15 Tips To Survive a Long Distance Relationship

If you are in a long distance relationship, or if you're about to embark on one, these 15 tips will help you survive. By following them, your relationship will improve. Plus, long-distance relationships last longer than those who live nearby!

1. Keep Your Expectations Low

It is easy to be disappointed when things don't go as planned and your partner keeps moving further and further away from your reach. And it's even easier to stay mad at each other for days without understanding the bigger picture.

Be grateful for the time you have, even if it is only once a week. Be sure to enjoy every minute of your dates, as they will soon become memories.

2. Keep The Romance Alive No Matter How Hard It Can Seem

It can be tough to keep the romance alive when you have no clue when (or if) your partner will be home next. Make an effort and try to make things as romantic as possible during your time together. One way of doing this is by planning surprises for each other, even if it's just a bouquet of flowers on their desk when they get home from work or a special dessert in the fridge waiting for them to get back home.

3. Accept That The Weekend Will Be Long And Busy

Since it's not easy to stay in touch and you both have busy schedules, splitting weekends will happen. When this happens, it will be very difficult for your partner to get back home on Friday evening, as all flights are booked out, take off or already on a flight. Instead of getting upset at your partner's lack of planning skills and their inability to make plans ahead of time (which is normal), accept that they can't possibly plan everything before they leave the house each morning. Instead of taking them aside and telling them what you think they should have done differently, try not to complain about this or wallow in your anger.

4. Make Sure To Pack A Suitcase

When you live with your partner, you don't really need to pack a suitcase. But when you're in a long distance relationship, it's best to pack one, just in case. If nothing else, it will save you one trip, which means one less day without each other. Plus, it will make your weekend away more comfortable and relaxing if there is little planning involved and no last minute packing involved.

5. Keep Track Of The Important Things In Life

Keep track of all the important dates such as birthdays and anniversaries that matter most to the both of you. Write them down on a calendar, blog, or in a journal so you don't forget. Also keep track of special dates such as anniversaries and landmark events that may be coming up. This will help you both keep track of the important dates in your life, which is always comforting when going through long distances.

6. Never Accept The Long Distance Status Quo Without A Fight

When things are good, the long distance relationship is perfect. But when there's something wrong, it can quickly turn sour because those feelings can quickly become more difficult to handle when not just one person but two people are not around during the time of day that matters most to each other.

Don't accept the fact that long distance relationships are permanent. Just because you're far away doesn't mean things can't change, especially as technology makes it easier to stay in touch and get back together. You must try your best to keep a long distance relationship going because it's not easy, yet it's very rewarding when both people want to make a relationship work.

7. Focus On The Benefits Of Not Being Together During Weekends

When you're apart during the weekends, you have time for many more activities than couples who are normally together each weekend for fun and recreation. Make a point of taking advantage of this free time by going out and enjoying additional hobbies, hanging out with friends, or even having fun on your own. If you do nothing special during the weekends when you're apart, it will feel like an eternity before you see each other again.

8. Keep In Touch By Sending Pictures Of The Everyday Life You Live

Long distance relationships are unique. Even though you aren't physically together and can't enjoy many things that normal couples can do together, it's still possible to capture the most cherished moments in your lives through pictures. How? Simply send pictures of the daily life and what's happening around you to each other. This will keep you updated on everything that's happening in daily life.

9. Check In With Each Other When Possible

When going out with friends to catch a movie, you could take the time to check in with each other. It may be a simple call or text, but it will ease your partner's mind to know that they can reach you in an emergency. When you check in with each other and tell them what you're doing, it will make them feel more comfortable knowing what's happening at all times so that they won't worry about whether or not something bad is going on. It's easy for the mind to wander when it's left alone for long periods of time, so make sure that your relationship stays on track by checking in from time to time.

10. Keep Your Relationship A Priority Over Everything

Long distance relationships aren't easy. When you're apart and things are going smoothly, it's easy to think that this is just a phase that will eventually end. But it isn't as easy as you think. It can be very tough when you don't have your partner around during the weekends, but you shouldn't give up on your long distance relationship so fast if everything is still going well. Make sure to keep your relationship a priority and make sure that it's the most important thing in your life before anything else, even before enjoying the pleasures of other long distance relationships.

11. Create A Way To Create A LDR (Long Distance Relationship) Into A Marriage

Even if you decide to get married after getting a long distance relationship started, it's best to set up an LDR first. You're not guaranteed to get married, but it will at least take the fear out of committing to your partner. Plus, if you spend a lot of time apart from each other both physically and emotionally, you might end up drifting apart from your significant other. If you've already decided that marriage is important and want to make this happen before jumping into the deep end (long distance), go for it because there's nothing worse than having a marriage break apart because things didn't work out as planned.

12. Check In With Friends Who Are In Long Distance Relationships

When you're in a long distance relationship, you may feel lonely even when your partner is around. But if you have friends who are in long distance relationships as well, it will help you feel better about your own situation and feel like you can relate to someone else going through the same thing. It will also help relieve some of the stress that comes with being so far apart from your loved one in terms of physical distance and emotional distance.

13. Don't Let Yourself Get Sad Over The Small Things

Many things can go wrong when dealing with a long distance relationship during the weekends. For example, your partner may not have time to call you because they're busy with a project at work. Or maybe your partner will be out of town and won't be able to spend time together for the weekend because their friends want to hang out with them instead of you. Never take these things too personally and always remember that it's not you, it's them.

This doesn't mean that they don't care about you, it just means that they're doing something else and can't do everything all at once. Things like this happen in everyday life, so don't make a big deal out of small things that go wrong in a long distance relationship.

14. Don't Compare Your Relationship To Other People's Long Distance Relationships

While it's okay to know that other couples are in long distance relationships, you shouldn't compare your relationship to them because you'll only get frustrated and feel like you're unrealistic about what you and your partner can achieve. This can cause unnecessary tension in a long distance relationship, so don't let yourself get so easily upset and instead stay optimistic about what the future of your relationship is going to look like.

15. Don't Let Your Long Distance Relationship Control Your Life

While it's important to know that your relationship is the most important thing in your life at all times and never to let anything get in the way of that, this doesn't mean that you should get obsessive about having a long distance relationship. For example, don't stop working for two years and live off of unemployment just because you want a long distance relationship with your partner. If you do this, you're only setting yourself up for failure and disappointment.

Finally

While there are many ups and downs with a long distance relationship, you should always keep your mind open to the possibility of it all working out. Just be realistic about what you're facing and make your life goals as a couple based off of that, not off of what other couples are doing. Do what you can to make long distance relationships work even when things aren't perfect and everything might not work out exactly how you want it to.