The Relationship Meeting
The Relationship Meeting
By: Emma Carpenter, MA
Do you have a busy schedule that leaves you with limited time to connect with your partner?
Between working, trying to have a social life, and doing the million and one things on your to do list, when dose anyone have time to talk about things with their partner?
One amazing way to make sure you have time to connect and discuss important topics is to have a weekly Relationship Meeting.
The Relationship Meeting is great because:
It only takes an hour.
It covers 4 major areas of communication.
It sets you up to have a successful week in you relationship.
Why should you have a weekly Relationship Meeting?
It can be all too easy to make assumptions about situations in our relationships. A weekly meeting makes sure you’re on the same page and know exactly what to expect from one another.
When we know what to expect, we free up a lot of mental real estate for ourselves. When we know we’re going to be meeting every week, we can put things on the meeting agenda and not stress about having to solve problems that come up alone.
If something comes up to derail things, both partners already know the original game plan and can work together to get over the unexpected hurtle.
To set up your Relationship Meeting:
Pick a day and time when you can both be mentally present. If you can make it the same day/time each week that will help ensure your meetings happen. If you can’t make it the same day/time make sure you schedule your next meeting at the end of your current meeting.
Set the tone by turning off screens, muting phones, and riding the space of any distractions. If you have kiddos, make sure they are occupied so that you can have uninterrupted time.
Remember that this dose not need to be tense or super serious. You can relax while you talk. Grab coffee or wine, put on some music in the background, and remember that this is time to come together as a united team.
The four areas that you want to cover:
Positive moments from the past week.
Areas of concern that were left unresolved.
Finances (yes, even if you are married).
What’s on the calendar coming up.
Emma is a therapist in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania at A Better Life Therapy. Emma specializes in working with millennials and modern couples facing stressors around prolonged higher education, financial difficulties due to debt or starting new careers, delayed “life moves”, and infidelity and insecurity involving social media.
To read more about Emma click here.
