Don’t know about you, but I get overwhelmed by planning date nights.

I’ll be out and about during the week and see/hear about/think of all these different fun ideas I’d like to do, but then Friday rolls around and I have nothing planned, no reservations made, and I sudden forget all my good ideas. The evening ends up basically consisting of Netflix, takeout and, if we’re feeling crazy, taking our dog on a walk.

Because quality time & date nights are SO important to me, I’ve created a few strategies in my life to make them happen more.

1. Ask Yourself: What’s my perfect date?

Maybe it seems obvious, but I’ve found it’s super helpful to consider what makes a great date night. Is it the food? Is it going out or staying in? Is it the time of day or day of the week? Is it doing something new? I didn’t realize I had such strong opinions about what I wanted date nights to look like until I spent some time thinking about it (and then verbally processed with Evan 😂), and he also shared his favorites with me!

Answering this question for myself has made date nights, in general, more enjoyable. It has not only given me the opportunity to do more of the things I love most, but it’s also given me some freedom to not feel so much FOMO when planning a date. For me, I’ve discovered my priorities are going out over staying in, finding a comfortable and fun “vibe” over the perfect food or drinks, and having great conversations (so staying out longer and not trying to pack too much into an evening). What doesn’t matter to me are things like adding in activity, or always trying something new, or having a certain type of food. I also have found that putting away our phones for the entire night out allows us to connect better without distractions!

Seem super basic? It kind of is. But it’s crazy how much this has helped me enjoy dates more!

 

2. Send a calendar invite.

LOL. I am not kidding when I say if it’s not on my calendar, it’s not happening. Can you relate to this at all?

I’m going to guess that you’re probably a lot like me – very busy schedule and often a demanding job, too! Sometimes, even the most basic of domestic tasks get brushed to the side because my schedule is so jam-packed (and that’s not even considering mixing in travel!). Date nights, when they do happen, can feel last-minute and kind of disappointing because nothing really was thought through in advance.

So, Evan and I have started putting date nights on the calendar (typically 2 Friday nights per month!) and we are each responsible for planning one of them. We put them on the calendar far in advance, too, so that we can prioritize them and plan our Friday work schedules around them.

I’ll admit that we’re not perfect at keeping to the scheduled date nights, but it’s helped us take a huge step in the right direction of prioritizing fun time together on a regular basis! Highly recommend!

3. Create traditions.

Traditions are SO FUN. I’m not naturally a very sentimental person. Creating traditions was something Evan encouraged in our relationship, and I’m so glad he did!

Our traditions center around all types of different things – from where we go to eat on the first day that we arrive in Naples, FL (which is where we spend a lot of the winter!), to throwing an annual Deck the Halls with the Bjorndal’s Christmas party, to trying to remember what we’ve done on Valentine’s Day for every year of our relationship, on every Valentine’s Day date (2018 will forever be a mystery, sigh). Traditions have made us feel more connected as a couple – with our own unique “culture” – and it gives us more reasons to go on dates centered around each tradition.

Even as I’ve been writing this, I’ve been re-inspired to keep adding to our traditions list!

 

4. Delegate it.

I know this sounds so not-romantic, BUT if you have an assistant, you can totally hand this off this task. Small biz owners and entrepreneurs, I’m talking to you! Adding an executive assistant to my team last year was a huge game-changer, especially because I’m able to hand off both business and personal tasks! An assistant can research new date night ideas, make reservations, and even make sure it all fits in your calendar correctly (and as a side note, if you’re looking for an assistant, I highly recommend going through Belay! You can email me at info@LVERphoto.com to connect directly with their team!!)

And if you don’t have an assistant, I’ve got great news for you! You can find regular inspiration through our Créme de la Créme weekly edit newsletter (yay!), which features ideas for how to spend quality time together all the time.