How I Cope With Work Dread

It's no secret that I dislike my job and have been trying to find something new for a couple years now...

Fighting within a competitive job market should make me feel like I should be grateful that I even have a job-- and I am. But it is becoming increasingly difficult to avoid the dread and anxiety every night before a shift that is known as "The Sunday Scaries."

A Mental Shift

I've had dreams where I work full shifts. I've sat up in my bed while asleep doing charades of my job tasks until I realize where I am. I quite literally sleep work sometimes.

It's difficult, but sometimes a shift in mindset can help. Instead of dreading the day, be excited to get things off of your plate. Unfortunately, it's come to a point where I can feel a type of anxiety or panic attack coming on and I have to remind myself that nothing in this job should be causing this type of panic. I am not saving lives, I am not the person separating a company from bankrupcy, I am not protecting anything valuable or dangerous. The things that my job has me stress out about do not matter in the grand scheme of life. And that's a mindset that I wish the people that I am surrounded by on a daily basis would adopt, because it would give the office the sigh of relief and wave of calmness that is needed to make a workplace conducive to job satisfaction and motivation. Nothing that we are doing is an emergency.

Instead of coming up with scenarios of what will happen if you don't get it done, make a plan. Every day before you leave work, create a plan for your next shift. Leave a note for your future self of the tasks you will complete the following day. Lay everything out, and leave some time available to handle unexpected fires.

Work Life Balance

Remove Work From Your Phone. Truly separating your job from your personal life requires a complete cut off from the moment you leave the office. If you can, deleting work apps from your phone so you are not tempted to check is a great first step. With my iPhone, I am able to "offload" apps. This means that the app and all the data stays on your phone screen, but it is saved to the cloud. If you go click the app out of instinct, it needs to redownload and gives you a moment to realize that it isn't worth checking.

Get Things Out of Your Head. Unfortunately, it is common to remember things to do at work while in the middle of the night and it can be hard to go back to sleep without addressing the concern. Having a notebook or audio recorder by your bed to record these worries can take your mind off of the problem so you can go back to sleep. Of course, phones work for this too, but personally it is harder for me to go back to sleep once I open it.

Small Motivators

Plan your outfit ahead of time. This is something small, but putting together a great outfit the night before has worked for me because I get excited to wear it the next day. Wearing something you feel good in adds a level of confidence that will make you excited to walk into a room.

Make plans for after work, even if they're small. This can be anything. Make plans with a friend or family. Buy yourself a movie ticket. Decide on an exciting dish to try cooking at home. Make a hair, nail, spa, facial appointment. Treat yourself. Then, the night before, you'll have something to look forward to. The only thing standing in the way is work. Plus, having something to distract yourself from work is an excellent bonus.

Conclusion

Keep applying for new jobs. You can't let up. New positions open up everyday, and every day of work just adds more experience to your resume.

These are just a few of my techniques to try to rid myself of the Sunday Scaries, and if you have more, please leave a comment so we can all be less anxious together!