Today, we’ll be discussing how to prioritize quality time in a busy relationship.
The first few months or years of a relationship usually appear to be the sweetest, and the reasons are not far-fetched.
That period is popularly referred to as the honeymoon stage of a relationship.
During that time, the couple are on their best behaviors, acting all sweet and loved up, and always spending their spare time together.
Quality time is one of the five love languages.
However, that it’s not someone’s love language doesn’t mean that they should be denied of it in their relationship.
All I’m saying is that spending quality time is one of the basic and important ingredients to building a healthy and successful relationship.
As a relationship progresses, life tends to get in the way most times.
Kids probably start coming, work promotions come with added responsibilities at work, there’s so much to do at the home front, and personal goals that need to be achieved also await.
The resultant effect is that the couple’s schedules and time become tighter, as there’s so much to do within limited time.
So, the rush to beat or keep to time is crazy.
In this haste, a couple can unconsciously drift apart from each other because they’re no longer spending enough time together.
When left unchecked, this drift can cause serious strain on the relationship between a couple.
If care is not taken, they’ll start living like flat mates, and speak only when it’s necessary.
That’s not the way anyone wants to live with their partner, especially if love was in the picture at the onset of the relationship.
Are you surprised that there are relationships that had no love at the beginning?
Then, you should read this post to be enlightened on that particular topic.
Back to the topic at hand.
You should read this article to the end, to find out how you can create time for your partner and make the most out of it.
How To Prioritize Quality Time In A Busy Relationship
You’re probably wondering how someone can have very crazy schedules and still manage to spend quality time with their partner.
It’s not rocket science.
There’s one word for it — intentionality.
It takes willingness and intentionality from the two people in a busy relationship to squeeze out time and make it memorable for both parties.
At this point, I’ll help you figure out the ‘how’.
Enjoy!
1. Be intentional about spending quality time together
I mentioned ‘being intentional’ earlier, and you’ll be seeing more of its manifestation in the points to be discussed.
Looking for how to prioritize quality time in a busy relationship?
One of the ways to achieve that is by intentionally working towards spending time with your partner.
You both can decide to go on a dinner date.
Squeeze out some time and label it ‘couple’s time’.
It should be a sacred time that you spend with your lover away from work, friends, kids, family, and every form of distraction.
The great part is that it doesn’t have to be a special occasion.
Just pencil in the activity in your schedules and stick to it — no excuses.
If you have to compromise on time, let it be on other activities in your schedule.
That couple’s time should remain sacrosanct.
Once you learn to be strict about it, you’ll see every other activity moving around to accommodate it.
Sometimes, all you need to do within that period is to hole up in your bedroom and lock the doors.
Spend an hour or more with each other exclusively — no phones, TV or any other distraction.
It’ll be just the two of you cuddled up and talking about anything and everything.
2. Attending events together as guests
This point might seem off the chart, but if you put your mind to it, it works.
Stay with me.
It’s a different thing to attend an event as a show of support to your partner who is probably a guest speaker there.
Attending an event together with your partner just as guests does the trick.
Consciously plan to attend an event in the company of your lover with the sole aim of enjoying yourselves and spending time with each other.
A good example of such event is a church wedding ceremony.
Here in Nigeria, many people skip attending the actual joining of man and woman.
They prefer the pomp and pageantry that comes with the wedding after-party.
But for a couple that’s keen on spending quality time together, I’ll tell you that the actual wedding is where the sauce lies.
I’ve been spending quality time with my husband, but attending a wedding ceremony together kinda reminded us of the beauty of our relationship.
It took us back to where we started from, how far we’ve come, and where we’re headed.
In addition, it provided another opportunity to remind us of how much love, affection, care, and commitment we have, and should continue to share.
So, yea.
I highly recommend attending events together, especially the ones centered around romance and unions.
3. Work out together
This point not only strengthens your bond as a couple, but you also achieve fitness while at it.
That’s killing two birds with one stone, if you ask me.
If you’re looking for how to prioritize quality time in a busy relationship, you should try it out.
Remember that we’re exploring all possible options because you’re both very busy people.
What we’re trying to do is sneak intentionality into your busy schedule and make you spend more time with each other whenever it’s possible.
So, instead of going on walks and runs early in the mornings at different times, you should consider doing it together as a couple.
When you stop to catch your breath along the way, you can start up a conversation.
There’ll definitely be something to talk and probably laugh about on your workout route.
Also, consider taking your spouse on those long drives that help you clear your head in the evenings.
Open up and vent to them about the things that are making you worried and stressing you.
Who knows?
They might have good counsel, or better still, a feasible solution to such issues.
This type of bonding might seem not to be achieving the goal in the beginning, but with time, the results will be evident.
4. Eat together
The Priest who said the homily at my wedding ceremony said something that has stuck with me over the years.
He said that a family that eats and prays together, stays together.
I picked it from the numerous lessons he gave, and I’ve been trying to inculcate it in our daily lives.
Truly, it’s a way of spending quality time with your partner even with busy schedules.
When you eat breakfast together, you have the opportunity to talk about your night rest, any dreams you had, and how your day is going to be.
Play catch up on how your daily activities went during dinner.
Eating together has been known to strengthen affection and bonds over time.
It’s working for me, and I know that it’ll work for you too.
5. It’s in the little things
To wrap it up, knowing and practicing how to prioritize quality time in a busy relationship isn’t as difficult as it seems.
If you’ve stayed with me from the beginning of this article, you’ll realize that it’s actually in the little things.
Learn to spend any available time with your spouse in and out of the home.
You can convert time for chores into bonding time, if you know how to do it.
Whether you’re in the kitchen, cleaning the house, doing the laundry, reach out to them if they’re in the house and are not neck-deep in left-over office work.
Leave the TV off and engage them in both random and meaningful conversations.
Laugh at silly jokes.
Establish body contact with them too.
For instance, you can brush your body against theirs when you pass them.
It’s nothing serious.
Just be aware, and let them be aware of your presence right there with them even as y’all are doing other things.
I hope that in the end, you achieve your aim, which is spending quality time with your partner even with crazy and hectic schedules.
Did you find this article helpful?
Do let me know in the comments below.
