Dear Swifta Fam, 

It’s that time of the week again! The clock is about 5 p.m. on Friday, the excitement is cranking up.  Thank God it is Fri-Yay, it’s time to relax! We spend our working weeks in a frantic race against deadlines and battling an ever-growing to-do list. Weekends should rejuvenate you, rather than exhaust you or stress you out even more. It’s a mini-vacation from work. 

Here are five relaxing ways to spend your weekend, and get you charged up for another week.

• Start with a plan

Yea we know, it sounds counterintuitive when all you want to be doing is relaxing. However, reports have shown that you should plan your weekend just as you plan your week. Planning a few great “anchor” events will help give your weekend purpose. While it doesn’t mean that you will have each moment planned, you should start the weekend knowing what you want to get out of it. If you don’t have any plans, you will end up doing nothing and then wonder where the time went once the weekend is over. If, however, you make plans during the week for what you will be doing on Saturday and Sunday, the anticipation will improve not only your weekend but also your week.

• Avoid routine

          We live our lives mainly by routine Monday through Friday. If we’re not careful though, the familiarity of our patterns can easily lead us to become stuck in a rut of only doing the same things over and over again. The weekend, therefore, is a good time to force ourselves to step out of our comfort zone by trying new experiences, joining a new club, crossing an item off our bucket list, or revisiting a hobby that we used to enjoy

• Problem no dey finish, try relax too!

Filling your time with different activities can be fun, but to the extreme, it can also take its toll both mentally and physically. Instead, make sure to set aside some time just for yourself so you can recharge your batteries in any way you find relaxing such as reading a favourite book.  You should be careful not to fill up your empty time with things that aren’t relaxing like constantly checking email.

• Get some fresh air

Getting outside for a walk, run, play soccer, movie dates, beach day or anything else that will help you get some exercise and enjoy the fresh air will leave you energized while you also reap the health benefits. Since we often don’t get enough exercise during the weekdays, the weekend is a perfect time to catch up.

• Sunday is family day

It’s hardly the world’s biggest mystery that spending time with people we like makes us healthier and happier. Your family members know you best, they know what to say or do to make you smile. So rather than allowing thoughts of Monday morning and the work that is waiting for us to take over our ability to fully enjoy our Sunday, let’s instead luxuriate in some family lovin.