My husband and I are in the fortunate situation right now that we both work from home together, meaning that we see each other quite a bit. I remember back in the day when I was working full-time in a demanding job that not only did we barely spend time together, but when we did see each other I was so very tired of talking to people all day that I really didn't want to engage with him at all when I was home. I just wanted to sleeeeep.
That's why we introduced our weekly date nights into our relationship. We were sick of lying on the couch watching TV night after night, and I thought that if we just put some structure around one night out a week, it would be a lot more achievable. It turned out to be true.
The Office for National Statistics finds that on average couples spend two to two-and-a-half hours a day together, including weekends.
And what do we do when we’re alone with our loved ones? Watch TV (one third of all the time spent together), eat (30 minutes) and do housework together (24 minutes). Whoopee. Married people spend half an hour more together than people who cohabit. Retired couples spend only four hours a day together. (Are they avoiding each other?)
But it got me thinking … how much time do you people out there get with your sweetie? In between busy careers and social lives, how often do you get to see your lover? Do you have date night regularly to ensure quality time once a week? Do you pass like ships in the night on completely different schedules? Do you socialize in the same circles? Do you live in each other’s pockets and love it?These days, although we work and live together, we do make an effort for time apart as well. We socialise separately quite a bit, and we have our own hobbies. And yes, we still do date night every week!
Note: I highly recommend that if you're finding you don't get enough time with your partner that you do implement regular date nights and use them to spend quality time communicating. We have a site full of date ideas and here is a post full of Stay-home Date Ideas for Parents.
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