A typical weekend for a modern household means stepping out to eat as a family whether it is a restaurant or hotel but as the year is nearing an end, you might need to save up for a better festive season. Not so?

You certainly don’t want to get to the festive season already wondering where the resources for the festivities will come from. For some, the weekend is also time to catch up on work and attend to pending issues.

There are certain ways you can spend your weekend as a family without having to spend a lot of money on eating out or going to the cinema. A big number of people find themselves working over the weekend to cover lost ground during the week.

For those who work throughout the week, the weekend is a good opportunity to disconnect but most people don’t take advantage of that. By disconnecting, it means taking time off everything work and electronics to focus on you.

According to experts, disconnecting is the most important weekend strategy, because if you can’t find a way to remove yourself electronically from your work Friday evening through Monday morning, then you’ve never really left work.

Some people like Richard Mugwaneza, an architectural consultant, the weekend is a good opportunity to carry some of the pending work home and try to clear it but by Sunday evening, he is more exhausted than he was at the end of the week.

"I find myself not making enough time to rest and also not enough time to spend with my family and loved ones. Before I know it, the weekend is gone,” Mugwaneza says.

According to a recent study, making yourself available to your work 24/7 exposes you to a constant barrage of stressors that prevent you from rewinding, refocusing and recharging.

While we need to work at the end of the day, it is advisable that if you must work or respond to emails and urgent queries, find a small window of 30 minutes to 1 hour but avoid spending your free weekend time working.

Minimize chores and replace them with fun things

For many, weekends are for cleaning up or attending to that garden but experts say even chores, when they become too much, you will find yourself having a busy weekend instead of relaxing.

Home chores can take over your weekends because most chores demand energy and effort. Schedule your chores and make sure they don’t overwhelm what would be an important time to focus on yourself and your loved ones.

It is advised that you use your spare time during the weekends to do fun things such as cooking out, barbecuing or sharing a meal as a family, outside the house.

If you have ample space at home such as a balcony or garden, use it for fun activities that draw in the entire family such as group games, puzzles, riddles and other fun games that will exude togetherness and joy.

Gardening and cleaning up can also be done in a fun way, for those with children, using the opportunity to teach them a few things.

Time to exercise

Many people who work on a daily basis are not likely to find time to work out or exercise but the weekend presents the best opportunity to work out and achieve the missed health goals during the week.

Take time off to do long walks or a run in the hills, preferably where you can encounter nature if you are lucky, whether it is Mount Kigali or Bumbogo hills. Exercising over the weekend is one of the best chances to rewind and re-energise.

Whether you’re swimming, running, cycling, or gardening, exercise leads to endorphin-fuelled introspection. The key is to find a physical activity that does this for you and then to make it an important part of your weekend routine.

A weekend indoors

In today’s busy world, some people find themselves spending very little time at home, leaving home in the morning and returning late. Home literally becomes a lodging place. You just come to sleep.

However, spending time indoors or at home can be a good opportunity not just to feel at home but also to bond with the people at home and just relax. As they say, there is no place better than home.

Staying at home will help you cut off the stressful things out there and also be in a place that you call your own. For those with children, it is time to bond and share with them.

Staying indoors is also a chance to reflect on yourself and your plans. Reflection is a powerful tool for improvement. Use the weekend to contemplate on yourself and life goals instead of spending it in a bar with friends and by Monday morning you are nursing a hangover.