Spending a lot of time at home with your partner is a great way to build your bond and help you feel more connected — but it can also make you feel irritated, overwhelmed, and short on personal space. Carving out some time for yourself, even when you're spending a lot of time at home, can help you feel more connected and make your bond better than ever. Try some of these strategies to make the most of your time at home.
1. Engage in your separate hobbies.
You might be together 24/7, but that doesn't mean that you have to do everything together. Instead, set aside time to engage in your personal hobbies: the same activities you would normally do if you were at home alone. Talk to your partner ahead of time and choose a time for you to engage in those activities.
Do you enjoy painting or putting together models? Knitting, crocheting, or crafting? What about putting together puzzles? All of those activities can give you a little solitude. You don't even have to be in the same room as your partner while you engage in those activities — or you can engage in separate activities in the same space, without feeling the need to interact with one another directly.
2. Go for a walk by yourself.
In many places, you can still go outside as long as you're engaging in an approved activity, including engaging in exercise. Go for a long walk by yourself. You don't have to wait for your partner to be free. In fact, that nice, long walk can be a great time to be alone with your own thoughts.
You may find that you come back refreshed and better prepared for your next interaction with your partner. Going for a walk in the sunshine can also help boost your mood and leave you feeling more positive in general, which can help translate to warmer interactions with your partner.
3. Get lost in a fictional world.
If you're looking for a chance to spend some time by yourself, getting lost in a fictional world could be the perfect way to not only escape from your current reality, but help your mind soar! Choose a new book to read, or get started on that series that you've been meaning to try, but never got around to.
Sit down and binge-watch your favorite show. Feel free to try a show that your partner might not enjoy. It's okay to carve out a little time for the things that you enjoy, even when both you and your partner at home. Your partner can take advantage of that time to do something that they've been wanting to do alone, but that they haven't felt they had time to take on.
4. Get in a little sexy time alone.
You know that masturbation can have a number of benefits to your relationship. Not only can it allow you to please yourself without having to focus on your partner, but it can also help increase your overall sex drive and help you be more interested in sexy time with your partner. Arousal and masturbation often increase overall sexual desire — so why not carve out a little time for yourself? Try:
Spending a little time with your MysteryVibe products. Explore with your Crescendo or try out your Tenuto or Poco. This can be a great way to lay back, relax, and enjoy sexual pleasure on your own — and it can also help you feel far sexier.
Getting in the bathtub for a long bath and a little solo play. You can take Crescendo into the tub with you: it won't hurt it at all to get wet, and you're guaranteed a little more alone time!
Not only is masturbation great for your sex drive, but it can also help you feel more relaxed and decrease overall tension, whether related to a spat with your partner or outside circumstances. You'll find that fitting in a little time for solo play helps you feel sexier and more confident in the bedroom. If your partner's sex drive has been lower than yours throughout your time at home, you may also find that it eases some of the tension between you.
5. Start that side hustle you've always wanted to start.
Many people have more time on their hands than ever before: nowhere to go, not much to do, and even your commute to work may mean going no further than your home office or even your living room. Why not take advantage of that time to start the side hustle you've always wanted to start, but never had the time for?
Do some freelance writing. Dust off your camera and try some photos. Build that website you've meant to build for years. This is the ideal time to start that side hustle, and it's a great way to do something that will have you feeling more positive about yourself and your time at home. This can help create more positive interactions with your partner.
6. Get in some solo exercise.
Getting sweaty with your partner is a great way to build your bond and help you feel more attracted to each other — but you don't have to wait for your partner to get in some exercise. Exercise can help reduce stress, decrease frustration levels, and help you fight weight gain when you're spending more time than usual at home. Not only that, feeling fit and toned will help you feel sexier for your partner, which could translate to an improved bond. Feeling stuck since you can't get to the gym and many of your favorite trails might be closed? Try out some of these ideas:
Pick an exercise video. Many companies are offering free access to their exercise videos during stay at home orders. Others already have free videos available on YouTube. Do some research and pick an exercise video that you enjoy. Many of them rely on body weight alone.
Drag out that piece of exercise equipment that's been gathering dust in the garage. Do you have an exercise bike that you've never used? A treadmill that was part of a past fitness craze, but that you haven't actually used in years? Now is the time to dust it off and try it out again. You may find a new dedication to that piece of equipment. At the very least, you'll keep your energy up so that you can dive back in with your usual exercise routine once everything opens up again.
Run around your neighborhood, if you can. Run sprints up and down the driveway. Go for a run at the park, if your park is still open and you can do it while practicing social distancing.
7. Experiment in the kitchen.
If you're looking for some alone time that will translate into a quality evening with your partner, let them know that you're planning to fix something spectacular for dinner, then head into the kitchen and plan to make something special. Make use of the ingredients that are left over in the cabinet and explore Pinterest to find the perfect recipe to use as many of them as possible, or plan ahead to include special ingredients as part of your next scheduled grocery run and put together a fantastic meal for your partner.
You can also head into the kitchen and bake up something special. Channel your favorite cooking shows or try decorating something spectacular. Not only will it give you some much-needed alone time, but you might also just develop a new skill that you'll keep using for a long time to come.
8. Take up meditation.
Anxiety levels are higher than ever. Even many people who have never struggled with anxiety in the past have found that, in the midst of the shutdown, they're having more trouble than usual. Fortunately, there are strategies that can help you cope with that anxiety — including meditation. Spend some quiet time in your own mind. Use a meditation app, if needed, or simply quiet your mind and spend a little time alone. Many people find that, as a result of that time, they feel more centered and less anxious.
Alone time in the midst of social distancing measures: even if you're spending your time at home with your partner, it doesn't have to be an impossibility. Instead, utilize some of these strategies to allow you to experience the benefits of alone time. Too much time together can make even the closest partners start to grate on each other's nerves, especially in a time like this one, filled with enhanced stress and tension.
Need to know more about the MysteryVibe products and how they can enhance your alone time? Check out our full product line for ideas on how to spend this time, either alone or with your partner.