150 Weeks of Leaving the Sunday Scaries Behind

Happy New Year—and welcome to the first Sunday Scaries of 2025! 🎉 

This edition is extra special because we’re not only ringing in the new year, but we’re also marking our 150th Combatting the Sunday Scaries newsletter. 

Can you believe it!?

Over the past three years, we’ve shared hundreds, ok thousands - 1,050 to be exact - of tips to help you start your week with more excitement and less dread while [hopefully] improving your overall quality of life. 🥰

Today, we’re celebrating by giving you a little something extra.

We’re looking back at the most impactful themes from all 150 editions and turning them into a roadmap of action-packed tips to set the tone for not just this week but a full year of growth, purpose, and fulfillment. 

Take it day by day, and then think about how these themes can carry you through the next 12 months. 

You have 365 opportunities to make 2025 your best year yet, and we’re here to help. 

Happy New Year! 

1. Monday: Start with Gratitude

Gratitude has been woven into so many Sunday Scaries tips. 

From jotting down daily wins to reflecting on the support of friends and mentors, this small practice creates a massive ripple effect to help us remember what’s good even when life feels heavy. 

Gratitude is scientifically proven to support a positive mindset, something you hear me talk about all too often! It’s easy to take things for granted in this fast-paced world, so give your heart a few intentional minutes to be thankful every day, and I promise you’ll see the impact it has on you - and those around you! 

👉 Daily Tip: Spend 10 minutes each day this week reflecting, and then list five things you’re grateful for in 2024, five things you’re grateful for in your life today, and five things you’re excited about in 2025. Write them down to make it all tangible.

➡️ Year-Long Action: Start a gratitude journal and commit to writing down three things you’re thankful for each evening just before you go to sleep. Bonus if you pair that with a few minutes of positive affirmations each morning. 

Over time, you’ll train your brain to find the good in even the most challenging weeks.

2. Tuesday: Simplify

Life can get messy—physically, emotionally, and even digitally. 

Over the years, we’ve shared tips that cover everything from clearing out a junk drawer to untangling overpacked schedules and reevaluating relationships that might be more draining than fulfilling. 

The goal? 

Create space for what really matters. Simplifying isn’t just about getting rid of things; it’s about giving yourself room to breathe, the ability to focus, and clearing the path from things that disrupt our ability to truly thrive. 

👉 Daily Tip: Set a timer for 15 minutes and declutter one area each day this week —your desk, inbox, kitchen counter, closet….your friend list. You choose what will make the most impact. 

➡️ Year-Long Action: Identify one area of your life—physical space, digital life, or personal commitments where you have trouble setting boundaries and commit to simplifying one during each quarter of the year. At the end of 2025, you’ll be able to reflect and see how much mental clarity you gained and the stress you lost! 

3. Wednesday: Focus on Wellness

Y’all know I love a good activity. Whether it’s the gym, flying down a mountain bike trail, or shredding some powder, Jim and I carve out a lot of our time for physical activity and recommend you do the same. 

Since your wellness activities don’t have to entail potential bodily harm 😜, we’ve given out tips that include prioritizing sleep, maintaining mental health, going for a walk, or even spending time in a garden. 

Whether embracing movement or creating morning routines, we’ve emphasized small actions that lead to big changes essential to keeping the one body we have energized. 

👉 Daily Tip: Choose one small wellness action and commit to it today—drinking an extra glass of water, getting in your 10,000 steps, or going to bed 30 minutes earlier are all great examples of small habits that stack up to significant change.

➡️ Year-Long Action: Choose one wellness goal for 2025—like improving sleep, getting into a fitness routine, or alleviating stresses you can control; break that goal into monthly milestones to make it manageable, and be sure to celebrate progress along the way.

4. Thursday: Build Connection

Connection is at the heart of so many Sunday Scaries tips, and no one should be surprised. I am a former engineer who loves people, after all! 

Deepening friendships, thanking a mentor, taking on a mentee, or networking with intention - relationships fuel our personal and professional lives. Investing in real, authentic connections isn’t just about others—it’s a gift you give yourself, too.

👉 Daily Tip: Send three messages to people in your network via LinkedIn this week —check in with a friend, follow up with a colleague, or express appreciation to a mentor. It’s a perfect time to re-engage and fire up conversations - even if it’s for no reason than just to catch up!

➡️ Year-Long Action: List 12 people or groups you want to reconnect with or integrate further into throughout the year, and set aside time each month to focus on one of them. At the end of the year, you’ll have amassed an army of re-ignited connections and some great new habits at the same time. 

5. Friday: Plan for Growth

Growth doesn’t just happen; it’s intentional, and it doesn’t happen overnight. How many times have you heard - or said - “Oh, they got lucky,” or “They were in the right place at the right time.” 

Maybe so, but more often than not, those chance outcomes we all wish we could have were about the work they put in to get themselves into the right positions, and many of our tips are all about helping you do just that. 

Bold goal-setting, continuous learning, and stepping out of comfort zones; taking on a new hobby, visiting somewhere new - growth is about embracing challenges, taking risks, and saying “yes” to opportunities that push you out of your comfort zone. 

Every step forward counts, no matter how small.

👉 Daily Tip: Write down one BHA professional goal for 2025 and identify the first action you’ll take to inch yourself towards making it a reality. Not familiar with a BHA professional goal? The Bigger, Hairier, and more Audacious it is, the better. 😉 

Spend 15 minutes brainstorming an action plan, including daily and/or weekly steps you need to take to get yourself there and commit to doing them! 

➡️ Year-Long Action: Build a personal development plan with quarterly goals for your professional growth. Revisit your plan regularly and adjust it as needed to stay on track, and engage a mentor or coach if you need another level of accountability. #shamelessplug

6. Saturday: Find Joy in the Moment

Joy is a cornerstone of the Sunday Scaries mission. Whether it’s hiking a trail, savoring a cup of coffee, or laughing with friends, we’ve celebrated the little moments that make life sweet. 

Joy isn’t just a fleeting emotion—it’s a state of being, and it starts with finding beauty in the everyday.

👉  Daily Tip: Dedicate 30 minutes to an activity that brings you joy today—read a book, bake a treat, or enjoy a favorite playlist while relaxing. Bonus challenge: start doing this Every. Single. Day. 

➡️ Year-Long Action: Identify one activity that lights you up more than anything and incorporate it into your daily, weekly, or monthly routine - hey, some joyous things just can’t be done every day, no matter how much we love them. Regardless, whatever you decide to do becomes a  non-negotiable in your life that no one can take away! 

7. Sunday: Reflect and Refocus

Reflection has been a powerful theme throughout the years, with tips encouraging everything from weekly check-ins to celebrating wins. Pausing to assess where you are and where you’re going is grounding, productive, and sometimes even eye-opening! 

You can’t set yourself up for a stronger tomorrow if you don’t know where the heck you are today!

👉 Daily Tip: Spend 15 minutes reviewing your upcoming week to see where you need to prioritize your time, what you can shift to another week, and what you can eliminate completely by delegating. Then wrap up your planning session by writing down the six most important things you need to accomplish the next day.

You’ll hit that Monday ground running like you’ve never done before! 

➡️ Year-Long Action: Create a Sunday ritual for planning and prioritizing. Yes, I’m suggesting you take 15 minutes out of Sunday to plan for Monday (note: not worry about Monday). 

This time will help you track your progress, focus on your goals, remove unnecessary items from your path, and set yourself up for success in the week ahead.

🥳🥂😍

Here’s to a week of action, a year of intention, and 150 more weeks of leaving the Sunday Scaries behind!

Your Friend and Coach,

Angie