A Slower Sunday Could Change Your Week

Monday brings out the worst in Sunday. 

What? It’s true – society taught us to spend the final day of the weekend grieving the 48 hours that came before it, and then dreading what is to follow. This mindset is a product of early adulthood when Saturday nights ended on the latter side of 1 am, typically leading to the next-day decision of (rarely) finding a sense of productivity and (most likely) just melting into the couch.  It’s a decision that never took much thought, for that matter – after all, they don’t call it the day of rest for nothing.

In today’s world, your Sunday morning muscle memory wakes you up with caution, and the pressure is on.  You can’t tell what sounds worse – getting three weeks ahead on errands and starting a cabbage soup cleanse, or yelling Family Feud answers into the TV just to remember that Steve Harvey can’t actually hear you. 

Either way, we would like to bring attention to the rather underrated, more moderate solution – the Softer Sunday. 

This Sunday rendition involves some minor accomplishments here, some R&R there, and is designed for the woman that walks the line between the faint of heart and, well, the extremist.  We find it to be the formula that best yields a good mood on a day that otherwise evokes… a lot of feelings. 

So, if you’re cool to take our advice, here’s a play by play on the ideal Softer Sunday. Modify as you need, ignore what doesn’t serve you, and take it with a grain of salt… the Softer Sunday is now yours to enjoy. 

8:00 – A Kind Awakening

To sleep in or not to sleep in… that is the question. The Sunday alarm is widely disputed, yet depending on the integrity of your blackout curtains, it might be necessary. A humble choice of an 8 am wake up call allots enough time for the sleep cycle to shake off, and still delivers four bountiful hours of a slow morning. Who knows, maybe you’ll be lucky enough to see the sun before you even hear the first ring – either way, thank yourself for the 8+ hours and take them with you.  Because let’s be real, there’s no better feeling than playing catch up before the catch up is even needed. 

10:00 – Something for Your Body 

A long walk, a mid-morning sauna, a green juice or a thorough stretch – whatever it may be, something good for you is close-to-required for the success of an impactful Sunday. Get a good sweat going, release the toxins, swipe on the Ex Pads, and carry on. Whether it’s a spurt of exercise to beat the restlessness of bedtime, or a metabolic kickstarter that resets your system, a holistic activity is a guaranteed mood booster and a trend setter for productivity… a win win. 

12:00 – Write it Down 

Let us guess… your pre-week freakout starts right after your forgotten to-do’s attack your consciousness. The lunch meetings you promised, the oh shits of the week prior, even the items on your list that others would call self-obsessed. Take a few minutes to drop them in the calendar to see where the puzzle pieces belong. When Monday comes, you’ll have both a mental gauge and physical reference to the cadence of your week. Nothing worse than the stomach drop of a bygone plan… we don’t even have time to squeeze that in. 

1:00 – Due Diligence 

Next step: do the thing you’ve been meaning to do. We’re talking non-urgencies. Dry cleaning, a car wash, now is the time to knock out the mindless tasks that are taking up space. Falling under this umbrella is the weekly kitchen reincarnation – the time in which new groceries arrive, the fridge is wiped down, and the pantry gets a facelift. Set your mind on your eating schedule for the week, and while you’re at it, use this time to do a little extra prep work – as per our last blog. Play some music, make it fun, whatever you do, just get it done. Monday morning is already lightening up. 

3:00 – You Time

Sundays are for the everything shower, so insert your makeshift two-hour spa day where you see fit. We recommend starting with a dry brush session, straight into a full body shower (hair and all). Consider it the perfect excuse to use a clarifying shampoo or a nourishing deep conditioner. Next, tie your locks up and treat yourself to a double cleanse with an oil-based cleanser like Take it Off to start fresh for the week. Shave the legs, suds up the soap, and wipe the fog off the mirror upon your exit. A full skin routine is to finish, and the lineup goes as follows: Ex Pads to polish, an all-over brightening treatment with The Problem Solver, a chilled Golden Sculpt Face Roller and a layer of Xtremely Rich to lock it all in.

5:00 – Something for Your Brain

The afternoon just lends to a resting activity, so pick up something you enjoy – a few chapters of a book, a podcast on your favorite startup, or challenge yourself to our very own YSE Beauty crossword. Whatever accompanies your couch hour should stimulate the brain. That way it all cancels out… right?

7:00 – Spend Time 

The weeks are long and busy for everyone, so Sunday is the time to share moments with those you love. Test out a new recipe with your husband. Take your kids out to the movies. Walk to see the sunset. Call your Mom. The last thing you do to prime your week should fulfill you, and if there is any part of the day to prioritize you, it’s this one. 

And lastly… get in bed early. It’s good for you. 

Xx, The YSE Ones