If you’ve ever felt like all you needed was a night out with the girls or a poker night with the dudes, then it’s time to start listening to those instincts.

Research shows that friendships are foundational to authentic happiness. In fact, in terms of causes of happiness, strong relationships rank right up there with marriage, exercise, and an active love life (emphasis on the word active, nudge-nudge, wink-wink).

In other words, human beings are social creatures. And we don’t just need our relationships for practical reasons, we need them because they really do make us happy.

So let’s talk about 4 coaching strategies to make time your friends.

1. Commit to prioritizing your friendships.

Yeah, life is busy. (I’m a life Coach, how can I not know that?) Sometimes it feels like you just can’t keep up between work, family, and taking care of the nuts and bolts in life. But despite all of that, I’m still asking you to prioritize your friendships. That means it’s okay to make time for your friends, and in fact, you should do it.  So commit to it wholeheartedly.

2. Plan ahead.

Continuing on the theme of life being busy, at first it’s challenging to start seeing your friends more because everyone has a lot on their plates. So don’t expect that someone will be available at the drop of a hat. Instead, start planning now for things that you’ll do in a month.

Then keep the pipeline full. I suggest scheduling “friend time” once a week. You need rejuvenation and reconnection in your relationships, so give it the time you need. If that means working out a childcare plan, go ahead and do that. It’s going to be worth it.

3. Put down the Facebook, pick up the phone.

Now I love me some Facebook, but it simply is not a substitute for reconnecting at a personal level. But there are reasons that Facebook is popular, and I think a big one is that it’s convenient. We have 10 minutes, so we log on.

Instead, use those 10 minutes to pick up the phone and have a chat once in a while. You’ll feel so much more connected and your mood will be majorly boosted.

4. Be a keep it simple host.

One of the most convenient ways to reconnect with your friends is to have them over for dinner. There’s just a special bonding that happens when we break bread.

But on the other hand, we sometimes have pretty high expectations for ourselves when we’re hosting, which keep us from having people over unless everything is perfect. So I’m asking you to lower your standards. It’s perfectly fine to throw a potluck or just order pizza. Leave the fine china in the cabinet and pull out the paper plates.

Your friends love you for being you, not for the bells and whistles. Save all that energy on prepping for a shindig and use it towards reconnecting.

What about you? What’s your favorite way to reconnect with friends?

If you liked this article, check out: The Power Of Thank You: 8 Real World Benefits of Gratitude

Marie Wetmore, Life & Career Coach

Want some one-on-one support? Contact Marie to set up a free discovery session. She coaches in her Boston area office or anywhere in the world (by phone or on Video Skype).

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