Do you get to spend enough quality time with the people who mean the most in your life? You try to enjoy time together, but life always seems to get in the way, doesn’t it?
Luckily, life doesn’t have to be like this. Regardless of how busy you are, you can create quality time, even with limited hours. Plus, you’ll feel lighter and more joyful as you unburden yourself of those guilty, nagging feelings of insufficiency.
Try these strategies to add quality to your relationships – a few minutes at a time:
- Take a few moments to call. Simply making a quick call to your loved one is enough to tell them how important they are to you! Even when you can only spare a couple of minutes to talk, the fact that you cared enough to call will lift the heart of someone you love.
- Instead of debating with your co-worker about whose responsibility it was to reload the photocopier with paper, why not do it yourself and spare a few extra minutes to make that call?
- Regardless of whether your lunch break is 30 minutes, 45 minutes, or an hour, you can always reserve five minutes to phone a loved one.
2. Share a favorite takeout meal. Until recently, your options for sharing a meal with someone special were either to cook it yourself or spend a few hours at a restaurant. Those options are obviously too time-consuming when you’re crunched for time. So, why not share a favorite takeout meal at home?
- Order your favorite dish from the Chinese restaurant down the street and pick it up on the way home. You can enjoy it together as soon as you walk through the door and you’ll still have enough time to complete tomorrow’s presentation for work.
3. Agree on dedicated time together each day. In the same way you schedule staff meetings or training sessions at the office, make it a point to schedule time each day to dedicate to that special person.
- Whether you’re enjoying a movie together or just staring into each other’s eyes doesn’t really matter – sticking to that “together time” is what’s important.
- If life is so hectic that you can only spare one hour a day, then make that hour count!
- You spend most of your time navigating your busy schedule. Isn’t it only fair to spend some uninterrupted time living your life?
4. Send gifts and special notes. Surprisingly, it’s possible to spend “time” together without actually being in the same place! Take a few minutes to let your loved one know you’re thinking of them. Send a gift to someone who means the world to you and it’ll feel like you are together. Be sure to include a note that says how you feel!
- It doesn’t have to be flowers or candy. Do you remember him pointing out a tie he liked in the store window downtown? Buy it and have it delivered with a note that says, “Even when we’re not together, I’m still thinking of you.”
In order to make all your hard work count for something, you naturally want to have special people around to share in your successes. Follow these tips and keep them around by strengthening your relationship each day with quality time – in less time.
