Once upon a time (and I’m not talking centuries ago), Sunday was the cultural Sabbath. Whether you were religious or not, the seventh day was sacred in its own right: a time to unplug, rest, and maybe argue with your family over a board game or watching the NFL. But somehow, somewhere between the invention of email and the glorification of hustle culture, Sunday got rebranded… as Catch-Up Day. Not ketchup at the family BBQ. No, Catch-Up as in “my job is like an overstuffed sofa that doesn’t know boundaries.”
Need proof? A recent LinkedIn survey found that nearly one in three professionals now spend part of their Sunday catching up on work. Another study from Slack showed that 80% of remote workers check work messages on weekends. And I don’t think it’s because they just miss their inbox.
Sure, a little weekend prep may soothe Monday anxiety, but when Sunday becomes Monday’s anxious dress rehearsal, we’ve got a problem.
So what’s the solution?
Start by treating Sunday like the endangered species it is. Create a “No Work Zones” list (e.g. the dinner table, your bed, and—yes—your sacred Sunday afternoons). Schedule your rest with the same intention as your meetings. And maybe, just maybe, go analog for a few hours. (Your thumbs won’t miss the screen time.) I love going for long walks on Sunday and, often, ask Nature, “What can you teach me today?”
We call this “Time Affluence”—the luxury of presence, not productivity. If aging has taught us anything, it’s that your to-do list will never be finished, but your time here is.
So this Sunday, light a candle, read a book, take a bubble bath, or stare at a tree. Reclaim the Sabbath. Catch up on your soul instead.
Want to get a little flavor of this kind of spaciousness? Join us for Landscapes of Silence: A Summer Silent Retreat in Santa Fe August 25-30 with MEA’s Hall of Fame of Mindfulness Masters including our shaman Saul Kuperstein, head of Mind and Body Teddi Dean, the Marlboro Man meets the Dalai Lama Lee Johnson, writer and artist extraordinaire Amie Tullius, and little ol’ me. This will be MEA’s first silent (and alcohol-free) workshop with a few dharma talks and nature walks sprinkled in.
-Chip
P.S. I was in Baja for vacation last week and spent some time with Javier, the farmer of a small farm I own near our beachfront campus. He’s such an inspiration, in his early 70s, working every day with a svelte body and impressive biceps as he loves being on the land. He sent to my home a bunch of tomatoes and a watermelon that he’d just harvested. What a lovely time of year to be in Baja. Check out our Summer Immersion Series where you can craft your own schedule at our MEA campus with options of going deeper on writing, learning Spanish, or investing in your health and fitness. There’s no more affordable way to experience an MEA campus in person.
