Clever Ways To Connect With Your Spouse (Even When Life Is Hectic)

Why is it that the most important people in our lives often get the shaft?

You know how it goes — After a long day of work, household chores, errands, and other outside commitments, our spouse often receives what’s left of our energy and attention – and it isn’t much.

We know this isn’t great for our relationship, and we vow over and over to “do better,” yet there we are once again wasting time on Facebook or lost in some other tedious task instead of focusing and plugging in to connection time with our partner.

So how do we break this cycle and truly make the people we love a priority?

Senior VP of YourTango and host Melanie Gorman brought this tricky topic to a panel of our experts: psychotherapist and loving relationship expert Tamara J. Green; therapist and hypnotherapist Leslie Rouder; life coach Lora Lucinda Andersen; and renowned relationship expert and author John Gray, PhD.

Their consensus is that, even in the most stressful times, meaningful connection with your partner IS possible … IF you approach it with intention.

“We all have the same amount of time,” says Lora Lucinda Anderson. “If we say our priorities are our family or our loved ones … then we need to spend time there and we need to be intentional in spending time there.”

It turns outs, the secret to successfully carving out time for each other is NOT relying on just one strategy or approach in every scenario -- circumstances and relationships change, so keep a toolbox of strategies at the ready so that if one way of connecting isn’t possible, you have plenty of other go-to options. (Tamara J. Green says to never underestimate the power of a hug or quick exchange during an otherwise busy day.)

But, the best variety of connection rituals in the world won’t help, until you BOTH make time for each other a real priority and then adhere to that commitment.

The good news is -- your effort to connect has more benefits than you even realize!

In addition to keeping your relationship healthy (obviously!), it turns out romance boosts your health, as well. “It’s a huge stimulator of the hormone that lowers stress,” says John Gray.

Ready to learn some NEW ways to stay connected with your partner, even during busy, hectic times?

Click into our expert video above to hear their clever ways to create romantic time together no matter what the week ahead looks like.