Regardless if you are married or still waiting for the right time, having time to truly connect should be on top of your priority. It fuels the satisfaction and happiness of the relationship. However, with individual commitments, jobs, and other pleasures pulling you two in separate paths, the connection tends to blur without you noticing.
When you’re exhausted, stressed out, and occupied, you tend to neglect the simple things your bond needs. It gets hard to find new creative, and exciting ways to do or stay interested in learning more about one another. If you think you and your significant other are starting to slip away into separate directions, we listed simple yet effective ways recommended by relationship experts to reconnect with each other.
- Pick up the phone
Let’s get real. Most people these days cannot live without their phones. Others even find it difficult to put their phones down for a few hours. This is exactly why the excuse that you’re too busy to send a text or answer a call won’t fly anymore. It only takes seconds or a few minutes to contact each other.
Relationship coaches claim that even in the busiest schedules, there’s always a way to reach out to your partner who’s equally as busy. Send a short text or leave a voicemail to let your significant other you’re thinking about them. A full-blown conversation isn’t needed.
- Schedule date nights
Many couples, especially those who already have their kids, have a hard time scheduling date nights. You need to find a babysitter and budget for a one-night meal that often seems too expensive given all the family expenses you already have to pay. However, that does not necessarily mean you’ll skip those fun evening times together.
Instead of going to a fancy restaurant, do it at home. Allow your kids to watch TV or play computer games for a few hours while you and your partner enjoy a bottle of wine and a full-course meal in the dining area. Simple, but it works.
- Find great babysitting
When your family’s on a budget, hiring a babysitter is often ignored. Luckily, there are unique babysitting alternatives that could give you and your significant other the time for yourselves. Take advantage of the free child play zones at supermarkets or grocery stores. Drop the little ones there, then go grocery shopping together. Not only do you get the time to have a conversation, but your children can also have a blast playing games or creating crafts with other kids.
You can also check your local community center if they offer child care services. Some do for a small fee, and you can even rent sports equipment for the older kids to play while you and your spouse chat in the bleachers.
- Try therapy
If you have some extra money to shell out, you can consider going to a couple’s therapy session to enhance your connection. This type of family therapy can help couples maintain a long-term relationship and address issues they can’t handle on their own.
Attending couples counseling is also beneficial for developing more romance in the relationship and increasing intimacy. It can help you craft better parenting for the kids, manage daily disputes peacefully, address underlying relationship conflicts, and adjust to challenging transitions.
A counselor or therapist will encourage you to share your desires, feelings, and thoughts in a compassionate and honest way. Keep in mind that you’ll need to adopt a solution-focused and change-oriented approach to reap the benefits of the counseling.
- Learn things together
Relationship coaches suggest that it’s much easier to bring more teamwork into the relationship if you explore uncharted territory together. This is also an excellent way to take off a lot of pressure in high-stress times. You don’t necessarily need a grand out-of-the-country adventure.
It’s best to start with random and fun hobbies and schedule them for your next downtime. You can learn to easy songs on the guitar, master a dancing style, improve your cooking skills, or learn more about coffee brewing. These simple hobbies are perfect for couples, and they come for free.
Between those nine-to-five jobs, household chores, and taking care of the kids, spending time with your partner can be downright challenging and exhausting. While finding extra time may seem impossible, there are always ways to create space in those schedules and squeeze some more important things to keep that relationship meaningful and healthy. Keep that spark going and move forward by following the ideas here.
