Career and relationships - making time for a partner

27 July 2018

Balancing a meaningful relationship and successful career can be an incredibly difficult task, especially if your jobs cause you to have conflicting schedules. Spending quality time with a partner becomes increasingly important when time is scarce; it’s easy to feel like passing ships in the night, and cherishing the time we do have will help you to remain connected.

Relationships on Female First

Face to face communication is much more beneficial than talking through text at work; emotion can often fade away with the use of technology. On too many occasions, relationships are ended due to a lack of communication; an issue that will inevitably become more significant if minimal time is spent together due to work commitments. Simply picking up the phone to chat is one example of how communication can be improved if this becomes challenging in light of ongoing work commitments.

Ben Edwards, a self-confidence expert and relationship coach, provides his top advice for maintaining a more positive work/life balance.

Dedicate time

Dedicating time to sit with your partner at the end or start of a fresh week is crucial. Understandably, events may pop up at work which causes a partner to stay late, but designating an evening in your diary to quality time will prevent any temptation of doing further, unnecessary overtime. This also gives you and your partner something to look forward to, whether it’s dinner at a restaurant or a quiet night in watching a movie. Any time spent together should be valued.

Get in sync

If your jobs require you to do early or late-night shifts often, try to synchronise where possible. This will create free time in the long run and it’ll feel like you’re not missing out on valuable time together. Once again, planning this in advance gives you the best opportunity to arrange activities, stay connected and feel engaged with one another’s lives.

Pillow Talk

Special time with a partner needn’t always include an expensive meal out or weekend trip away. More often than not, communication can have a greater impact when watching television or talking together just before you fall asleep than during work via hundreds of text messages. ‘Pillow talk’ isn’t something that we should shy away from as it gives both individuals a great chance to share their thoughts; quality time is often best in its simplest form. If you or your partner have any concerns, pillow talk allows you to open up. This can become a natural component of your busy schedules; most of us just need a simple reminder that this is an invaluable form of communication.

Take up an activity

If you both have similar interests outside of the relationship, joining a club or participating in certain activities can be a great way to spend time together whilst also having fun. As couple work-outs in the gym become ever more popular, they set a great example of how to spend time together outside of work. Activities also allow you to create a strong bond with one another, especially if you both have targets you’d like to hit.

Ask for advice

It can be difficult to discuss relationship concerns because often, approaching the topic is daunting. Asking a friend or family member for advice could provide the invaluable objective opinion you need, they may also be able to give advice for finding a more successful work/life balance. We often don’t realise how much time we’re wasting on meaningless things instead of seeing a loved one.

Additionally, if you feel that you would benefit from professional advice, it may be worthwhile seeking the expertise of a life coach. These experts will help you and your partner to find contentment and structure within your relationship, improving communication skills where necessary.