Grab a Margarita on a Wednesday Night With Your Spouse, Friend or Co-Worker. It'll Work Wonders. A mid-week night out is refreshing and adventurous and will make any relationship in your life stronger.
By Jim Joseph
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I travel a lot… different cities, different goals, and different accomplishments every single week. As a result, I rarely see my husband during the week. As awful as that sounds, it's really okay, since we try to spend every weekend together (baring additional work travel). We are empty nesters now, so we actually spend more time together now than we ever did before!
But when we are in the same town, we still try to uphold a tradition that we started years ago when the kids were young -- a mid-week night out, usually on Wednesday night. When we were in the same city every week, admittedly it was a lot easier to pull off. But when we can pull it off, we still do.
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Skipping out for a couple of drinks and dinner on a Wednesday night does wonders for a relationship. When it's not a Saturday night, and you've still got work the next morning, there's a tiny sense of adventure that does the heart good. There's nothing wrong with getting your heart pumping.
It's a guilty pleasure.
You know you should be home or you should be doing more work, but instead you've skipped out for a pinot and plate of pasta. Just the two of us. Sheer pleasure!
To make it even better, we go to our favorite go-to place. You know, the place where everybody knows your name. On the weekends, we are more daring and try new things. A mid-week night out should be reserved for the tried-and-true where the wait staff knows exactly what you prefer. No extra work involved.
There's something about a mid-week rendezvous that just so simply tells each other that we're special, and we deserve a little special time together outside the normal schedule. We end up talking about things outside our normal conversations, and we end up appreciating each other just a little bit more. Just a little bit more…if that's even possible.
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We've been doing it for years -- 17 years to be exact.
I do this with work colleagues as well, and always have.
Running out on a week night to grab a couple of drinks and to have a bite to eat accomplishes the same objective: It signals each other that we are special and we deserve a little special time together. It makes tackling the tough work issues a little easier, whether we talk about them right then and there or later in the week. It builds bonds and relationships better than any two-hour meeting in a conference room.
And I always take people to my favorite go-to as well, just like with my husband It's a glimpse into my life, and how I like to live it. Together. I have my amazing pasta place, best-ever margarita bar and one-of-a-kind burger joint.
I even wrote about one of those in my first marketing book, The Experience Effect.
While that time spent together with a work colleague isn't quite the same as the time spent with my husband, it similarly helps me feel connected and supported -- and vice versa. It puts a spring in my step that wasn't quite there before. And probably most importantly, it builds trust. I now know that this person is on my side, and I on theirs. We understand each other, and we have each other's backs.
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Give it a try.
Grab a night out this week with your spouse, your BFF or a work colleague. It'll do you both wonders. And don't forget to say, "Cheers, to us!"
