If you live with your partner, you see them everyday. They’re the first person you see in the morning and the last person you see before going to sleep. Yes, you see them a lot, but that doesn’t mean you’re spending enough quality time together. Wait, watching the football game isn’t quality time? Not exactly. Before we jump ahead, what is quality time?
Throughout my counselling relationship experience, I discovered some helpful ways to spend quality time together.
Quality time means spending time with your partner without any distractions. It’s a chance for you to bond with your partner, build emotional intimacy, and work on relationship problems and solutions.
While quality time is about communication, it’s also about physically expressing love to your partner via hand-holding, cuddling, kissing, and caressing. As the studies show, physical affection boosts partner satisfaction.
So how do you spend quality time together? I’m about to give you some ideas.
Do you and your partner need to spend more quality time together? If you want a healthy relationship, this is a good place to start. But to know if more quality time is needed, you need to recognize the signs.
A need for quality time can look like:
I bet there are probably some activities that you’re interested in trying out. Maybe you want to learn a new language or take up a sport. Why not try doing something new with your partner? Exploring new activities together can help build a healthy relationship along with working on relationship problems and solutions.
Now you don’t need to do this forever. But schedule some time, daily, if possible, where you put your phone and all other electronic devices away. During that time, spend it talking with your partner. Studies show that being on your phone while your partner is around can lower relationship satisfaction and increase the chance of depression.
When was the last time you went on a date with your partner? Couples experience more happiness and less stress when they spend quality time together. So, make it a routine for you and your partner to go on date night. Now, don’t spend that time talking about relationship problems and solutions; instead, focus on letting loose and having a good time.
The National Marriage Project found that a weekly date night makes relationships more exciting and prevents boredom. It also improves your sex life as well—(did you need a better reason than that?)
You know the saying, couples that sweat together, stay together. Okay, I’m not sure if that’s a saying, but you get where I’m going with this. Playing sports together or working out at the gym next to one another can be a bonding experience. Plus, exercise has a very positive effect on your sex life. So, it’s a win-win for everyone.
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So, if you’re reading this, there’s a chance that you’re not feeling good about your relationship. If you’re asking yourself, is my relationship toxic? It’s time to know the signs. Here are the signs of a toxic relationship.
You’ve met someone that you’re sure is the one. Now, I’m not going to tell you you’re wrong. I don’t even know you! But here’s the thing, are they really the one? Here’s how to know if you met the one.
Rather than asking are rough patches in a relationship normal, what you should be asking yourself is what’s causing them and how to overcome those rough patches.
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