It’s easy to get lost in the day to day hustle and bustle of life and forget to spend that time with your partner. It is so important that no matter what’s going on in your life you take at least one day out of each week and plan to spend a minimum of 2 hours of “one on one” time with your partner. Whether you have been with your partner 10 days or 10 years you have to keep it fresh. In this article I will show you the secret ingredient to a long and happy union.
How to find time?
So date night, for those of you that don’t do it. It’s probably because you think it’s a great idea but never map out the time or feel like you do not have the income to waste when you are in a financial hardship. Whatever the case maybe you have to make time. (I’ll address budget later in this article) I like to not only do a date night with my partner but also with my parents, favorite cousin, the kids, and best friend. So many time you hear about someone getting involved in a relationship and they disappear from the other people that matter in their lives. It’s monumental to your long term happiness with your partner and with yourself should anything happen to your relationship that you still stay connected to other people that also matter to you. How you ask? Well back when I lived in Cleveland, Ohio I found even working 110 hours a week it is totally possible to make time for everyone. The best way to do it is to have designated days and times that you plan to see someone. By doing it this way you can community to your job or business what days you always need off and it will never be a schedule conflict. With my mom I would take her to the 7:30 am early church serve and out to breakfast every Sunday morning before I went to work. Tuesday I was off of work so that was the day I dedicated to spending with mostly everyone on my fav five list. I would start the day with a morning workout with my honey, have lunch with my favorite cousin, then pick up the kids from school and take them to the park or Chuck ‘E’ Cheese. Afterwards I would go bowling or out to dinner with my pops and then have a night cap with my best friend at local late night bar or pub. I found that by having a set day and time it held me accountable for spending that time with those people that mattered most to me. The more I stayed true to these set times the more I felt fulfilled. I also noticed that it made the people in my life happier too because even with my busy schedule they could see how much they meant to me and it made our connection stronger and stronger each week. Side note: whether I am in a relationship or not I still commit to having that same date night with myself every week. I find that it helps you to keep your values and vision in perspective. I was off Monday as well so that was my “me time” date night although I would do it in the morning when I was single so I could do a couple’s night with my partner. Okay on to the juice.
How to keep it fresh?
Now that you understand the importance of date night how can you keep it fresh, fun, and exciting for everyone. Long story short ROTATION. Not only should you go and do new things all the time but you should take turns on who picks what to do. This way everyone involved feels engaged in the process and share responsibility in keeping it fresh and all the pressure isn’t just on one person. If you like live music and they like the casino you not pressed if you don’t get to do your thing this week because you know you get to pick next week. That’s the beauty in rotation because it gives you something to live for. Also, when you go out you want to do things that requires you interact with each other. If you go to the movies go have dessert afterwards and talk about what you liked and didn’t like about the movie you saw. That moment of reflection on the thing you did together is most important because that helps to re-establish those positive memories of why you like these people in your life and what brought the two of you together in the first place to want to continue to stay together for years to come. If you are tight on cash for a month only do FREE events or shows. Like going for a walk in the park, community events, or book read together at your local library.
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