Unfortunately, your partner might get a little upset or annoyed that you have to prioritize school. If that’s the case, remind them that you won’t be in school forever, and that this is a temporary thing until you two can be together full time. Create balance between your individuality and your relationship.
For instance, if you have 2 classes on Mondays but your whole Tuesday is free, tell your partner that you might not be able to chat much on Monday, but you could talk whenever on Tuesday. Or, if you’re super busy during the week but have weekends off, you might try texting during the week and then FaceTiming on Saturday and Sunday. Keep your own boundaries in the forefront of your mind—if your partner wants to talk every day but you know you won’t have time for that, tell them now so no one’s disappointed later on. Of the biggest dividers of relationships, especially for couples that are in the beginning of the relationship, is unvoiced expectations. It’s common for someone to want to talk to you every single day, especially if they’re interested in dating you long term. If that’s not something that you can accommodate, try to make that abundantly clear from the beginning.
Scheduling out calls and FaceTime dates also ensures you won’t be busy with other stuff, like hanging out with friends.
Send photos, audio clips, and videos to stay connected between dates.
Make it a priority to see each other in person. Create a timeline and count down the days until you can reunite. The distance between you two plays into this factor a lot. For instance, if you only live a few hours away from each other, you might be able to see your partner every other weekend. But, if you have to take a plane to get there, going once a term might be more realistic.
Plus, hashing something out over the phone usually goes much faster than texting back and forth about it. If you can resolve your issues quickly, you’ll have more time for your schoolwork.
If you don’t know these things about your partner, you can ask them! They might not know that you want to hear about them.
This can sometimes seem unnecessary, but it’s a great way to give yourself peace of mind. You’ll be way less tempted to check up on your partner if you know the rules of your relationship, which means you’ll have a lot more time to study. If you’re in a situation where you are so far away that you’d have to pre-plan trips to go see one another, it’s usually a matter of being realistic about what this person expects from you while you two are not together. Avoid surprises and miscommunication.
You could say something like, “Hey honey, do you have time to talk this afternoon? I’m feeling pretty stressed and overwhelmed, and I’d love to hear your voice. ” Remember to tell your partner what you need and want, and be sure to understand and respect their needs and wants, as well.
If you’re in college, try to get involved on campus! Join a club, try out for a sport, or volunteer in the community. Live your life to the fullest so you don’t have any regrets at graduation.
In a lot of long-distance relationships, one partner will plan to move to the other person’s city (eventually) so they can live together.
