Let’s get this out of the way: There’s no magic solution for having a better relationship. People aren’t perfect, couples fight, that’s just life.
But! Hope isn’t lost, and there are many things big and small you can do to help. We looked through a year’s worth of relationship advice to find the best guidance we have to offer, so here are few tips to take into the new year.
Put away your phone
“A cigarette and embrace after sex has quickly been replaced with a scroll through social media,” said Gillian McCallum, chief executive of Drawing Down the Moon Matchmaking, a British dating website. “Men and women are guilty of reaching for their phone and basking in the glow of their screen rather than the afterglow of lovemaking.”
Get more sleep
Fatigue may be making you more hostile to your partner and affecting your health.
Figure out your love style
Take this quiz with your partner to see how differently you each define love.
Have tough conversations before moving in together
Much less planning goes into cohabitation than into a wedding, but it is, in many ways, a bigger legal, financial and emotional
Not satisfied with your sex life? Grab your calendar
Can a couple in a sexless relationship schedule a path to intimacy and connection?
Open up?
Susan Dominus interviewed more than 50 members of nonmonogamous couples to find out if an open marriage is a happier marriage.
Educate yourself on what makes a good relationship
Good relationships don’t happen overnight. They take commitment, compromise, forgiveness and most of all — effort. This is the New York Times guide to having a better relationship, filled with the latest in relationship science news, fun quizzes and helpful tips for building a stronger bond with your partner.
Try holding hands (even if you don’t want to) and these other “love hacks”
A love hack is a proven technique that takes little time or effort and doesn’t even require cooperation from your partner. “It’s not going to give you a great marriage, but it can certainly improve things,” a psychologist, Eli Finkel, said.