No matter how demanding our lives may be, the need for a close companion remains in our lives. It’s our nature really, humans are inclined to exist in societies with close people to confide and support. Sometimes, however, we get so busy that we forget this need and end up a bit lonely. This can be damaging since maintaining a healthy long-term relationship needs attention just like any other life commitment like work or education. Hoping to get your perfect match for the long-run? In this short piece, we will explore ways in which you can improve the survival chance of your relationships. You can also read more on the art of love to better prepare yourself for a healthy long-term relationship.

Good Time Management = Healthy Long-Term Relationship

The ability to maintain a healthy long-term relationship depends on your orderliness and good time management skills. Now, we understand that it can be quite suffocating to fit all the aspects of your life into one day and satisfy each one. Perhaps you have commitments at work, with your friends, and maybe school, yet your partner still expects you home for dinner, and you aren’t even half done with your work.

Great time management, however, isn’t about freeing up hours in your day, but rather improving the efficiency of every activity that you have to do and eliminating delays and inconveniences. Wondering how to do that? Remember those five minutes that you snoozed in the morning? That’s bad time management! Also, avoid procrastinating during the day so that your work or school commitments get done on time.

Another great way to manage time better is by closely examining your commute and finding ways to make it faster. For instance, if you get stuck in a jam each day on your way home, consider cycling instead, or using the subway. Those few minutes saved can actually add up to give you the hour or so that you need to chat with your partner and relax together.

Exercise Together Leads to Healthy and Long-Term Relationship

Staying physically healthy is critical for a healthy long-term relationship. If you’re not healthy enough to take care of yourself or each other, how then will your relationship thrive? More importantly, your relationship can only survive with both of you alive, right? Now, exercise routines can be a bit daunting to adhere to every day. However, having a companion can easily motivate you to stick to it daily.

Since spending time together is already a great way to maintain a healthy long-term relationship, establishing an exercise routine together is a great way to kill two birds with one stone! Find a time that you’re both free and spare at least 30 minutes to do simple exercises such as jogging, biking, hikes, or even lifting weights, either early in the morning or later in the evening. You can even sign up at your local gym together. Such a personal shared experience will surely do wonders for your mutual bond!

Similar Hobbies

Unlike with casual dating, people who engage in a long-term relationship often have mutual interests. It’s one of the key factors to determine whether you two are compatible (check out more factors on how to determine who’s right for you). After some time though, those shared experiences may seem old, leaving nothing new over to bond. The best relationship advice for this is that you need to be adventurous and try out new stuff together. Dancing is a great way to start this exploration and it will get you out of that boredom rut. You can also try other fun activities like gardening, bowling, blogging, or playing video games. To make it even more fun, rope in your family and friends, and play board games together, the more, the merrier!

Stay Open to Each Other

Now, someone close to you can always feel when you’re being secretive or withholding any feelings or emotions. This creates a very tense atmosphere that is not conducive to a healthy long-term relationship. Hiding emotions and feelings from your partner can even result in a lot of other personal issues like insomnia, depression, and eating disorders.

If your partner doesn’t know what’s going on inside your head, then they can’t help you. In fact, the more you keep stuff to yourself and shut your partner out, the more distant they become, hence ruining your relationship in the process. Learn to talk about your daily experiences, what’s bothering you, your goals, your ambitions, etc. That way, you develop a sharing culture between the two of you, and you make it easy for your partner to open up to you in return.

Be Supportive

It’s important to always be supportive and not quick to judge when your partner shares something with you, even if you think it’s not something important. Instead of pointing out how your partner created the problem in the first place, try to simply sympathize and show that you’re on his/her side. The best way to do this is by simply being a good listener because, as adults, we are often confident enough to make our own decisions, but sometimes we just need to share the decision-making process with someone out loud. You can read more on our blog about the importance of being supportive for a healthier long-term relationship.

Eat Together & Eat Healthily for Healthy Long-Term Relationship

To boost your shared time and experiences, eating together is another great way of maintaining a healthy long-term relationship. There’s even a saying that goes: couples that eat together, stay together! Try to have at least two meals a day that you share, even if it’s only for a few minutes. That morning quick breakfast is crucial, it’s a great opportunity to show each other affection in simple yet sweet ways such as making each other a cup of coffee or toast.

You can also plan to cook together at least once every other day, sharing the kitchen space and the whole cooking experience, a great way to bond and learn to co-exist! Try to keep your meals healthy by minimizing fast food and takeout meal. If you’re too busy to cook, find a healthy restaurant next to your place of living, and share your dinner every other day.

Talk about Your Sex Life to Strengthen Your Relationship

Most couples feel awkward when it comes to talking about their sex life, which can easily ruin your compatibility. Having a great sex life is a key element of every healthy long-term relationship. Just because you don’t talk about it doesn’t mean you don’t get horny or have bedroom fantasies. Failure to address all that will lead to a lot of infidelities and eventual separation. Engage your partner casually about what he/she likes in bed and leave room for experimentation. If you’re too timid to start the conversation out of nowhere, find a very sexual movie like 50 Shades of Grey and watch it together. Once the steamy scenes start, hit your partner with statements like: ‘Would you ever want to try that?’ You can also check out this detailed blog on how best to improve your sex life with your partner.

These few tips are even more important if your relationship is still new. Old couples can at least compromise better and tolerate each other more, but new ones will need to stay on their toes to establish that long-term bond that cannot be easily broken. Ready to find someone for a healthy long-term relationship? Dating websites like Wickedlist are a great place to meet your perfect match and start something special. Good luck!