Make Sunday feel longer

How to stretch out the experience of a weekend day

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:03):
Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio. Good Morning.
This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast. Today's
tip is that time feels different based on what we
do with it. You can make Sundays feel longer by

(00:27):
consciously organizing your time in intentional ways. Now that my
kids are no longer toddlers who need to be watched
every second, I have really started enjoying my weekends. It's
possible to have some family time, solo time, couple time,

(00:47):
and friend time on a great many weekends. Friday, nights
and Saturdays are often enjoyable on their own, but Sundays
can sometimes be trouble. It is a weekend day, but
I know that a great many people are thinking about
Monday by somewhere in the middle of Sunday. Even people

(01:10):
who like their jobs can feel some trepidation about the
big pile of work that is waiting for them on Mondays.
The result is that Sunday feels shorter than it should
be because a big chunk of Sunday is lost mentally
to Monday. But this doesn't have to be the case.

(01:33):
The first way to change this is to do your
weekly planning on Fridays. By the time you leave work
on Friday, you want to know what is coming up
over the next week and how you plan to deal
with it. This way, your brain isn't spinning on Sunday
trying to solve the week's problems. Instead, you want the

(01:54):
week to feel full but doable, and you know what
you are going to do. This one change right there
can make Sundays better. Second, stop thinking of Sundays as
time to get ahead of the week's cooking and housework.
You do not need to set out outfits for the week.

(02:18):
Your Wednesday morning self will be able to get dressed.
You do not need to make dinners for the week.
Your Tuesday night self can boil water for pasta and
open a jar of sauce, or perhaps stick a piece
of salmon in the oven and steam some broccoli in
a bag. If you want to do a load of

(02:39):
laundry or go to the grocery store, that is fine,
but you can also order groceries online If you want,
your Sunday reset should instead focus on what you can
do to feel rejuvenated. That said, you definitely don't want
to aim to do nothing all day Sunday. It is

(03:00):
impossible to do nothing. You will do something, but it
might not be nearly as enjoyable as if you'd put
some thought into it. Put in at least something during
the day on Sunday that you would enjoy. A run,
a bike ride, a walk with a friend, going to
worship services, or perhaps volunteering somewhere. And then this is key.

(03:26):
Think about your Sunday night. Yes, it is a school
night and so you don't want to be out too late,
but planning something low key but fun for Sunday night
means you will spend your Sunday looking forward to your evening.
You won't spend your Sunday thinking about Monday morning. It

(03:48):
could be an easy pot luck with neighbors or friends,
or a family trip to the ice cream parlor, or
even watching a movie you have chosen ahead of time.
But think about what your Sunday night fun will be,
and Sunday will automatically seem longer. The more memories we

(04:11):
have of any stretch of time, the more we feel
like time is rich and full. Sunday morning will seem
like it was ages in the past, rather than the
usual where did the time go? In the meantime? This

(04:31):
is Laura, thanks for listening, and here's to making the
most of our time. Thanks for listening to Before Breakfast.
If you've got questions, ideas, or feedback, you can reach
me at Laura at Laura vandercam dot com. Before Breakfast

(05:01):
is a production of iHeartMedia. For more podcasts from iHeartMedia,
please visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you
listen to your favorite shows.