Quality Time: How to Find More and Some Ideas on How to Use It

The world moves at a tremendously fast pace. It’s virtually impossible to disconnect from work, social networks, media, news, even friends and family. Life is often an overload of emails, voice mails, instant messages, profiles, shows, kids activities, schedules, and the endless desire to know about what’s going on around you.

It’s far too easy to let the important things in your life slip through the cracks and get lost in the chaos. Days could go by without speaking to family members, or sharing deeper moments with your spouse.

Finding moments for quality connections in marriage takes planning. It requires intentionality. Quality time rarely happens by chance.

There are many things that can get in the way of finding moments together. It’s also possible that the time you spend together has become stale. Yes, even quality time can become routine. Perhaps some spice needs to be added.

The importance of quality time in marriage.

Spending time with the one you love is important in every relationship. While this may seem obvious, it’s these times of deeper connection that will sustain you during the lean times.

Quality time also presents the best opportunities for growth. Growth together and individually.

I believe we are designed for relationships, and relationships are the best place to grow up.

I’ve written this many times before… marriage is not about happiness, it’s about growing and developing into a better human. Happiness may come along at times and it’s most often found in quality time with your partner, but it’s your growth that enhances and sparks the relationship for the long haul.

Whether the quality time you create with the one you love is a few minutes each day, an evening a week, or a weekend away, all it takes to make this happen is commitment and choice.

Here are some ways to find more quality time and even a few things to do during the time.

Schedule the time each week
Give up your TV
Disconnect the Internet
Walk together in the evening, you can even take the kids
Send emails or quick messages to each other during the day
Listen to music (my wife and kids love this one each evening)
Cook dinner together
Stick to a bedtime routine with your kids (even have them go to bed early some nights)
Trade evenings with another family - watch their kids so they can be together and vice versa
Find a regular babysitter
Use your vacation time, even half days in order to be together in the afternoon
Play board games as a family, or with your spouse
Enjoy a cup of coffee or glass of wine together on the couch
Sit together outside and look at the stars
Read together
Play card games
Sneak away from a party or gathering and go make out
Dance
Snuggle together and watch a movie
Go to a movie and make out like teenagers
Reminisce about favorite memories together
Have dinner by candlelight, even with the kids
Hold hands often
Hug
Have lunch together during the week
Turn off the radio riding together in the car
Take a shower or bath together
Bike ride together, you can each have a headset for your phone and talk to each other the entire time
Have an affair with your spouse
Play poker, be creative with your betting
Leave little notes for each other around the house
Say “I love you”
Have a picnic, you can even do this in the living room
Go to bed early
Have sex

From SimpleMarriage.