How Can Your Relationship Survive During Isolation?
Mar 18, 2020
You may find that due to the action being taken to slow down the growth of Coronavirus you may be working from home, off work or self-isolating.
This additional time together with your partner may put significant extra strain on relationships. You may also be facing less social time, or escape, out of the house and the pressure of less money, uncertainty and food shortages.
All of this can create a perfect storm for a good relationship. For a relationship that is already on shaky ground it can be catastrophic.
Here are Ten Tips for a to help your Relationship survive and thrive in these unprecedented times.
1. Segment work and home
If working from home, create clear time boundaries otherwise work will leak into all available hours.
2. Create a work space
Try and create a space to prevent work from overhanging your personal relaxation space. If you don’t have a separate space, us a ‘clean desk policy’ so that work becomes out of sight and out of mind when you are not working. If you are both working from home, create a separation so that you are not interrupting each other.
3. Don’t pretend to be busy
Don’t pretend to your partner that you are busy when you are not. If you do not have work to do, use the opportunity to relax, have fun or even be together.
4. Schedule time with colleagues
Keep in touch with your colleagues by phone, Skype, Zoom, Social Media or some other platform. A virtual team can be a huge support.
5. Avoid the black hole of social media
Facebook, Twitter, Instagram etc can suck you in and fill many hours.
Your partner should be able to provide you with much better quality interaction
Your partner should be able to provide you with much better quality interaction
6. Schedule time outside
Fresh air and exercise will help you change state and think about the really important but less urgent things. You could even do this with your partner.
7. Schedule time to talk
More time is a great opportunity to talk about the really important things in your relationship, or alternatively to bicker and annoy each other. Schedule time each day to talk to each other about how you are feeling and what is important to you. In only 15 minutes you can dig really deep and deal with hugely important issues.
8. Change your patterns
At the start of every day, take a breath and think of just one small thing that you are doing habitually that you would like to do differently
9. Do something new, together, every week
Don’t continue doing the same old stuff, in the same way. Talk to each other about something different that you would like to do together and do it.
10. Fun
Easily forgotten but so important. When was the last time you both really laughed together? What can you do to create fun in your lives now?
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