in.

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the She Thinks Big! Podcast. How is January going? Are you feeling energized or are you feeling cold? Are you feeling like you want to curl up in a ball? Are you feeling like you want to get out there and do all the things this year? How are you feeling? I would love to know. Direct message me. Let me know.

But today what I want to talk about is sometimes a feeling we have regardless of the season. But it is a good topic for January because I really want to shift your mindset around Sunday nights. We're going to talk about Sunday nights and why sometimes they suck, frankly. I want to kind of guide you through potentially a new way to think about Sunday nights.

Because I, as your coach, as your guide and the voice that reminds you that you are the CEO of your life, I think that tackling why Sunday nights hit so hard for women business owners and more importantly, how they hit so hard for women business owners that have five gazillion responsibilities outside of their business, I really think we should address this. If Sunday feels like a burden to you instead of a fresh start, let's change that.

So why do so many of us dread Sunday nights? It's not just a habit or Sunday night blues. It's that, I think, the reason is it's that Sunday Squeeze. The weight of unfinished things from last week and the pressure of thinking about the upcoming week come crashing together on Sunday.

Here's the kicker. For many of us, Sunday nights feel like a time when life is really about to start to run us, not the other way around. Here's the truth though. You run your week. The week doesn't run you. You run your business, not the other way around. Even your family, whom you love dearly, doesn't run you. You run you. But I think sometimes on Sunday nights, we start to feel like everything is running us.

Here's where things get really interesting. We often focus on planning what we need to do for the week, but we forget to plan how we want to feel. What if you decided that this week, you wanted to feel calm or maybe energized or focused? When you decide how you want to feel in the week ahead on a Sunday, you're setting the emotional tone for the week. Instead of letting your circumstances dictate your emotions, you're proactively choosing your experience.

Think about Sundays. What if you decided to be not just proactive in the action category and planning actions and to-do lists, I want you to be proactive in how you want to feel, which will allow you to choose how you experience the week. For example, Lindsey, I've talked about her before in the podcast, she's in the book. She's the one with the furniture business. She used to feel constantly frazzled and by Sunday night, she was kind of dreading another week of that same kind of chaotic or sometimes I call it like Chihuahua energy.

But when she started planning how she wanted to feel, in addition to the things she had to do, how she wanted to feel calm and in control, her Sundays really became an intentional time for setting that tone. She didn't just ask, "What do I need to do this week?" She asked, "How do I want to feel doing it?"

For Carrie, another client, her Sunday nights were really filled with anxiety about balancing her current business while building a new business. But once she decided that she wanted to feel confident and energized, she began structuring her week to align with those emotions. She built in time for activities that really helped her feel that way, like her morning walks or her quiet time for reflection or going to yoga two nights a week.

This kind of brings me to another key point. Part of running your own week, not letting the week run you, is making sure that you're not just filling it with tasks, but carving out time for you. Here's the thing. Time for you isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. When you take time to recharge, you show up better for your business and for your family, and for your goals.

What might time for you look like? Here are a couple of examples, and I think this is also a good place to insert that at my last retreat with my mastermind women, we were talking about this word retreat, and we decided that when we retreat, we really advance. It's like when you take time for yourself, you actually are not taking time away for something, you're actually giving time to something. When you retreat, you advance.

But here are a few examples of ways that taking time for you during the week might look. So number one, morning rituals. Start your day with something just for you. Maybe it's 10 minutes of journaling or short meditation or savoring a cup of coffee in peace. Think about that.

Another thing, exercise or movement. This could be a yoga class, a walk around the neighborhood, a quick home workout, movement not only really boosts your energy but also helps you clear your mind. That is why at the retreat, we started every morning with what I called gentle movement.

Here's another thing: time for you might look like creative outlets; dedicating time to something that brings you joy, painting, baking, gardening. It's really about tapping into creativity without the pressure of productivity. A lot of you are creative, but it's tied to productivity. What if it was tied to just enjoyment? Here's another example of time for you, scheduling downtime. Blocking out an hour where you do absolutely nothing related to work or to family. It could be a relaxing bath, reading a novel, or sitting in silence. Scheduled downtime, that's a thing.

Another way is social connection. Plan a coffee date with a friend or dinner out with your spouse. Connection fuels our emotional well-being. Are those things scheduled into your week? They're really going to impact how you feel and help you not feel like Sunday nights suck.

The key to making all of these moments impactful is to make these moments non-negotiable. They are just as important as meetings or deadlines because they fuel the energy and mindset you bring to everything else. I searched for a little expert validation, we'll call it, like I like to do.

I did find that research supports this theory, because according to the Journal of Happiness Studies—did you know there was such a thing, the Journal of Happiness Studies—people who intentionally schedule downtime report higher levels of life satisfaction and reduced stress.

When you build time for yourself into your week, you're not just preventing burnout, you're actively enhancing your productivity and focus. Let’s put this together here. How do we move from dreading the week to designing the week? How do we make Sunday nights not suck?

All right, I've got five ways. Are you ready? Number one, decide on your big three. This is a concept that I work on with all of my clients. I want you to start with the three most impactful things that you want to accomplish this week. These are your top priorities. These are the ones that will move the needle the most. They're probably the ones that you also have the most resistance to because they might be hard. That was number one, decide your big three. Number two, time block with intention. Once you've identified your big three, schedule them into your calendar.

This ensures that your priorities have dedicated time and helps you avoid the trap of reactive work. Number three, plan how you want to feel. Ask yourself, “How do I want to feel this week?” Then think about what actions or routines will support that feeling. Build those into your schedule.

Number four, build in time for you. Schedule at least one block of time each day that's just for you, whether it's movement, creativity, or simply resting. Make it a priority. Then number five, reflect on the wins. Take a few moments each Sunday to reflect on what went well the previous week. Celebrate even the small wins.

When you do that, it can really build some positive momentum. That's why I start each coaching call with, “What are we celebrating?” Think about this. Sundays, the reason they suck sometimes, to refresh your memory, I think the reason they suck is that there's this weight of unfinished tasks in the last week and the pressure of the upcoming week that come crashing together.

We start to feel like life is running us versus us running life. But if you can plan for how you want to feel and you can work through those five different steps, I think things are going to be all a little better. If Sunday nights feel overwhelming to you, it might be time to also get some support.

Who's supporting you during the week? Working with a coach really can help you not only plan your tasks but design a week that aligns with how you want to feel and who you want to become. Think about that word design. What if you had a partner to help you design this?

Imagine a week where you're in control, where you know exactly what matters and have time carved out for yourself too? Here’s my invitation this week. Let’s work together to really change your Sundays, which in return will change your weeks. Let's eliminate this Sunday squeeze. Let's eliminate this feeling that Sundays suck. Let's start to help you run your life, not your life run you.

How do we do this? You can head over to andreaslinks.com and book a call because together, even on that call, we can start to plan a week that empowers you, a week that you can run with clarity, confidence, and calm so you can stop dreading Mondays and really start owning them.

Okay, my friends, thank you for joining me today. If this episode resonated, share it with a friend who might need a new perspective on their Sunday nights. Remember, you have the power to design your week, design your life on your terms. Until next time, keep thinking big. You've got this. See ya.

Thanks for tuning into the She Thinks Big! Podcast. If you're ready to learn the secret to unleashing your full potential, don't forget to grab a copy of my book, She Thinks Big: The Entrepreneurial Woman's Guide to Moving Past the Messy Middle and Into the Extraordinary. It's available on Amazon and at your favorite bookstore.

And while you're there, grab a copy for a friend. Inside, you'll both find actionable strategies and empowering insights to help you navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship and life, and step confidently into your extraordinary future.

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