time for love

» Posted in humor, Love, Matchmaking, Relationships at

life is going so fast these days and most of us have so many commitments that it is even hard to find time to share love with our partner. Like anything, the more time we invest in our relationships the more return we receive back from them. This is of inestimable worth & value when our lives rush on towards the inevitable…… death!

Courtesy of Fail Blog

“There is a time for work and a time for love. That leaves no other time.” Coco Chanel

In the last week, I have read some great posts by entrepreneurs about how they manage to find time to spend with those they love, their partners & families. Is this a trend? Well it definitely is very important that we pay attention to setting time aside to build our relationships. Stephen Blank of ‘The Four Steps to the Epiphany’ (one of my favorite startup books) posts some great points & a good list about how he & his wife raised their kids & he spent time with his family in Epitaph for an Entrepreneur. Summary at the end of his post says it all:

Know When to Hold Them, Know When to Fold Them, Know When to Walk Away.

Courtesy of Unexcitable Blog

“One cannot buy, rent or hire more time. The supply of time is totally inelastic. No matter how high the demand, the supply will not go up. There is no price for it. Time is totally perishable and cannot be stored. Yesterday’s time is gone forever, and will never come back. Time is always in short supply. There is no substitute for time. Everything requires time. All work takes place in, and uses up time. Yet most people take for granted this unique, irreplaceable and necessary resource.” Peter F.Drucker

Some further insight from Chris Yeh in his post Parenting Hack: Pick Your Kids Up From School could be summarized in his comment:

Erecting a hard, consistent boundary trains the other people in your company to respect your schedule.

Courtesy of Joie de Vivre Blog

“Love makes time pass away and time makes love pass away.” French Proverb

My suggestions are as follows:

Communicate with each other during the day even if it is brief
Note big stuff to be communicated when you are both together live & set a few minutes aside to share these thoughts with each other. These conversations can be continued as each person elaborates & gets clarification about these issues.
Date each other at least one evening/day every other week. Take it in turns to organize & set up a date and make an effort to show up with as much enthusiasm as with a new lover. (thanks to my coach Elizabeth for this suggestion)
Have a regular debriefing session about things that leave you unhappy & disgruntled both externally & within the relationship. Brainstorm together about compromises that may lessen these stresses. The goal of these conversations is to lessen stress for each other & allow happier & more loving interactions with the proviso that your partner cannot solve your issues but may be able to suggest creative options.
Include a healthy dose of Romance & Poetry into every mundane diet.
Schedule some time each week for individual break out session freedom for each person.
Feedback to partner what you bring back to the relationship from your scheduled weekly break out session.
Share tasks from each other’s world so that you have understanding & compassion for your partner’s life.
Listen to each other consistently & then talk.
Do nothing sometimes alone & together.

These are points that I have found helpful & that my clients have proven to work. Would love your feedback about what works & doesn’t work for you in your relationships.

In the meantime I’ll leave you with a funny skit about being on time from That 70′s show. Enjoy…..