Scandi lifestyle expert shares tips on how to banish end-of-week anxiety for a better work-life balance in 2025.
In recent years it has been found that two thirds of Brits suffer from the ‘Sunday Scaries’ – the nerves and jitters that set in on Sunday evening when thinking about the work week ahead.
To help Brits achieve the sense of calm and balance renowned in Scandi countries (a leading factor for their consistent placement in the top spots of the world’s 10 happiest country rankings) Catharina Björkman, Scandi lifestyle expert at Contura, shares her tips on how to tackle this phenomenon to ensure you thrive all week long in 2025.
“The concept of the (non-working) weekend has existed in the UK since the mid-1800s, yet Brits still struggle with the idea of the beginning of the work week coming around again,” says Catharina.
“More than anything, our experience of the Sunday Scaries is down to a mindset issue. If you look to the week ahead and it is solely dominated by meetings, deadlines and long work days, you may feel limited and shut off. However, if you can plan ahead for a week of work combined with a mix of socialising, exercise, hobbies and scheduled downtime, then the weekend coming to a close won’t seem as daunting a prospect.”
“A meaningful weekend spent engaging in activities that enrich your life, combined with an organised – but not overly scheduled or busy – Monday to Friday will result in both a sense of calm and enthusiasm that can pervade throughout the week, removing the anxiety or dread that can creep up on us as Sunday draws to a close.”
Read on for Catharina’s tips on how to approach your working week with balance to wave away the Sunday Scaries…
A step ahead
Often, the reason the workweek is so daunting is because we feel like we are always trying to catch up. By planning the basics of the week on Saturday or Sunday, you can kick start the work week knowing that you aren’t going to be caught unawares.
The perfect example of this is meal prepping – or even just planning what you will make for dinner each night of the week. This removes the mental effort of coming home after work and having to think about what to cook.
Spend an hour over the weekend looking through your fridge and cupboard and planning what to create from the ingredients you have and shopping for the bits you might be missing and voila – no more evening dinner planning headaches!
Keep going with the organising and sit down for a weekend ‘team meeting’ to make sure household members are across ins and outs and priorities. Whilst this may seem reminiscent of the language you come across at work, it will remove post-weekend dread with the knowledge that everything is in order. No more Monday morning panic because the school pick up rota hasn’t been set or you haven’t agreed who will collect the dry cleaning.
The simple fact is, the more you plan ahead at the weekend for the week ahead, the more stress-free the weekdays will be, and the more free time you will have to relax and enjoy.
Fashion forward
To paraphrase a popular Scandi mantra, ‘there is no such thing as a bad workday, just bad clothing.’ The clothes we wear are our modern armour, creating a defence against the mundane. Use your clothes to add some sparkle and shine to your workweek, to make you feel confident, and to give you a reason to spring out of bed in the morning.
Different workplaces have their own dress codes but that doesn’t mean you can’t have fun. For a corporate environment lean into it and create an outfit with a chic oversized blazer, or a pant suit in an uplifting colour like powder blue or mint green. If you work in a more creative environment, then go all out and let the walk to the photocopier be your runway! Even uniformed workplaces like hospitals can be fun to dress for – a pretty silk scrunchie to tie up your hair, comfy but colourful trainers, or funky oversized glasses can inject personality into your work look and help you look forward to your day.
Practise lagom
Scandi workplaces are known for being balanced and productive. The culture is not about early starts and late finishes or skipping your lunch break to look good for the boss. Rather, the goal is to get your work done, do it well, and then head home to enjoy the rest of your day.
Getting the balance right is tricky but once mastered it can undoubtedly help to remove any dread you feel towards the working week. Lagom, a lifestyle concept that translates as ‘just right’, is a mindset that can be used at work to make sure you avoid resentment or burn out.
Simple changes, such as switching off during your lunch break by going on a walk, listening to a podcast or calling a friend, can help bring this balance back to your workday. By practising lagom you can also increase efficiency as you will be motivated to do what needs to be done during the set work hours and know that come 5pm you will be leaving to go and do more enjoyable things.
Time management
Give or take, the working day is around eight hours long. If we sleep the recommended eight hours a night, that still gives us another eight hours every day to fill for ourselves. By prioritising this time for self-care, hobbies, time out in nature, or spending time with loved ones, we can achieve a better balance. Being more aware and mindful of all that time well spent will help banish the dread that creeps up on a Sunday night, replacing it with a sense of fulfilment for the week just gone and positive anticipation for the week ahead.
Just like you would meal prep, plan out activities for each evening so you know at the start of the week that there will be events to look forward to once the workday is done. Going out for dinner with friends, seeing a much-anticipated film, or even just blocking out time to sit at home with a glass of wine or mocktail whilst you take a bath, read a book or binge a boxset are all things that will add meaning and enjoyment to your week. Planning ahead will make you much less likely to come home and doomscroll for hours, wasting the evening away and then waking up in the morning feeling like you’ve had no time off.
Creature of habit
Life should be full of variation and surprises but sometimes sticking to a tried and tested routine will keep you cool, calm and collected.
The stress hormone, cortisol, will likely worsen Sunday Scaries anxiety. Having a set winddown and wakeup routine will help your body relax at night and feel energised in the morning, balancing stress levels and keeping you calm throughout the day.
Your routine can be whatever works for you and your lifestyle. At night a skin care routine followed by five minutes of meditation and then reading is one example. Perhaps a soothing session of bedtime stretching before zoning out to brown noise could work for you. The idea is to find what calms your mind and stick with it. The routine will work to ready the mind and body each night for relaxation and sleep.
Similarly, repeating the same steps every morning will help energise you for the day ahead. Starting the day with a walk, breathing exercises, or even a dance party in the kitchen will set a positive tone that will trickle down into the rest of your day, and before you know it the Sunday Scaries will be a thing of the past…
For more information, please visit www.contura.eu.
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Notes to editors:
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About Contura:
Contura is Europe’s leading manufacturer of wood burning stoves, offering an extensive range of classic and contemporary wood burners; from traditional insert stoves suitable for existing fireplaces, to freestanding statement models made with innovative materials such as soapstone.
Starting at £1,295, Contura stoves are premium yet affordable. Award winning, timeless Swedish design means the products complement or enhance any style of home, whilst also offering outstanding performance, maximum efficiency, practicality and ease of use.
Designed and assembled at the factory located in Markaryd, Sweden, and manufactured to the highest standards, Contura stoves are highly energy efficient, offering powerful convection, superior combustion technology and clean burning systems. All Contura stoves are DEFRA Clean Air Act exempt and thus approved for use in Smoke Control Areas.
Contura stoves can be purchased through a network of 165 independent retailers nationwide.
Contura is part of the NIBE group, a Swedish manufacturing company producing world class solutions in sustainable energy across Europe, North America, Asia and Australia.
Contura is a founding member of the Stove Industry Association (SIA) in the UK.
Contura is a proud supporter of Eden: People+Planet’s efforts to restore and monitor over 241,150 hectares of land, creating jobs to support local communities and the environment in the long-term. Since 2018, Contura has funded the planting of over 170,000 trees.
For more information, please visit www.contura.eu
