Brain Break: Connecting Meaningfully With Others

Welcome back, Brainiac! Today, I wanted to share some ideas for ways to connect meaningfully with others even when you are time-limited.

It is a given that as adults we lead very busy lives and often struggle to stay in touch with loved ones despite the best of intentions. We don't always have the luxury of large swaths of time, unlimited funds, or ideas for activities, never mind all of these resources at the same time. Yet, we all typically have the desire to build and sustain meaningful connections with others, so finding ways to do so realistically is the goal.

Below are some tips for sustaining healthy relationships that are important for our health and wellbeing; whether you have 2 minutes or are able to carve out more, these represent just a few of the many possible ways to stay connected to family and friends despite your busy schedule:

1. If you have 2 minutes or less:

   1. Send a message to someone important to you, letting them know you are thinking of them

   2. Give a loved one a hug

   3. Say goodbye when you leave

   4. Leave post-it notes with little messages on the fridge or in a lunch box for your partner/child/parent/roommate

2. If you have 5 minutes:

   1. Check with your family/friends to see how they are doing

   2. Mail a card

   3. Give people in your life a quick update on how you are doing and what you have been up to

   4. Send someone a list of possible dates to spend time together and/or coordinate an activity

   5. Look at pictures of friends or family

3. If you have 10 minutes:

   1. Have breakfast with your family instead of rushing out the door

   2. Look up a community group you may be interested in joining or learning more about

   3. Talk to a friend, family member, or co-worker about a problem or frustration

   4. Take some quiet time to reflect on what you need from those in your life and how you may be able to ask for those things

4. If you have 30 minutes or more:

   1. Play a game together

   2. Read together

   3. Go for a walk or drive together

   4. Cook or bake together

   5. Go out to eat

   6. Plan a movie date

   7. Write a letter to someone

   8. Watch a TV show together

TLDR take aways

1. We all lead very busy lives and don't always have the luxury of extended periods of time or the resources to engage meaningfully with others as we would like to.

2. Connecting meaningfully with others doesn't have to cost money or take a lot of time.

3. Whether you only have 2-minutes or can carve out more, small, intentional acts help to sustain relationships in our lives; this is important for our health and wellbeing.

Be kind to your mind, Brainiacs- even Serabellum Superstars need brain breaks.