We’ve all heard of the Sunday scaries, when you start to feel the stress of the work week before it’s even started. And while you can’t always tell exactly what the next week will have in store for you at work, if you do know that this next week is going to be a doozy, there are things that you can do to help prepare yourself for this.

To help you see how this can be done, here are three ways to prepare yourself for a stressful week at work. 

Take Some Time To Rest

When you’re dealing with stress at work, it can creep over into your home life and make things like getting adequate sleep hard to do. So if you know that you’re going to be very stressed in the next week at work, one thing you can do is to come into that workweek as rested as possible. 

For some people, this will mean getting as much sleep as you can. For others, this might mean finding other ways to get mental rest, like spending uninterrupted time with family or friends. And still for others, taking time to rest might mean visiting the spa and really allowing your body and your mind to unwind. Whatever it means for you, if you can give yourself some preemptive rest and relaxation time, you may be better equipped to deal with the upcoming stress at work, too. 

Think Ahead To Potential Obstacles

If you already know that the week ahead of you is going to be stressful at work, it’s a good idea to try to make a plan for how you’ll deal with these stresses before they actually take place. 

To do this, try to think ahead to potential obstacles or things that could go wrong during the week. Then, work to either mitigate those challenges or have a plan in mind for what you’ll do if those things do, in fact, happen. Even by just thinking about these types of things ahead of time, you can feel much more ready to face them and feel less stress when you do. 

Take Care Of Other Responsibilities Beforehand

When you know that you’re going to have limited bandwidth for the week, it can be extremely helpful to take care of any of your other responsibilities beforehand so you don’t have to worry about them when all of your other stresses are raining down on you.

For example, you could prepare your meals before your work week starts so you won’t have to worry about this after your work hours are over. You could also do things like cleaning up your home, letting friends or family members know that you’ll call them after work stops being so crazy, or even canceling things that might put you over the edge. 

If you have a stressful week at work ahead of you, consider using the tips mentioned above to help you get ready for this and come through the other side successfully.