How to Stay Busy and Happy Without Your Partner Nearby

People who love and care about one another often experience separation anxiety. When alone, they seek comforting activities or time-out that provide a respite. An effective way to combat this issue is by learning to recognize your needs and feel secure about their validity, which will enable you to enlist your partner’s cooperation in fulfilling them.

1. Plan a Date

Planning dates is essential in long-distance relationships, and planning them ahead can make finding time easier for both of you. Just be sure to choose activities that will both of you. Consider learning a foreign language together as an engaging conversation starter and to quiz each other over what has been learned. It could even make learning fun.

If you don’t want to spend money on language programs, try practicing your skills during video calls instead. Affectionately practicing words or phrases shows your significant other that they matter even when you can’t be there physically.

Plan an affordable and creative date night by ordering all items off the dollar menu or visit your hometown and show each other all of its sights, creating warm memories along the way. Shopping for adoptable pets can also provide great bonding time between partners who cannot take one home with them.

2. Take a Walk

Even if it is difficult to schedule full dates, taking your partner for regular walks may help to strengthen the bond and could offer both of you benefits in various forms. Researchers conducted a walking test on 72 romantic couples for publication in Gait & Posture journal. Researchers measured each person’s typical solo walking speed before asking them to walk together (without holding hands) before repeating this process with both couples holding hands together and without. Researchers discovered that people walked fastest solo, slowest while holding hands together, and at an intermediate pace when not holding hands together.

Make time this summer to walk regularly with your spouse, whether that be to spend some quality time together, to offer each other words of encouragement, show pictures of favorite hiking spots, or simply admire nature while strolling together. Walking together can also be quite soothing, many enjoy enjoying nature while strolling peacefully together. If you want to try longer treks together, offer incentives by suggesting going faster.

3. Make a Meal

Take time out of each day or once every week to create something delicious for yourself or others, cooking will not only provide something to look forward to but will release love hormones into the system, creating closeness between you and yourself and others alike.

Sharing meals together is an intimate experience, but if it feels awkward to go it alone, why not join one of his regular classes or activities instead? Doing something together will encourage him to look forward to spending time together while creating an opportunity to bond in an enjoyable setting.

Of course, it can be challenging for a busy partner to feel valued in a relationship. Unfortunately, no one can read minds, when consumed by work or other obligations, partners can simply forget you exist. If you believe your partner has stopped spending any time with you and misses having that companionship anymore, discuss this openly without becoming hostile about it. Empathize with him by telling them you notice they don’t spend much time with you anymore and that you miss them as this might help change their perspective on the issue.

4. Have a Movie Night

Movie nights can be an exciting way to spend quality time with friends, no matter who may or may not be present. At an economical cost. Not only are movie nights cost effective alternatives to dining out at restaurants. You can add even more excitement by choosing an exciting theme (such as an upcoming holiday, season of year or genre of film etc). Decorations could then match perfectly to the movie (Donuts with cop themed cop movies or fish sticks for ocean adventures etc) making sure all attend on time.

If your partner becomes distracted with work or another aspect, don’t allow them to forget you exist. They need to feel valued within your relationship. Sending text and voicemail messages telling them you miss them won’t cut it. Let them know with compassion what your feelings are while outlining potential changes for next time around.

5. Have a Conversation

Communication in relationships is of utmost importance, even during challenging or contentious conversations. By airing their concerns and feeling heard and understood, partners can strengthen commitment levels while strengthening bond. But these discussions must take place in an atmosphere in which both participants can focus their attention fully and emotionally engage fully with one another’s thoughts, setting an agenda may help facilitate that process, or you could split them up between multiple discussions to avoid becoming emotionally charged with each conversation.

When it comes to difficult conversations, the initial moments can set the stage for what will follow. Being well prepared and initiating positive interactions are keys to having productive and satisfying discussions, setting reasonable expectations as well as avoiding of communication (criticism, contempt, defensiveness, and stonewalling) is essential in making sure a discussion takes place in a constructive manner.